Adopting, Volunteering and Cat Cafés in Portland: A Cat Lover's Guide

Portland was home to Oregon's first cat café, Purrington's Cat Lounge, which closed for good in November 2022. As of fall 2026 there's no cat café in Portland itself. The nearest one, and the only one we found in the metro, is across the Columbia River: Milky & Coco's Kit-Tea Café in Vancouver, Washington, which opened in July 2026.

What the Portland area does have is a deep bench of cat shelters and rescues, including a cats-only shelter in Sherwood, an all-volunteer shelter that takes cats with feline leukemia, and a feral-cat clinic that fixed its 150,000th cat in January 2026. It also has a patchwork of county rules for stray cats. Multnomah, Washington and Clackamas counties and Clark County, Washington each handle strays differently, and Clackamas County has no stray-cat shelter at all.

This guide covers about 40 miles around downtown Portland: the city, the west side, Clackamas County and Vancouver and Clark County across the river. It walks through where to adopt, the rescues worth knowing, the nearest cat café, how to volunteer or foster, and what to do if you find a cat. Opening hours, fees and booking details change, so we leave those to each group's own site.

At a glance

Where to adopt

In Portland and east county

• Oregon Humane, NE Portland. Formerly Oregon Humane Society, it has worked since 1868 and describes itself as "one of the oldest animal welfare organizations in the U.S." Its Portland shelter is at 1067 NE Columbia Blvd. Adoption is walk-in and first-come, first-served: note the name of a pet you'd like to meet and go to the front desk. It takes no government funding. Through its Second Chance program it brings in more than 6,000 pets a year from other shelters, by its own count.
• The Pixie Project, NE Portland. A nonprofit adoption center and rescue for cats and dogs at 510 NE MLK Jr Blvd, with an on-site clinic for low-income and homeless pet owners. It describes adoption as "pet matchmaking." Visits have recently been by appointment, with an approved application, so check its site first.
• Animal Aid, SW Portland. Founded in 1969 after animals were abandoned in Laurelhurst Park, and a nonprofit since 1973. It runs a free-roam cat shelter; its dogs live in foster homes.
• House of Dreams, NE Portland. A free-roam, no-kill cat shelter run entirely by volunteers. It takes senior cats and cats with feline leukemia (see Rescues worth knowing).
• Multnomah County Animal Services (MCAS), Troutdale. The county's public shelter for strays is in Troutdale, at 1700 W Historic Columbia River Hwy, not in Portland. It also keeps adoptable cats at PetSmart in Gresham, where MCAS volunteers care for them.

On the west side

• Cat Adoption Team, Sherwood. A cats-only shelter that opened on May 1, 1998, and describes itself as "the largest cat shelter in the Pacific Northwest." You can walk in to adopt at the Sherwood shelter, and some of its cats live in foster homes. It also runs a low-cost spay/neuter clinic for owned cats. It supplied the cats at Purrington's.
• Washington County Animal Services, at the Bonnie Hays Animal Shelter in Hillsboro, is the county's stray shelter. Its site says it finds homes for adoptable animals "through transfer to community partners and other positive outcomes," so it's mainly a place to call about a stray (see Found a cat?).

Across the river in Washington

• Humane Society for Southwest Washington, Vancouver. Founded in 1897, it calls itself "the oldest and largest animal welfare organization in Southwest Washington." It shelters lost and stray pets. Adoptions are walk-in and first-come, with no holds, and most pets go home the same day. Like Oregon Humane, it takes no government funding.
• West Columbia Gorge Humane Society, Washougal. An independent nonprofit shelter founded in 1994, run by a small staff and, by its own count, more than 200 volunteers (as of 2026).

Farther out

• Homeward Bound Pets, McMinnville. A no-kill shelter in Yamhill County.

Clackamas County has no county shelter for cats; its shelter, Clackamas County Dog Services, takes only dogs.

Adopting at pet stores

We didn't find a standing adoption center in a Portland-area pet store, but several groups bring cats to stores. MCAS keeps adoptable cats at PetSmart in Gresham. Oregon Humane has held kitten adoption events at Petco and PetSmart stores around the metro, Meow Village holds adoption events at PetSmart stores in Clackamas and Tigard, and Northwest Animal Companions holds kitten events at Mud Bay in Tigard and Western Pet Supply. Check each group's site for current stores.

Rescues worth knowing

Many of these rescues are foster-based, with no building: their cats live in volunteers' homes until they're adopted. These stand out for what they take on.

Seniors, special needs and feline leukemia

• House of Dreams, NE Portland. It began in April 1999, when five volunteers took over a private shelter in the Parkrose area whose owner was retiring, with 97 cats inside. It bought its own building in NE Portland and moved there in January 2010. House of Dreams calls itself "one of the only area shelters with facilities for geriatric and feline leukemia positive (FeLV+) cats," and FeLV-positive cats have their own area of the shelter. Some cats live out their lives there.
• Furry Friends, Vancouver, Washington. A cat shelter founded in 1999 that serves Clark, Cowlitz and Skamania counties. It specializes in hoarding cases, strays, newborn kittens and medical cases. It's the partner rescue for Milky & Coco's Kit-Tea Café.
• Animal Aid, SW Portland. Its adoption listings flag special-needs and senior cats.

Kittens and bottle babies

• Love and Care Kitten Adoption, Beaverton. Founded in 2017 by a veterinary technician, it works with Best Care Animal Hospital in Beaverton. It takes kittens and cats "that most shelters have to pass on": broken bones, illness, fungal infections, and babies too young to fend for themselves.
• Northwest Animal Companions. An all-volunteer, foster-based cat and dog rescue founded in 2004. It holds kitten adoption events at local businesses. The best known is "Kittens + Beer," its signature event at local brewpubs, where you can cuddle a litter in a "kitten tent" and start an adoption application.
• The big shelters' kitten programs. Oregon Humane sends newborn kittens to foster homes to be bottle-fed; between April and October 2025 more than 4,000 kittens came to it, by its own count. MCAS lists bottle-fed kittens as its most urgent foster need, and the Humane Society for Southwest Washington's greatest foster needs include litters of kittens.

Community cats and trap-neuter-return

• Feral Cat Coalition of Oregon, South Portland. Founded in 1995 by Portland veterinarians, FCCO offers donation-based spay and neuter for feral and outdoor stray cats in Oregon and Washington. It doesn't trap, remove or rehome cats. It fixed its 150,000th cat on January 28, 2026, and by its own count helps more than 8,000 cats a year (as of 2026). Its Kitten Caboose program takes tame kittens from colony caretakers, fixes them and sends them to Oregon Humane or Cat Adoption Team for adoption; more than 2,000 kittens have found homes through it, by its own count (as of 2026).
• PDX Cat Trapper, Portland. An all-volunteer trap-neuter-return nonprofit that supports the people who care for outdoor cat colonies.
• Meow Village, Aurora. All-volunteer and focused on feral and at-risk cats across six counties: Clackamas, Marion, Multnomah, Polk, Washington and Yamhill. It runs a working-cat program for ferals, and because it has no shelter building it relies on "feral fosters."

Other rescues

• Cat's Cradle Rescue, Hillsboro. All-volunteer, foster-based, no-kill and cats only since 2012. By its own count it has adopted out more than 2,000 cats and kittens (as of 2026).
• Mario's Paw, Portland. Volunteer-run and foster-based since November 2022. During the Northwest's off-season for kittens it pulls cats from California shelters.
• Oregon Friends of Shelter Animals. Rescues animals from overcrowded shelters and transports them into foster homes.

Cat cafés

There's no cat café in Portland itself. The nearest, across the Columbia River, is in Vancouver, Washington.

Milky & Coco's Kit-Tea Café, Vancouver, Washington

Milky & Coco's Kit-Tea Café, at 5000 E Fourth Plain Blvd in Vancouver, opened in July 2026. KGW covered the opening as Vancouver's first cat café, and the café calls itself Vancouver's "first-ever cat lounge." It pairs a café with a cat lounge, and the lounge cats are adoptable. Its rescue partner is Furry Friends, the Vancouver cat shelter, which says the café gives cats that can't thrive in a shelter a chance to "blossom."

Closed: Purrington's Cat Lounge on NE MLK Jr Blvd, Oregon's first cat café, whose cats came from Cat Adoption Team, closed for good on November 13, 2022.

Not a cat café: GiftyKitty, a cat-themed gift shop on N Mississippi Ave, hosts free kitten adoption visits to help foster kittens get socialized and adopted.

Volunteering and fostering

Many of the shelters and rescues above have cat-specific volunteer roles: socializing shy cats, cleaning and caring for cat rooms, counseling adopters, driving cats, and fostering. Most start with an application and an orientation. Requirements change, so check each group's volunteer page.

• Oregon Humane shelter volunteers socialize cats, among other roles. Adult shelter volunteers must be 18 or older and commit to one shift a week or 8 hours a month for six months; there's a youth program for ages 12 to 17. The Portland and Salem shelters take applications separately, and Portland's aren't always open, so check its volunteer page before you apply.
• Cat Adoption Team takes volunteers from age 12 (12 to 15 with an adult) after a mandatory orientation. Roles include caregiver, enrichment, adoption counselor, transport and foster.
• MCAS asks volunteers to be 18 or older and serve one shift a week. Some care for the adoptable cats at PetSmart in Gresham.
• The Humane Society for Southwest Washington takes new cat-care volunteers in spring and summer.
• Animal Aid has cat caregiver, cat socializer and adoption counselor roles.
• House of Dreams is run entirely by volunteers, who care for the cats every day of the year.
• Furry Friends has more than 200 volunteers, by its own count (as of 2026). Its roles include Halfway House assistant and socializer.
• PDX Cat Trapper recruits for its "PDX Trap Team" and as "Frontline Foster" volunteers.

Fostering: Oregon Humane places more than 2,000 animals a year in foster homes, by its own count, including mother cats with litters, underage kittens, cats recovering from medical care and cats with behavior needs; fosters must be 18 or older. MCAS needs fosters for bottle-fed kittens, and the Humane Society for Southwest Washington for litters of kittens. Furry Friends covers supplies and vet costs for its fosters. Northwest Animal Companions, Cat's Cradle, Mario's Paw and Oregon Friends of Shelter Animals are foster-based, so fostering is their main need.

Found a cat?

Around Portland, the advice for a healthy outdoor cat is to leave it where it is: the public shelters have little or no room for healthy strays. Who to call depends on the county.

Multnomah County (Portland, Gresham, Troutdale)

MCAS takes in only outdoor adult cats that are sick or injured, abandoned, or in danger, so call before you bring one in. Under county ordinance, cats may legally roam outdoors. To look for an owner, file a found report, have the cat scanned for a microchip, and post it on neighborhood and lost-pet sites such as Nextdoor and PawBoost.

If you find kittens, MCAS's advice is to leave healthy unweaned kittens with their mother and watch from a distance. Kittens 12 weeks and older can be fixed and returned through FCCO. Call MCAS for kittens that are sick, injured or abandoned.

Washington County (Beaverton, Hillsboro, Tigard)

Washington County Animal Services takes cats by appointment only, and its room for healthy adult strays is very limited. Call about kittens, a sick or injured cat, or cruelty.

Clackamas County

In the county's own words: "There is no shelter for stray cats in Clackamas County." You can post a found cat on the county's found pets page.

Clark County, Washington

The Humane Society for Southwest Washington limits stray cat intake through a three-level status posted on its site, and at its strictest it takes only sick or injured cats. It asks finders not to bring in healthy strays and offers paper collars to help find a cat's owner.

An injured cat after hours

DoveLewis, a 24-hour emergency animal hospital in NW Portland, admits ill or injured strays found in Multnomah or Washington County when county services are closed. It isn't a shelter.

Feral cats and trap-neuter-return

FCCO's clinic in South Portland fixes feral and outdoor stray cats by appointment. Cats have to arrive in humane traps, which FCCO lends for a deposit, and each cat is vaccinated and ear-tipped. For hands-on help with trapping, contact PDX Cat Trapper or Meow Village. If a colony has tame kittens between 2 and 4 months old, FCCO's Kitten Caboose can take them for adoption.

Low-cost spay, neuter and pet care

ASAP, a coalition founded by six shelters on both sides of the river (Oregon Humane, Cat Adoption Team, MCAS, Washington County's Bonnie Hays shelter, Clackamas County Dog Services and the Humane Society for Southwest Washington), runs Spay & Save. It offers low-cost cat spay and neuter to low-income families who qualify, through Oregon Humane, Cat Adoption Team and the Humane Society for Southwest Washington. Cat Adoption Team's clinic also fixes owned cats at low cost.

If you can't afford care or food for your cat, PAW Team provides vet care through volunteer vets for the pets of people experiencing houselessness or extreme poverty, The Pongo Fund runs a pet food bank, and The Pixie Project runs a clinic for low-income and homeless pet owners.

Annual cat events

• Catio Tour, each September for more than a decade. A self-guided tour of backyard cat enclosures, run by FCCO and Bird Alliance of Oregon (formerly Portland Audubon) as part of their Cats Safe at Home campaign.
• Kitten Palooza, Cat Adoption Team's kitten adoption event, each June since at least 2015.
• Pretty Kitty Holiday Bazaar, House of Dreams' holiday bazaar, each November (2026 is its 26th year).
• Glacier Peak Cat Club cat show, a CFA show in Portland each November.
• It's Reigning Cats cat show, a TICA all-breed show in Portland each winter, in late January or early February.
• Furry Friends' annual dinner and auction, a fall fundraiser.

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

FAQ

Is there a cat café in Portland?

Not in Portland itself, since Purrington's Cat Lounge closed in 2022. The nearest cat café is Milky & Coco's Kit-Tea Café, across the Columbia River in Vancouver, Washington, where the lounge cats are adoptable.

What happened to Purrington's Cat Lounge?

Purrington's, Oregon's first cat café, opened on NE MLK Jr Blvd in January 2015, and its cats came from Cat Adoption Team. It closed in late 2018, reopened under new owners in early 2020, and closed for good on November 13, 2022.

Where can I adopt a cat in Portland?

Oregon Humane in NE Portland and Cat Adoption Team in Sherwood both take walk-in adopters, and Cat Adoption Team has only cats. The Pixie Project, Animal Aid, House of Dreams and Multnomah County Animal Services in Troutdale also have adoptable cats, as does the Humane Society for Southwest Washington across the river.

What should I do if I find a stray cat in Portland?

If it's healthy, leave it where it is and look for an owner. Multnomah County Animal Services takes in only outdoor adult cats that are sick or injured, abandoned or in danger, each county handles strays differently, and Clackamas County has no stray-cat shelter. For feral cats, FCCO offers donation-based spay and neuter.

Where can I volunteer with cats or cuddle kittens near Portland?

Cat Adoption Team takes volunteers from age 12, and Animal Aid, House of Dreams, Furry Friends and MCAS all have cat roles. Oregon Humane has cat roles too, but check whether its Portland shelter is taking applications. Northwest Animal Companions holds kitten events at local businesses where you can meet a litter.

Can I adopt a cat with feline leukemia or a senior cat in Portland?

Yes. House of Dreams, an all-volunteer shelter in NE Portland, has separate quarters for cats with feline leukemia and takes senior cats.

Explore MeowScout

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