Cat Cafés, Adoption and Volunteering in Los Angeles: A Cat Lover's Guide

Greater Los Angeles has had a run of new cat cafés. At least six of the twelve in this guide opened in 2025 or 2026, from Thousand Oaks to Costa Mesa, and CatCafe Lounge moved to Venice in early 2026. Behind several of them is one rescue: Kitten Rescue, a volunteer-run group founded in 1997, supplies the cats at Crumbs & Whiskers, Tail Town Cats, Catfé and a Burbank vintage shop.

The other thing to know about LA is that who handles a stray depends on the address. LA County alone has more than 14 animal care and control agencies, so the "Found a cat?" section below has a table of who covers what, and a link to the county's shelter locator.

This guide covers greater Los Angeles, which for us means about 40 miles around downtown: the city, the Westside, the San Fernando and Santa Clarita valleys, the Conejo Valley, Pasadena and the San Gabriel Valley, the Pomona Valley, the South Bay, Long Beach and the Gateway Cities, and north and central Orange County. It covers cafés, adoption, rescues, volunteering and what to do if you find a cat. Opening hours, fees and booking details change, so we leave those to the venues' own sites and our listing pages.

At a glance

Cat cafés

The cafés are grouped by area below. Age rules, booking and food vary a lot from one café to the next, so check each café's own site before you go.

Central LA

Crumbs & Whiskers, Melrose Avenue. The LA branch of a cat café that started in Washington, D.C., it opened at 7924 Melrose Ave in Beverly Grove in September 2016. LAist called it LA's very first cat café when it opened. Its cats come from Kitten Rescue and are adoptable through it.

Little Lions Social Club, Arts District. An adoption lounge at 689 Imperial St, downtown, that opened in early 2026 with cats from Friends of Normie Rescue. Guests help themselves to tea, and its events have included sound baths, ikebana workshops, movie nights and mahjong.

Westside

CatCafe Lounge, Venice. A nonprofit cat café and kitten lounge where every cat is adoptable. It opened in 2018 on Sepulveda Boulevard in West LA, and after a rent increase it moved to 114 Washington Blvd in Venice, reopening in February 2026. The Venice space has two floors, with a Kitten Lounge on the ground floor. By its own count it has made more than 2,000 adoptions since 2018 (as of 2026). Regular sessions are for older kids and adults, and separate family sessions take all ages. The LA Times calls parking at the Venice site "nearly nonexistent."

San Fernando Valley, Santa Clarita and the Conejo Valley

Catfé, Santa Clarita. In Canyon Country at 18560 Via Princessa, Catfé opened in December 2025; a local student paper called it the Santa Clarita Valley's first cat café. Every cat in it is adoptable through Kitten Rescue.

Purrrlandia Cat Lounge & Cafe, Thousand Oaks. About 37 miles west of downtown at 728 N Moorpark Rd, Purrrlandia opened in summer 2025 as a Best Friends Network Partner, and its cats come through Best Friends Animal Society. The café is separated from the cat lounge by floor-to-ceiling windows and double doors, so guests with allergies can watch the cats from the café side.

Pasadena

Tail Town Cats, Pasadena. A 501(c)(3) adoption lounge partnered with Kitten Rescue, in East Washington Village at 1780 E Washington Blvd. It opened in 2021. The lounge came through the Eaton Fire undamaged: staff moved more than 30 cats into foster homes, and Tail Town reopened on January 17, 2025, according to Pasadena Now. It hosts art shows and game nights.

South Bay

Meows Rakuen, Gardena. A Japanese-style cat café on the second floor of 1601 W Redondo Beach Blvd, run by the nonprofit Just Wanna Rescue Meows, which takes its cats from city shelters. The LA Times noted the wall where each cat's name and color-coded collar are posted.

Mochi Kittos, Gardena. A cat café on Normandie Avenue that opened in 2026, founded and designed by a local veterinarian. Every cat in its lounge is adoptable through Friends of Normie Rescue, and the café side makes handcrafted mochi.

Long Beach

Feline Good Social Club, Long Beach. In the East Village Arts District at 301 Atlantic Ave, Feline Good was the first cat lounge in Long Beach, according to both the Long Beach Business Journal and Visit Long Beach. The cats live on site and come from Long Beach Felines, a 501(c)(3) that handles the adoptions.

Orange County

Cat Nap Hangout & Adoptions, Huntington Beach. A volunteer-run lounge on Warner Avenue, operated directly by the nonprofit Alfie's Kitten Rescue. The rescue began in 2015 with Alfie, a four-week-old kitten found alone by the side of a road, and every one of its adoptions now goes through the lounge.

Fluffy Tail Cafe, Tustin. Opened in summer 2025 at 13562 Newport Ave, with the café and the cat lounge kept apart by a double-door "airlock." The foster cats come from Tiny Paws & Whiskers, a Tustin rescue, and a few non-adoptable "ambassador" cats live there too.

Purrs in Paradise, Costa Mesa. A tropical-themed adoption lounge at The CAMP that opened in September 2026. Like Little Lions and Mochi Kittos, it works with Friends of Normie Rescue.

Rescue-run lounges and cat shops

These aren't cafés, but you can spend time with adoptable cats at each one.

• Mary's Kit-Cat Adoption Lounge, Whittier. An independent 501(c)(3) that calls itself a "speakeasy cat adoption lounge." You apply before you visit.
• Catnip Coalition Vintage Mall, Burbank. A vintage shop in Magnolia Park with two resident shop cats and a rotating group of adoptable cats from Kitten Rescue, Northeast L.A. Cats and Stray Cat Alliance. By 2026 it had placed more than 120 cats, according to the LA Times. There's no café.
• Cool Cat Collective, Long Beach. A boutique and art gallery on Retro Row (2741 E 4th St), where foster cats from TippedEars live in a fenced area with a raised catwalk.

Closed: Cat Cafe Rescue in Chino Hills has closed permanently, according to its Instagram profile.

Where to adopt

LA's city and county shelters

LA Animal Services runs six city shelters: West Valley (Chatsworth), East Valley (Van Nuys), West LA, South LA (Chesterfield Square), North Central (Lincoln Heights) and Harbor (San Pedro). They're open for adoptions without appointments, and when several people want the same animal, the department holds a silent auction. The department dates to 1863. Los Angeles reached no-kill status in 2020 with a 90.49% save rate, and in 2026 the City Council approved a $14 million initiative, led by the ASPCA and Best Friends Animal Society, to support the department.

LA County Animal Care & Control (DACC) covers unincorporated LA County and the cities that contract with it. Five of its care centers are inside this guide's area: Agoura, Baldwin Park, Carson/Gardena, Castaic and Downey. You can visit any of them, and animals go home only once they've been spayed or neutered.

Private shelters and adoption centers in LA

• Best Friends Pet Adoption Center, West LA. Walk-ins are welcome. Many of its animals live in foster homes, so call ahead to meet a particular cat. Its old Mission Hills center closed at the end of 2022.
• spcaLA. At work "to prevent cruelty to animals since 1877," it has adoption centers on West Jefferson Boulevard in LA and at the P.D. Pitchford Companion Animal Village in Long Beach's El Dorado Park. Adoption is walk-in, first come, first served, with a lottery when several people want the same animal. Applying ahead doesn't hold one for you.
• Kitten Rescue, Atwater Village. Volunteer-run since spring 1997. You can adopt at its Sanctuary on Casitas Avenue, from one of its foster homes, or at its in-store adoption sites.
• Lange Foundation, West LA and Canyon Country. Takes cats and dogs, and its cats live cage-free. Apply first, then schedule a visit. There are no same-day adoptions, and it adopts only to Southern California residents.
• Stray Cat Alliance, Jefferson Park. A cat-only group whose adoption site opens on set days for meeting cats. Apply online.

Pasadena, Glendale and Burbank

• Pasadena Humane, at 361 S Raymond Ave, has been around since 1903. It's also the shelter for Glendale, Arcadia, Monrovia, South Pasadena, Altadena and other nearby communities. Mornings are for concierge adoptions with a counselor; after that it takes walk-ins, first come, first served. The cats live in its Neely Cat Center.
• Burbank Animal Shelter is a city shelter, run by Parks & Recreation, that has served Burbank since the 1950s. Screenings are first come, first served.

Long Beach and the Gateway Cities

• Long Beach Animal Care Services, in El Dorado Park, serves Long Beach, Cerritos and Signal Hill. No appointment is needed, and you meet the cats in its "Cat Cottage." A "Pre-Adopt" option lets you foster a cat at home while its spay or neuter is scheduled.
• SEAACA, in Downey, was formed in October 1975 by Downey, Norwalk and Pico Rivera. It now serves 14 cities in southeast LA County and north Orange County.

Pomona Valley and the Inland Empire edge

• Inland Valley Humane Society & SPCA (IVHS), in Pomona, is animal control for much of the Pomona Valley. Adoptions are in person only, through a morning waitlist and then open kennels, with no holds. The San Gabriel Valley Humane Society has moved its adoptions to IVHS.
• Rancho Cucamonga Animal Center adopts in person with no appointment, and runs a free trap-neuter-return (TNR) program for the city's feral cats.
• Upland Animal Shelter is run day to day by the nonprofit Friends of Upland Animal Shelter, which handles care and adoptions. Call for an appointment to meet an animal.

Orange County

• OC Animal Care, at 1630 Victory Rd in Tustin, describes itself as one of the largest shelters on the West Coast, with housing for more than 400 animals. You can walk in to look around, but meeting a specific pet takes an appointment.
• Irvine Animal Care Center is city-run. Adoptions are in person, first come, first served, with a lottery when several people want the same animal at opening.
• Seal Beach Animal Care Center is a nonprofit, no-kill shelter founded in 1986.
• Newport Beach Animal Shelter is the city's shelter; you apply online through the police department.

Adopting at pet stores

Several groups keep adoptable cats in pet stores. The stores change, so check each group's site for the current list.

• Kitten Rescue has cats at several chain and independent pet stores. You meet them by appointment during store hours.
• IVHS runs what it calls "remote adoption centers for cats" inside PetSmart stores in the Pomona Valley and San Gabriel Valley.
• Kitty Bungalow holds public adoption events at a Westside Petco.
• Pasadena Humane volunteers staff a cat adoption area at a Pet Food Express store.

Rescues worth knowing

Many of these rescues are foster-based, with no building of their own: their cats live in volunteers' homes until they're adopted. They're grouped by what they take on.

Special needs, FeLV and senior cats

• Kitten Rescue. Beyond kittens, its Sanctuary in Atwater Village has a Feline Leukemia Sanctuary Room, opened in February 2018 for cats with FeLV. In Kitten Rescue's own words, "most shelters will immediately euthanize" cats with the virus. The FeLV Suite and the nursery rooms stream live on explore.org. By its own count, it has placed more than 35,000 cats (as of 2026).
• The Cat Posse, Pasadena. An all-volunteer foster network for senior and special-needs cats, with foster homes in Pasadena, Altadena, Tujunga and the San Fernando Valley. Cats unlikely to be adopted stay in its care for life. It began in July 2007 with 17 cats, many of them seniors, evicted from a local racetrack, and it has been a 501(c)(3) since 2008.
• Lange Foundation. Founded in 1993, it pulls cats and dogs from city and county shelters. In 2007 it bought St. Bonnie's Sanctuary, 4.5 acres in Canyon Country. Animals that aren't adopted stay with it for life.

Kittens

• The Little Lion Foundation, Long Beach. An all-volunteer group founded in 2016 that rescues orphaned newborn kittens and runs a Kitten Nursery (formerly the Little Paws Project). In late 2024 it opened the Long Beach Community Cat Clinic for free community-cat spay and neuter; the city held its grand opening in March 2025.
• Kitty Bungalow Charm School for Wayward Cats, South LA. A community-cat group and kitten socialization facility on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, where volunteers use fear-free methods to take street cats "from Hiss to Home." Its cats come from TNR, LA Animal Services and partner rescues, and it offers free TNR in South LA. It doesn't take in found kittens from the public.

Community cats and TNR

• Stray Cat Alliance. Started in 1997 as Feral Cat Alliance and incorporated in 2000, with a hotline for people helping stray cats. It now runs TNR, spay and neuter, medical care, fostering, adoption, Return to Home, and a "Safe at Home" program for people who find kittens.
• Gatos Callejeros United, Wilmington. Founded by a Mexican-American family from Michoacán who live in Wilmington. It offers free TNR, a medical fund for injured community cats and a cat-food pantry.
• Helen Sanders CatPAWS, Seal Beach. Named for Helen Sanders (1935–2005), who pedaled a three-wheeled cycle loaded with cat food to feed and trap Seal Beach's feral cats, including the colony at the First Street Jetty, before TNR had a name. Today it pulls cats from shelters, helps with spay and neuter, supplies Kitten Care Kits that a local shelter gives to people who bring in kittens, and takes therapy cats to visit assisted-living homes.
• OC Community Cats, Anaheim. Mainly TNR. It feeds colony cats and gives them medical care, and it fosters and adopts out the kittens and friendly cats it takes from colonies.
• Helping OC Cats, Santa Ana. Runs free spay and neuter clinics, with vaccines and microchips, in underserved parts of Orange County, where the county shelter doesn't do TNR (see "Found a cat?" below).

Other specialties

• Cats at the Studios, San Fernando Valley. Founded in 1984 by Warner Bros. backlot employees, who fixed and fed the lot's cats and adopted out every tame one. All-volunteer, it now rescues cats across the San Fernando Valley and greater LA. Its site tells a story, which it calls a "legend," of the studio cats arriving in 1931 by way of Jack Warner and James Cagney.
• Black Cat Holistic Rescue. A 501(c)(3) that pulls black cats from high-kill shelters and the street. It's entirely foster-based and adds holistic care to standard veterinary care.
• Del Gato Rescue, Hollywood. Founded in 2020, during the COVID shutdowns, to rescue sick, injured and abandoned cats off the street that never reach a shelter. It also does TNR and relies on a volunteer foster network.
• Peter Zippi Fund for Animals, Hermosa Beach. Founded in 1977, it rescues abandoned cats and kittens and helps with spay/neuter costs.

Volunteering and fostering

Many of the shelters and rescues above have cat-specific roles, from socializing shy cats to fostering. Getting started typically means an application and an orientation, and the minimum age usually falls somewhere between 12 and 18. Requirements change, so check each group's volunteer page.

• LA Animal Services volunteers play with and comfort cats, counsel adopters and take photos. Volunteers can typically start at 12, with an adult sponsor for younger teens. Everyone goes through an online application, an introductory tour and a mandatory orientation, then commits to at least 6 hours a month for 6 months. In kitten season it runs foster orientations for bottle-baby kittens.
• LA County DACC has an "Animal Companion" role that includes cat care and socialization, for volunteers 16 and older. Its biggest foster need is unweaned kittens under 8 weeks old, and it gives starter kits to people who find a litter and foster it themselves.
• Pasadena Humane has a Cat Socialization & Enrichment role in the Neely Cat Center (from age 15) and a Cat Adoption Team at an offsite Pet Food Express. Bottle-baby kittens are its greatest foster need. Orientation is monthly and virtual.
• Best Friends in West LA takes on-site volunteers 18 and older and has a separate "Foster a Cat" sign-up with a short online orientation.
• ASPCA Los Angeles has run a kitten foster program since April 2017, working with DACC care centers. Fosters take bottle-fed and weaning kittens, sick or shy kittens, and mothers with litters. They must be 18 or older and complete virtual training.
• Kitten Rescue has Sanctuary roles, including "Cat Cuddler," plus adoption events, transport, writing cat bios and fostering. New volunteers start with a form and a short orientation at the Sanctuary.
• Stray Cat Alliance roles include TNR trapper, colony feeder, hotline volunteer, clinic helper and transport. Teens 12 to 17 can apply with a minor application.
• Kitty Bungalow volunteers socialize kittens and street cats on site. Volunteers 12 to 17 need an adult with them.
• The Little Lion Foundation needs Kitten Nursery volunteers, and fosters for newborns, nursing mothers, kittens that need socializing, and medical cases.
• CatCafe Lounge and Tail Town Cats take volunteers to clean, care for cats and socialize the shy ones. Tail Town's volunteers must be 18 or older.
• OC Animal Care has Kitten Nursery Attendant, Cat Socializer and Petco Cattery roles for volunteers 18 and older, with a background check and an in-person orientation.

Fostering kittens: Long Beach Animal Care Services looks for bottle-feeding fosters for unweaned kittens and supplies DIY Kitten Kits. SEAACA fosters out kittens too young or sick for its kennels, a program it expanded with Best Friends in 2023.

Found a cat?

Who to call

LA County has more than 14 animal care and control agencies, and a "Los Angeles" mailing address can belong to the city, the county or a contract city. The county's shelter locator tells you which agency covers an address. The main ones:

Santa Monica, Irvine, Santa Ana, Costa Mesa, Newport Beach and Garden Grove have their own animal services or other arrangements, so check your city's site.

Stray or lost cats

Across the region, agencies now ask you to leave a healthy cat where it is. LA Animal Services says "a lost pet does not immediately need to be taken to a shelter," and suggests posting it on Petco Love Lost, PawBoost or neighborhood social media. Its Shelter-at-Home option has you notify the department, send photos and get the cat scanned for a microchip. DACC encourages keeping healthy cats without ID in place, Long Beach says healthy stray cats "do not require sheltering," OC Animal Care asks that healthy cats be left where they are, and SEAACA hasn't taken in healthy cats since March 2020.

If a cat is sick or injured, call the agency that covers the address. Long Beach takes sick or injured cats without an appointment during business hours, and its line is answered around the clock for emergencies. For a cat stuck in a tree, a storm drain or a freeway median, Urban Panthers Rescue, based in Garden Grove, does free emergency rescues with thermal cameras and drones.

Kittens

Kitten season in LA runs roughly March to November, according to DACC. If you find kittens, leave them with their mother. DACC puts it plainly: "Don't pick them up and take them away to a care center! Mom is likely close by." Long Beach suggests a ring of flour around the nest so you can spot her footprints, and SEAACA says to treat kittens as orphaned only if the mother hasn't been seen for three hours or more.

If the kittens do need you, DACC, Long Beach Animal Care Services, OC Animal Care and SEAACA hand out kitten kits to people who find them, and Helen Sanders CatPAWS supplies kits through a local shelter. Stray Cat Alliance's Safe at Home program supports finders, and ASPCA Los Angeles has an interactive Found Kittens tool.

TNR and community cats

TNR policy differs sharply across the region.

• City of Los Angeles. LA Animal Services adopted a TNR policy in 2006 and was sued in 2008. In 2010 a Superior Court injunction barred the city from TNR until it completed an environmental review under CEQA. The City Council approved a Citywide Cat Program in December 2020, and it launched on November 1, 2022. It funds at least 20,000 community-cat sterilizations a year, and it raised the household limit from three cats to five.
• FixNation. Its flagship clinic on Clybourn Avenue in Sun Valley closed in January 2025, so don't take cats there. FixNation now funds free community-cat surgeries at partner clinics, including the Simi Valley Nonprofit Spay & Neuter Clinic in Granada Hills and The Little Lion Foundation in Long Beach, and Helen Sanders CatPAWS works with TippedEars on community cats in Compton. The program is for community cats, not pets.
• LA County. DACC keeps healthy strays in place and runs a "Good Neighbor Cat Spay and Neuter program" at its care centers.
• Long Beach. The city's Community Cats Program covers TNR, shelter-neuter-return, Return to Home and help with colonies. Little Lion's Long Beach Community Cat Clinic gives free spay and neuter to enrolled community cats from Long Beach, Los Alamitos, Cerritos and Signal Hill.
• Pasadena and the Pomona Valley. Pasadena Humane offers a limited number of Trap-Neuter-Return-Monitor appointments each month to residents of its service area, and lends traps. IVHS takes TNR cats on a walk-in basis on set weekdays, and Rancho Cucamonga sterilizes the city's feral cats for free.
• Orange County. OC Animal Care doesn't do TNR; its counsel says releasing unowned cats is prohibited, according to Voice of OC. Garden Grove runs its own Return to Field program. Elsewhere the work is done by nonprofits, including Helping OC Cats, OC Community Cats and Meowtopia Cat Rescue.
• TNR groups in LA. Stray Cat Alliance does TNR across LA and runs trap depots, Kitty Bungalow offers free TNR in South LA, Gatos Callejeros does free TNR in Wilmington, and the Feral Cat Caretakers' Coalition teaches TNR.

Low-cost spay and neuter

City of LA residents can get a discount spay/neuter coupon from LA Animal Services, and qualifying low-income residents can get a free certificate, which the ASPCA's South LA clinic accepts. DACC runs a voucher program, and Long Beach Animal Care Services offers vouchers too. CAMP (the Community Animal Medicine Project, formerly SNP LA) is another option, and the Amanda Foundation's Spaymobile offers free spay and neuter in high-need areas. Pasadena Humane runs its SNiP clinic for its service area, IVHS runs a low-cost clinic, and both IVHS and SEAACA run a program called the Big Meow.

Annual cat events

• CatCon, every year at the Pasadena Convention Center, with an adoption village run by Pasadena Humane. By Pasadena Humane's count, 210 kittens were adopted there in 2025.
• Pasadena Humane Kitten Shower, every early spring.
• Kitten Rescue Kitten Shower & Open House, every spring at the Sanctuary in Atwater Village.
• Tail Town Carnival of Cats, an open house every early summer in Pasadena.
• Best Friends Super Adoption, every fall at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, with dogs and cats from Best Friends, LA Animal Services, Stray Cat Alliance and other groups.
• CFA cat shows, several times a year at the Glendale Civic Auditorium, put on by local cat clubs.

For what's happening this month, see cat events on MeowScout.

FAQ

Can you adopt a cat from a cat café in Los Angeles?

Yes, at most of them. CatCafe Lounge, Little Lions, Tail Town, Catfé, Cat Nap Hangout and Purrs in Paradise are adoption lounges, and every cat at Mochi Kittos is adoptable through Friends of Normie. At Crumbs & Whiskers the cats are adoptable through Kitten Rescue, and at Feline Good through Long Beach Felines. Fluffy Tail Cafe also keeps a few "ambassador" cats that aren't up for adoption.

Is there a cat café in Long Beach, Pasadena or Orange County?

Yes. Long Beach has Feline Good Social Club, and Pasadena has Tail Town Cats. In Orange County there's Cat Nap Hangout in Huntington Beach, Fluffy Tail Cafe in Tustin and Purrs in Paradise in Costa Mesa.

Can kids go to cat cafés in LA?

It depends on the café, and several don't admit young children. CatCafe Lounge runs separate family sessions for all ages. Check the café's own site before you book.

What should I do if I find kittens in Los Angeles?

Leave them where they are and watch for their mother, who is probably nearby. SEAACA treats kittens as orphaned only after three hours or more without her. If they need help, call the agency that covers your address (see "Who to call" above).

Does Los Angeles have a TNR program?

Yes. The City of LA's Citywide Cat Program launched in November 2022 and funds at least 20,000 community-cat sterilizations a year. Long Beach, Pasadena Humane and IVHS also offer TNR. In Orange County, nonprofits do it, because OC Animal Care doesn't.

Is FixNation's clinic in Sun Valley still open?

No. FixNation's flagship clinic on Clybourn Avenue closed in January 2025. FixNation now pays for free community-cat surgeries at partner clinics; its site lists them.

Explore MeowScout

• Everything MeowScout lists in Los Angeles
• Cat cafés across the US
• Rescue organizations across the US
• Cat events near you