Volunteer to help at our Adoption Events!

The Ark is dedicated to finding the right match of adult cat or kitten to their new potential owner.  Volunteers who are ideally currently cat owners, can help potential adopters find a cat or kitten that fits in with their home situation and lifestyle. Volunteers encourage potential adopters, if they have not already done so,  to fill out an application either in person or online.

Each Adoption Event requires that additional free-standing cages and "pop-up enclosures" be set up and ready to accommodate the cat or litters of kittens that will be in there for the event. Information signs are made for each cat, and cats are placed in those cages. During the event, cats/kittens may also have to be fed and litter boxes changed if needed. 

At the close of each event, cats must be taken from free-standing cages and either given to fosters to pick up from event and take back to foster homes, or place remaining cats inside permanent cages inside The Cattery at PetSmart. Freestanding "pop-up enclosures" for kittens need to cleaned and put away and the general event area needs to be left clean.

Volunteers are encouraged to interact with potential adopters, answering their questions if possible, helping the Lead Ark Adoption Coordinators when asked, keeping an eye on crowd flow and safe handling of kittens by pre-approved adopters only, and watching for unauthorized opening of cages by non-Ark personnel.  Volunteers who can enter required finalized adoption details on a PetSmart tablet is a plus!

The Ark has 4 separate Adoption Events each week at The San Juan Capistrano PetSmart:

• Wednesdays and Fridays 4pm-6pm
• Saturdays 10am-5pm
• Sundays 11am-5pm

The Saturday and Sunday events are where we urgently need extra volunteers! Volunteers on the weekends work during 3 different shift times (their choice of shift):

• Saturdays: 10am-12:30pm, 12:30pm-3pm, or 3pm-5pm
• Sundays: 11am-1pm, 1pm-3pm, or 3pm-5pm