A big part of PAWS’ adoption success story is the shelter’s partnership with two satellite locations at the Petco stores in Coralville and Marion.

“We have a partnership with them where there’s a few cages in each location,” PAWS Director Amber Talbot said. “We have two separate volunteer bases who take care of them twice a day. There’s a coordinator at each location who we network with.”

Melissa Gaul is the volunteer adoption coordinator at the Coralville Petco.

“Normally we have four to five cats or kittens at a time up at Petco,” Gaul said. “Normally we have at least one older cat, one or two middle-aged cats and a couple younger.”

The cats are housed in “condos” in each store, so shoppers can see and interact with the cats.

“We have a group of volunteers that help with the kitties at Petco,” Gaul said. “We have a schedule for the a.m. shift and the p.m. shift. Each shift includes socializing with the kitties, and cleaning when interacting with the customers at Petco that are interested in the kitties.”

The cats are brought to the stores from PAWS in Washington.

“Once a kitty is adopted from Petco, another one comes up from the shelter,” Talbot said. “Once they go to those large communities, they’re adopted quickly.”

Gaul said that, on average, cats brought to Petco are adopted within a month. The stay is shorter for kittens.

“I would have to say the most rewarding part is seeing the kitty be adopted to their new family,” Gaul said. “It warms your heart knowing they’re going to their forever home. It’s very rewarding.”

The partnership has been a success, according to Talbot.

“Since 2010, we’ve adopted out more than 700 cats from our Petco locations,” she said.