Every year, without fail, July becomes the hardest month to work at an animal shelter.
Not because of heat. Not because of funding. Because of kittens.
The weeks between late spring and early summer are what animal welfare workers across the United States call kitten season — the period when the majority of the year’s feline births arrive, when litter after litter fills shelters that were already operating at capacity, and when the pressure on rescue organisations to find homes quickly becomes something that cannot be fully described from the outside.
This is the week when PetSmart Charities steps in.
National Adoption Week Is Back — and the Timing Could Not Be More Deliberate
PetSmart Charities National Adoption Week officially launched on July 20, 2026, running through July 26 — seven days during which local animal shelters and rescue organisations bring their adoptable pets directly into nearly every PetSmart store across the United States and Puerto Rico.
Thousands of dogs, cats, kittens, and puppies will be present in stores throughout the week. Shelter staff and volunteers will be on-site at each location to spend time with potential adopters, answer questions, walk people through the adoption process, and help every visitor understand exactly what welcoming a particular animal into their home would involve.
The initiative is not new — PetSmart Charities has been running this programme for years, and the cumulative numbers reflect that consistency. Since its founding in 1994, PetSmart Charities has facilitated the adoption of more than 11 million pets through its in-store programme. Eleven million animals who found families. Eleven million families who found companions. And with each one, a shelter or rescue freed up one more space for the next animal in need.
This year’s edition arrives at a moment of particular urgency — and the organisation has positioned it accordingly.
Kitten Season: The Crisis That Happens Every Year, Every Summer
To understand why the July timing of National Adoption Week matters, you need to understand what kitten season actually is.
Cats are seasonally polyestrous — they cycle into heat multiple times during the longer-daylight months of late winter through early autumn. The result is that the vast majority of kitten births occur between March and September, with July representing close to the peak of the intake surge at shelters across the country.
The volume is not trivial. Shelters that operate within manageable parameters for ten months of the year can find themselves genuinely overwhelmed between May and August, taking in more animals than their physical space and resources can sustain without compromising care. Every adoption during these weeks does double duty: it provides a home for one animal and creates the physical and financial capacity for the shelter to care for the next one.
“Cats are becoming increasingly popular companions because they fit so well into a wide variety of lifestyles,” said Patrick Bell, Director of Pet Placement at PetSmart Charities. “They bring joy, affection, and personality into our homes, and they can thrive in many living situations, including apartments and smaller spaces.”
Bell’s observation is backed by data that PetSmart released in the lead-up to National Adoption Week: its recently published Top Cat-Loving Cities ranking, drawn from sales and adoption data across its store network, shows that cat adoption is on a clear upward trajectory across the country. The timing of the ranking and the adoption week together is deliberate — the data confirms the demand, and the event creates the opportunity to convert that demand into actual adoptions at the moment shelters need it most.
“If you’re looking to add a new pet to your home,” Bell added, “we encourage people to visit their local PetSmart store this National Adoption Week. Especially during the height of kitten season, adoption helps get more pets into loving homes while supporting the life-saving work of community partners.”
Hill’s Pet Nutrition Is Making Sure Every Adoption Gets the Right Start
One of the most practically meaningful elements of this year’s National Adoption Week is the involvement of Hill’s Pet Nutrition as a supporting partner.
For every pet adopted in-store during the July 20–26 period, Hill’s is providing adopter kits to new pet parents — each kit including a starter bag of Hill’s Science Diet, ensuring that every newly adopted cat or dog goes home with scientifically formulated, veterinarian-recommended nutrition from day one.
It is a detail that matters more than it might initially seem. The transition of adoption is stressful for animals. A sudden change in diet adds an additional layer of physical stress on top of an already destabilising environmental shift. Providing adopters with the same high-quality nutrition that veterinarians recommend — and that the shelter may have been feeding the animal during its stay — reduces one significant variable in an already complex adjustment period.
“We’re proud to sponsor PetSmart Charities National Adoption Week and stand behind the shelter partners and volunteers working tirelessly to find kittens and other pets loving homes,” said Meghan Lehman, Senior Manager of US Shelter Brand Engagement at Hill’s Pet Nutrition. “To help every newly adopted cat and dog get a healthy start, Hill’s is happy to provide adopter kits, including a starter bag of Hill’s Science Diet, for all new pet parents who adopt in-store during this special week.”
Hill’s was founded 75 years ago on a commitment to science-led pet nutrition. With nearly 200 veterinarians, PhD nutritionists, and food scientists working on its research programmes, the brand’s involvement in an adoption initiative carries genuine credibility — not just commercial association.
What PetSmart Charities Has Built Over 30 Years
The scale of PetSmart Charities’ impact is worth pausing on, because the organisation represents one of the most effective models of corporate-anchored animal welfare philanthropy that exists anywhere in the world.
Since its founding in 1994, PetSmart Charities has granted more than USD 600 million to animal welfare causes. It uses more than 90 cents of every dollar donated directly for its mission — a financial efficiency that has earned it a Four-Star Rating from Charity Navigator every single year since 2003, placing it consistently among the top one percent of all rated charitable organisations in the United States.
Beyond adoptions, PetSmart Charities funds organisations that improve access to affordable veterinary care — addressing one of the most significant barriers to responsible pet ownership in lower-income communities — and provides emergency support to families in crisis with pet food, temporary shelter, and disaster response assistance. It has renewed its partnership with the American Red Cross specifically to ensure that when disaster strikes, both people and their pets are covered.
The in-store adoption model that powers National Adoption Week is itself a logistical achievement. By integrating shelter adoption events directly into a retail environment that pet owners are already visiting for food, supplies, and services, PetSmart Charities removes the friction that keeps potential adopters from taking the step. You do not need to go out of your way to a shelter. The shelter comes to you, at the store you were already going to.
How to Participate
For anyone in the United States or Puerto Rico considering adding a pet to their family, the week of July 20–26, 2026 is the moment to make that visit.
Find your nearest store: Use the store locator at PetSmart.com to find the closest location. Nearly every PetSmart across the US and Puerto Rico is participating, which means the event is accessible in communities large and small, urban and suburban.
What to expect: Shelters and rescue organisations will have adoptable pets on-site with trained staff and volunteers available throughout the week. You will have the opportunity to spend time with animals, ask questions, and understand the specific care needs of any pet you are interested in before making a decision.
What you receive: All in-store adoptions during the event week include the Hill’s Science Diet starter kit, along with guidance from shelter staff on welcoming your new companion home.
If you are not ready to adopt: PetSmart Charities accepts donations directly at PetSmartCharities.org, and adoptable pets can also be browsed at any time at PetSmartCharities.org/adopt-a-pet for when the moment is right.
The Broader Signal: Cat Adoption Is Accelerating Globally
The PetSmart data showing rising cat adoption rates across the United States is not an isolated American phenomenon. It is part of a global pattern that PNN has been tracking across markets from France to South Korea to Hong Kong — all showing cats rising in ownership penetration, particularly among urban, single-person, and dual-income households where the independence of feline companionship fits modern life more naturally than traditional dog-keeping routines.
In France, cats account for 39% of pet-owning households and are growing faster than any other species in the premium food and healthcare categories. In South Korea, cat ownership is rising rapidly among apartment-dwelling millennials. In Hong Kong, total feline monthly spending has crossed HK$500 million.
The United States, as one of the world’s most mature pet markets, is both reflecting and amplifying this trend. What PetSmart Charities’ data is capturing — and what National Adoption Week is responding to — is a generation of potential pet owners for whom cats are not a second-choice pet but the right first choice for their lifestyle.
The week of July 20–26 is the moment to act on that instinct — and to do so in a way that gives a shelter animal exactly the second chance it deserves.
Pets News Network is India’s first dedicated media platform for the pet and animal industry. For breaking global pet news, brand coverage, and advertising enquiries, contact: ankur@petsnewsnetwork.com
