Cat Café: Several years ago, the municipal shelter in Oakland, California, was having a hard time finding homes for all of its abandoned cats. “It put to sleep more than 40% of the cats,” says Ann Dunn, who volunteered for the shelter at the time. “A lot of cats don’t do well in a shelter with barking dogs, and can seem unfriendly to visitors because they’re scared.” In 2011, Ann started a rescue, Cat Town, specifically for these vulnerable cats. And three years later, she launched Cat Café, a place where patrons can sip their lattes alongside 15 to 20 cats who are allowed to roam freely. “We bring in the cats on Sunday night, let them get used to their surroundings on Monday and Tuesday, and open for business the rest of the week,” says Dunn. Customers can go online to book an hour at the cat café for $10; they also pay for whatever drinks or food they buy. In the early days, Dunn’s team handled the food service aspect themselves, but have since partnered with a vendor so they can focus solely on the animals. “We’ve found homes for 600 hard-to-adopt cats since it started,” she says. “And now the municipal shelter puts to sleep less than 15% of its cats.”,More than 7 million dogs and cats enter animal shelters every year. It’s hard for rescue organizations to find homes for all of them—not to mention the money it takes to pay for their care. So they’ve had to get super creative! Check out these clever (and successful) pet adoption events they’ve held, and feel free to bring them to the attention of your local shelter.