Adoption fairs are held once or twice a month at various PETCO stores in Northern Virginia. The adoption fairs are usually held on Saturdays from 1:00 to 5:00. Between 30 and 60 cats and kittens are shown for adoption at each fair—with the larger fairs generally occurring April through October.

While they are waiting to find permanent loving homes, our cats temporarily live in foster homes. The foster families bring the cats and kittens to the adoption fairs to be seen by potential adopters. Applicants have the opportunity to handle the cats and in some cases, meet the foster parents who can provide additional insight into a cat’s habits and personality.

At the adoption fairs, if you meet a kitten or cat that you want to adopt, you will be asked to complete an application and contract and leave a check for the adoption fee ($95 for an adult or $125 for un-neutered kitten of which $50 is a deposit that is refunded after you provide 4Paws proof of sterilization). We ask that you pay the adoption fee up front at the fairs in order to “put a hold” on the cat until your application is processed. If your application is not approved, your check is returned to you.

Neither cats nor kittens are sent to their new homes on the day of the fair. It usually takes 4-5 days to process the application before the cat can go to his or her adoptive home. Pre-approval is an option, though. To accelerate the adoption process, you can fax a completed application and contract to us at 703-560-9795 a few days before the fair. Adoption Applications are available on this website.

Some of the 4Paws cats available for adoption can be seen on our online adoption fair. This web page has pictures and narratives about the cats providing such information as history, personality characteristics and home environment preferences (i.e., other pets, children, etc.). If you are interested in adopting one of the cats on our online adoption fair, you should download the application and contract then fax the completed paperwork to us at 703-560-9795. If you have questions, you can contact us at info@fourpaws.org.

Adopters can also meet 4Paws cats currently located at five local PETCO Stores. Cats stay in participating PETCO stores on a temporary basis until they are adopted into permanent, loving homes. Each day, 4Paws volunteers take care of these cats while they await adoption. PETCO employees assist in their care on an “as needed” basis and are available to help customers meet the cats if they are not busy with other PETCO customers.

If you would like to interact with a 4Paws cat that you met in a PETCO store, ask a Petco employee for assistance. If no Petco employee is available to assist you, please call 703-715-6369 to arrange for a volunteer to meet you at the store. Application packets are available on top of the cages. After completing the application and contract, you should either fax the paperwork to us at 703-560-9795 or leave it at the store on top of the cat cages. Either way, please call 703-715-6369 and leave a message indication the name of the cat for which you are applying.

4Paws cats can be seen during regular business hours at the following Petco locations:

Local animal hospitals partner with 4Paws to help find loving homes for some of our homeless kittens. These kittens can generally be seen in the waiting areas of the participating hospitals. Hospital employees care for the kittens until they get adopted. 4Paws volunteers take care of the administrative aspects such as processing the applications.

If you meet a kitten at a participating animal hospital that you want to adopt, you should either fax the application to us directly at 703-560-9795 or leave the application at the hospital. Either way, please leave a message with your contact information and the name of the kitten on our voicemail at 703-715-6369. It generally takes 4-5 days for us to process an application since we are all volunteers.

4Paws cats can be seen at the following veterinary offices:

• Pet Medical Center of Springfield
• Potomac Valley Veterinary Hospital
• Sunshine Animal Hospital