The 4Paws Rescue Team offers meaningful volunteer opportunities with an all-volunteer workforce. The number of feline lives we can save depends entirely on the compassion and commitment of people like you.
Whether you have 30 minutes a week or can foster a cat in your home, there’s a volunteer role for you. From adoption fair setup to cat transport and community cat care, every bit of help makes a difference. Learn more about the ways you can help below.
We are urgently looking for volunteers to dedicate a couple of hours a week to help with admin support.
Some ways you can help:
If you’re interested, please complete our Volunteer Contact Form. For the “Job Applying For” question, select “Other” and mention which tasks you’d like to help with.
Foster homes provide temporary care for cats and kittens until they find their forever homes. 4Paws pays for all pre-authorized veterinary services, and fosters supply the rest — food, shelter, and love.
As a foster, a few of the things you’ll do include:
To see cats currently in need of foster homes and learn more, visit our Fostering page. To apply to become a foster now, please complete our Apply for Foster form.
Love helping behind the scenes? We need volunteers to help with setup and cleanup at our adoption fairs.
At Petco Fairfax, setup is Friday evening and the fair runs Saturday, with cleanup at 5:00 PM. At Petco Sterling, setup is Saturday evening and the fair runs Sunday, with cleanup at 4:00 PM. Setup and cleanup each take about an hour.
If you’re interested, please email info@fourpaws.org.
We’re looking for caring volunteers to help transport cats for a variety of reasons. Sometimes they need a ride to the vet, a pickup from a shelter, or a transfer from one store to another. Other times, they’re moving between Petco adotption locations or heading to their foster or forever homes. Every trip you take helps a cat on their journey to a better life.
Most transport requests are flexible and can fit around your schedule, with the greatest need on weekends and during weekday daytime hours.
If you are interested, please complete our Transportation Volunteer form.
Some sweet but shy city cats need a second chance at a safe, happy life—and a cozy country barn is the perfect place for them! We deliver altered, vaccinated barn cats and offer tips to help them settle in. They’ll keep rodents away while you give them the second chance they deserve.
If you have — or know of — a barn that could provide a safe home for our barn cats, we’d love to hear from you! Visit our Barn Cats for Hire page to learn more.
If you’re interested, please email info@fourpaws.org.
We need volunteers who can give 1–2 hours a week to help with the following:
Some ways you can help:
If you’re interested, please email info@fourpaws.org.
There are many community cat colonies across Northern Virginia that rely on a little extra love and care. We’re looking for Community Cat Feeders to help feed these cats just once a week and make a big difference in their lives.
If you’re interested, please complete our Volunteer Contact Form. For the “Job Applying For” question, select “Community Cat Feeder.”
We need volunteers to help care for cats who are temporarily living in our Petco adoption centers while they wait to be adopted.
If you’re interested, please complete our Volunteer Contact Form. For the “Job Applying For” question, select the Petco store location where you’d like to volunteer.
Join us on Facebook for real-time updates on 4Paws Rescue Team events, urgent requests, and the latest volunteer opportunities needing your support.
Want to volunteer but still have questions? Visit our Volunteer FAQs page to find answers on donations, fostering, volunteering—and more.
