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Perfectly Impurrfect: Name your fee adoptions

Just a few days left to find your Perfectly Impurrfect match — our name-your-fee cat adoptions end this Sunday! Join us November 9 from 11am–5pm at PAWS’ Old City Adoption Center for our in-person Perfectly Impurrfect Cat Adoption Event. Meet many of our most lovable (and often overlooked) cats, including several making special one-day-only visits from foster, and find the feline who’s meant for you.

MEET YOUR IMPURRFECT MATCH

Fall fosters needed: Help save lives!

Foster homes are at the heart of PAWS’ ability to save lives. We currently have more animals than we have capacity for, and when you foster a homeless pet, we rescue the life of another. With a brief commitment, you can be a hero for cats, dogs, and small animals. We provide you with supplies and support; you provide the love and care!

SIGN UP TO FOSTER

Shop our Wishlist: Send essential supplies for shelter pets

Looking for an easy way to support at-risk pets? You can help by sending essential supplies for the animals waiting at the shelter right now! With our kennels at capacity, our most-needed items run out quickly. You can be a hero by sending wet kitten food to keep tiny rescues nourished, paper towels to keep living spaces clean and comfortable, and much more. Shop our most-needed items and make sure pets have the essentials they rely on every day.

SEND SHELTER SUPPLIES

Adopt Dasher

Dasher’s the total package: clever, cuddly, and just the right amount of sassy to keep life interesting! Don’t let his age fool you — this 10-year-old gentleman has plenty of pep in his step and brains to spare. He’s a foodie who loves treats, peanut butter, and showing off his good manners (he’ll even resist snacks left on the coffee table!). He’s house-savvy and happiest soaking up attention as your one and only pet.

Meet Dasher

Adopt Cardi

How can you say no to this face?! Cardi is a 13-year-old lovebug who’s happiest when she’s on your lap or gently head-butting you for attention. She’s not big on playtime but adores her scratching board and will chat to remind you it’s time for cuddles. She takes a daily steroid and GI diet to keep her tummy happy—and she’ll go home with a three-month care package to get you started!

Meet Cardi

PAWS is Hiring: Join our team!

Join PAWS for a meaningful career in animal welfare! Work alongside passionate animal lovers and help us fulfill our mission of saving lives and building a better future for Philadelphia’s pets and people.

VIEW JOBS

Meet your new best friend!

Barbie Dreamhouse
Foster Care
Barbie’s my name, abd being your future dreamboat is my game! I’m a gentle house hippo who loves nothing more than playing with toys, soaking up attention, and even hanging with other pups.
Meet Me >
Meeyo
Foster Care
I’m the full royal package: 20 pounds of charm, sass, and silly — and I prefer to be the only dog king in your home!
Meet Me >
Choco Taco
Foster Care
I'm a sweet treat who just wants to relax, befriend everyone I meet, and be near my people where I'm happiest!
Meet Me >
Johnny Cash
Foster Care
"Hey there, I'm Johnny Cash" — a sweet, squishy homebody. If you need a relaxation coach for naps, toy time, and guilt-free TV binges, I’m your guy!
Meet Me >
Andre
Foster Care
I'm a gentle and mellow senior who loves to rock a bow tie and gets along with dogs and cats!
Meet Me >
Lady Zinnia
Foster Care
I’m a shy but sweet little panther who’s learning to blossom into my playful, affectionate self! With patience and love, I'll reward you with head bonks, zoomies, and plenty of purrs once I feel at home.
Meet Me >
All Available Dogs
All Available Cats

PAWS is the city's largest rescue partner.

We are working to make Philadelphia a place where every healthy and treatable pet is guaranteed a home. We do so through rescue, foster care, adoption, and preventing pet homelessness in the first place by offering low-cost spay/neuter and basic vet care.

Support Our Lifesaving Efforts

Donate Today

Make a one-time gift or commit to monthly support. Give in honor or memory of someone special.

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Create a Fundraiser

Raise support from family and friends for your birthday, in honor of your pet, or for any occasion.

Get Started

More ways to give

Donate needed supplies, provide for the animals in your planned giving, plan an event, and more.

Learn More

Spay/Neuter and Wellness Clinics

Keeping pets and families together through low-cost basic veterinary services. Our clinics in Grays Ferry and the Northeast serve tens of thousands of pets every year whose caretakers may not afford care elsewhere.

Get Care

Recent News

10.30.25

Here’s how you can help neighbors and pets in need

With your support, PAWS has always strived to meet the needs of our community — whether caring for homeless animals and finding them love for the first time, or providing support so that pets can remain with their families who cherish them. There has been great need in Philadelphia for decades, but right now, our […]
Read More
10.22.25

PAWS Announces ‘Perfectly Impurrfect’ Adoption Promotion

Just as every pet has their own quirks and charms, every bond we share with them is uniquely ours. That’s why PAWS is proud to announce the return of its Perfectly Impurrfect adoption promotion, kicking off on Friday, October 24 and running through Sunday, November 9. With shelter intake alarmingly high, loving adoptive homes create space […]
Read More
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43,185 animals saved

We rescue animals, primarily from the city shelter, almost daily with a focus on the most vulnerable: adult dogs, kittens, cats recovering from illnesses, and small animals. Once safe at PAWS, they receive everything they need to become ready for adoption, then are matched with loving homes.

178,607 volunteer hours served

PAWS’ dedicated and caring volunteers are essential in every aspect of our lifesaving efforts.

403,402 clinic patients served

Our low-cost Spay/Neuter and Wellness Clinics prevent pet homelessness and provide a needed resource in our community, enabling loving pet owners to care for and keep their dogs and cats as family.

163,657 spay/neuters performed

PAWS provides low-cost spay/neuter surgery for owned pets, rescues and community cats to prevent the birth of unwanted litters. Our efforts are working: since our clinics opened their doors, the number of homeless animals entering Philadelphia’s city shelter has declined year over year.

PAWS Partners

Our lifesaving work is possible with the meaningful support of business and community partners.

See our Partners

Current Partners

PAWS' impact grows as our services expand & progress continues

By rescuing, rehabilitating, and finding loving adopters for homeless animals with nowhere else to go, and providing affordable vet care and other services so pets can stay in their homes where they are loved, PAWS provides a vital and growing safety net for Philadelphia's most vulnerable cats and dogs. The pandemic has prompted a shift toward more intensive, individualized care for more complex needs.
2010
7154
2012
16160
2014
26188
2016
36510
2018
40455
2020
33840
2021
34528
2023
34801
Pets Served 100 100
More Shelter Statistics

Join us on social media

View Instagram post by phillypaws

Nov 8

Open post by phillypaws with ID 17968177448963765
Don’t miss your chance to rock out this Sunday at LollaPAWlooza — the ultimate Sunday Funday for music lovers and animal lovers alike! Expect an incredible lineup at @nikkilopezphilly (304 South Street) featuring local favorites Miss Olivia, Dan the Movie, and Trumpet Wom, plus big laughs from comedian and emcee extraordinaire Hannah Trav. Even better? Tickets are now BUY ONE, GET ONE — and if you’ve already purchased yours, the offer still applies; just let us know at the door. Doors open at 1PM and the show starts at 2PM. Tickets are still available, so gather your friends, grab your tickets, and we’ll see you at the show! Please note: this is a 21+ event.

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View Instagram post by phillypaws

Nov 7

Open post by phillypaws with ID 18082329121858922
We have a very scared (but very sweet) pair in urgent need of a warm, loving foster home — together or separately! We just welcomed Icarus and Kemmit to the shelter, and they’re really having a rough go of it. Their owner is experiencing a temprary hardship, and has trusted PAWS to care for Kemmit and Icarus until their life is more stable and they can be reunited with their feline family members. Icarus recently had corrective eyelid surgery, and is especially stressed after experiencing so much upheaval. He’s on pain medication that he’s not thrilled about, and is looking for a foster who is comfortable helping him finish his meds even when he’s a baby about it (and giving him lots of tummy rubs afterwards). These two are very shy at first, but will warm up and show their snuggly and playful sides once they’re in a calm environment and are super playful per their owner. They’re both 6-7 years old, and their owner shares that they’ve lived and gotten along with small dogs in the past (though they’ll need their own space to start at first). If you’d like to welcome one or both of these kind souls until they can be reunited with their owner in a few months, please email foster@phillypaws.org!

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Together, we will make Philadelphia a no-kill city.

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