Cats In Need of Human Care

The only reason I am giving two stars is for the volunteer who assisted us, Helen, who should be running the entire organization. She is a charming, tireless advocate for these cats and kittens who so desperately need homes. The rest of the crew (specifically the ones in charge) were, to say the very least, apathetic at best and deserve NO stars. I have never been to an adoption organization that tried less to get you to adopt a cat. They are suspicious, insulting and rude. I messaged multiple times to inquire about a specific cat and asked them to please make certain he would be at the adoption event. He wasn’t. His foster callously told me that, ‘he wasn’t in the mood to come.’ I knew right then that this was not the group for us. This group of ladies seemed more determined not to adopt cats out. Here’s a suggestion, how about adopting out some kitties to people who attend your events? If you did that, perhaps you wouldn’t have so many older cats desperate for homes.

I cant believe this place. They honestly dont want cats to be adopted. The women who run this are completely nuts. I went with a friend who was hoping to adopt another kitten for his current cat to play with. They were giving him such a hard time and were being plain rude to him. They are skeptical about EVERYTHING that was written on his application. In the end they basically said no to him and it was pretty devastating. I also overheard their conversations and they basically feel a cat is only safe if its 100% confined indoors. They fear hawks and cars are always out to injure an animal and think every owner is going to let their cat be hurt. Basically you can adopt here if you OWN a house and promise to keep your cat locked up in a single room.

With my experience in mind, the full name of this organization is hilarious. Cats in need of human care… They should change the name to Cats in Need of Other Cat’s Care (but humans can hang out if they want).
Essentially, if you want one cat… Good luck. I’m amazed that I walked away with one cat. And as a newbie to cats, I’ve been pouring over online articles about cats and raising cats the right way… Making sure I don’t do anything wrong and feeling so guilty that I’m stripping her from her home… Only to realize that she’s fine. I work from home, I give her so much attention, she’s barely ever alone. She plays with her toys, sleeps on my chest, eats her food. She’s a happy, spoiled cat. And plenty of people have just one cat.
But when I returned to Cats in Need to get my cat’s first round of shots… I received my 5^th lecture on how I could possibly sleep at night knowing that I am isolating and damning her life of solitude… Double take to my cat on her back tossing her fishy toy in the air… She seems fine.
The worst part of all (and the most important) is that maybe I do want two cats — as I said on day one. But every time they question my lifestyle or give me a lecture on how I’m taking a happy kitten from them and giving her a horrible life… I DONT WANT ANOTHER ONE. At least NOT from Cats in Need.
If that makes me a terrible person, so be it. But, the way I see it is that I have given a homeless cat a warm bed and food and cuddles. And that’s all I can do for now. Getting another cat should be a well thought out decision. Not something you dive into lightly.
Horrendously rude people. Excepting two ladies who were very kind. (Mary and Betty)
Think twice before adopting from cats in need. They don’t want to give their cats a home. They want to keep them in cages, locked in a PetSmart (but hey! At least they’re with other cats!)

Worst experience ATTEMPTING to adopt from this non-​profit. I am in a professional graduate degree program with 2 semesters left. I have been wanting to adopt a cat for the past year and I finally felt it was the right time to do so. I fell in love with a gorgeous male tabby that had been in the rescue for 6 months. I have the space, the time and the financial means to support a kitty companion. I filled out the application and was pretty devastated about 30 seconds after handing it to the manager of the adoption event. She read through it and told me that she could not approve of my application to adopt because I am a student. Apparently students are not responsible enough to have pets. However, I pointed out to her that I am in a graduate degree program working toward my Master’s in Social Work. The best she could do for me is tell me that she would consult with her higher up because they do not adopt out to students. I was very disappointed because I really wanted to give the little guy a good home. I received a call from the manager later that day letting me know that I was denied indefinitely but if I needed a «kitty fix», they would like it if I volunteered my time. I diplomatically ended the call and thanked her for her time. I was so upset.

These organization I give a zero !! They have so many cats in need for a home and is so sad they give any excuse not to give a cat in a home !! I was told no because I need more cats on my house what really they broke my girls heat !! Because they fall in love with a cat and I try teaching them to help out a organization we can go get a free kitten from craigslist … But they were so rude and heart breaking for my girls they are still crying for the cat that’s the only one they want !! But I guess that’s why they always have the same cats in pet smart in fullerton because they have so many excuses not to have a home for the cats poor kittens they need a home !! I really don’t recommend their organization they are terrible !! Bad bad experience for my family

This organization has very knowledgeable staff!
The entire group is run by volunteers. This is admirable for individuals to take time out of their daily lives to help find homes for these cats.
Both adoption managers are very well aware of cat/​kitten issues. As far as I’m concerned, they are pretty much vets! They have worked with so many cats/​kittens and have come across various health issues.
If you want to adopt a cat, make sure you are ready to commit. Having an animal be a part of your life should not be taken lightly. Cats/​kitten are NOT disposable.
I adopted a cat from this organization and she is absolutely a doll! Well socialized and healthy.
Thanks Cats In Need for being such great advocates for cats/​kittens!

The whole application process is a little intimidating but I understand they want to find genuinely good homes. I’ve known too many people to jump from animal to animal because they were too hasty and irresponsible.
We adopted our beautiful and shy cat Darlin. The staff was helpful in helping us find the right cat for our family. They had inquired about our patio/​balcony and the fact we have a 4 month old baby at home but I think being polite on both ends goes a long way.
They did give us a lot of helpful information. They are very detailed but they have a real passion for cats.
I also love the fact that anytime we need to, we can take our kitty back to get her nails trimmed at no cost. And yes you do have to agree not to declaw them which I’m fine with. Can you imagine your fingers being taken off from your knuckle and up?
Darlin is healthy and well taken care if. I think we definitely picked the right place and the right cat.

Rude doesn’t even begin to cover it! You can add insensitive, inconsiderate and thoughtless to the list. I wouldn’t receommend them to anyone! My story is way too long to try and summarize in this venue.

I used to volunteer for Cats In Need. Not an «official» volunteer or foster or anything; just a plain old, casual volunteer. I left after too many frustrating incidents dealing with an older lady (short red hair; don’t remember her name) who was incredibly rude and short tempered. Everyone there has their hearts in the right place, all for the cats, but the adoption process is a joke. You cannot adopt one kitten and have it be your only cat. They want you to have 2 at once, so they keep each other company. They «desperately» try to find good homes for their cats, but I saw SO many people denied because of stupid things. I forget all the specifics, but things like job hours, presence of young children, and other pets (dogs) will get you denied. They would also «willingly» take in new cats, but later complain about how they have too many to care for already, etc. If you’re a stay-​at-​home adult with no other pets and plan to adopt one adult cat or 2 kittens, then come save one from CINOHC. If not, I’d suggest rescuing from your local animal shelter. I support what Cats In Need does, but not how they do it.

Wow, It’s almost been a full year to the date I posted up my first review on this place, and it rings true…
As always, I keep hearing more and more people complain about this place (and NOT just on Unilocal,but friends, and people who have had a bad experience with rude remarks, pressure, being treated like ignorant fools, and being scrutinized and humiliated on their applications with unacceptable professionalism.
Looks like I’m not the only one who was treated unfairly and was pressured into buying two cats for my application to be considered.. .

This organization doesn’t even deserve 1 star! I regret not reading reviews on this company before driving all the way from Tustin to come look at a kitten I found through
. My boyfriend and I both left there completely speechless at how awful we had been treated, and I just have to say Im disgusted with the staff of Cats in Needs, and with PetSmart for allowing them to run there adoption department.
First off– We had been in search of a kitten for about a month now, mainly by viewing adoption sites (as we refused to buy one off craigslist we’d rather our money go to an organization who will use it toward helping other animals in need) We found ‘Jackson’ though
, a 9 week old maine coon kitten. We instantly fell in love with him. we emailed the organization and called to make sure he would be available to come see that weekend at Petsmart in Fullerton. We received a rather rude email response, but were told he would be there between 11 – 4 on Saturday.
We arrived at Petsmart on Harbor Blvd in Fullerton at 10:45am this morning to make sure no one else would adopt him before we got there. The staff was rude right off the bat. After waiting ten minutes for someone to acknowledge our presence, we were handed an application and told to go sit and fill it out. While we were in the process of filling this out a woman walked by with her two young girls, she seemed very irritated and then began to tell us how she had been denied an adoption of a cat because she also had a 7 year old son at home. Really?
Our application was denied because we work, and cannot be home with the cat ²⁴⁄₇. Apparently THIS cat needed round the clock supervision… she began to tell us even if we worked from home we would still be denied because we have an outdoor patio on the second floor. but then she began to tell us if we wanted to take home two cats our application could be approved??! This place is a joke.
All in all we ended up going to the Irvine Animal Shelter near our house, and found ourselves an adorable kitten which we will be picking up in a few days (after he gets neutered). The staff at this shelter were so friendly and helpful– it was a breath of fresh air after being treated so terribly at Cats in Need of Human Care.

My boyfriend and I have been looking to get a cat. We have a bunny. We have both had cats before. In my experiences I have had cats with bunnies, guinea pigs, hamsters, and birds. We have even done our research about getting our bunny and kitty to live in peace. These ladies at this shelter treated us like we were stupid.
The Asian woman who fosters some of the cats was nice and gave us her attention while the two managers, one being a woman with a thick accent, ignored us and were chatting away constantly like they were at beauty salon. Finally, when the Asian woman told them we were interested in adopting but also had a bunny they instantly (without speaking to us at all before this) scolded us saying that «cats are predators they will kill the bunny» and «no, you don’t want a cat. Get another bunny.» My boyfriend had told them that we have researched how to get the two to get along and the woman with the accent just kept telling us to get another bunny instead while the other one kept telling us to give it two years when our baby bunny would die because a cat would surely kill it.
Those two managers of cats in need in Fullerton were completely rude. Me and my boyfriend were so put off. We had been going to that petsmart for the past two weeks drooling and dreaming over some of these cats and these woman crushed all of that with their inconsiderate words. We ended up looking at the OC Animal Care Center immediately after, so much better.

How can a rescue helping needy animals have any less than 5 stars?
Sure, sometimes the people at rescues can be a little pushy, but they’re just trying to do what they think is best for the animals. They don’t know you or your situation that well so they’re just trying to make you aware of everything, regardless if you think you already know it or not.
The owner did talk our ears off when we adopted our new kitten, now named Luna, but I didn’t find it to be something negative. While I may not have agreed with everything she said, I liked hearing the information about declawing (which I already disagreed with), food choice, and why you should have two cats. This way I was more informed and I could look up more information when I got home, and I’m sure some people DO need to hear these things.
I have two bunnies at home so we were trying to be very careful with the new kitty we brought into their lives. At first the rescue seemed reluctant to help us at all due to the bunnies and us only wanting one cat, which can be frustrating when we’re a good home and there are millions of needy animals out there. Once I told her that I work with animals for a living she was a little more willing.
As others have mentioned, this rescue is very insistent upon having you adopt 2 cats together. At this point in our lives, we live in an apartment and already have 2 bunnies so it just wasn’t practical. We are home often so we can keep Luna entertained enough and we give her all the wrestling and playing time she needs. Plus we’re hoping she and the bunnies will keep each other company once they’re used to each other (still a work in progress). It did start to erk me when she wouldn’t drop the subject, but like I said I understand.
The one thing that really pissed me off though, was when we were in the middle of signing the papers and listening to the owners spiel, another lady who hadn’t been talking to us for the hour we were there piped up with a very big attitude «WELL you KNOOOW cats prey on bunnies. what are you going to do about THAT?!» I was taken aback by the rudeness, but the rescue owner backed me up and told her what I do for a living. But when someone is trying to do some good and help an animal out I don’t think you should treat them this way.
I don’t know too much about this rescue other than my experience here, but they seem just like every other rescue: doing their best to help homeless pets find good homes. One beef I have always had with rescues is how incredibly selective they can be, which I understand to an extent. but there are many homes out there that could provide a wonderful home for needy animals that may be left out in their application process. But that’s a debate for another place.
I would definitely recommend this rescue if you are looking for a new fluffy companion. They are knowledgeable and helpful. Just be patient and clear about what you are looking for. It is clear they care dearly for these animals and are doing everything they can to help place them in loving forever homes.
It’s also convenient that they are located in petsmart. When you adopt an animal through petsmart you also get a REALLY good coupon book to start you out (and Im not usually a coupon cutter). The adoption fee may be higher than at the pound but it’s worth it to donate to a worthy cause it helps pay for shots, spay and neutering for other animals.
Thanks Cats In Need! Luna is very pampered and loved :)

I got my sweet kitty Sparta from Cats in Need in Fullerton. I already had another cat I adopted from CIN in another city. I was concerned about bringing another cat into my home and upsetting Abby my first cat. The ladies with Cats in Need Fullerton helped me find the best kitty, and sweetest little girl. she gets along just great with Abby.
I know they really care about the cats and the adoptive owners. (Does one ever really OWN a cat?) When I wanted to take Sparta home, her foster mom noticed she was sneezing and wanted to keep her and treat her with meds until she was well enough to go to her new home. This saved me the cost of taking her to the vet myself and insured that I was taking home a healthy cat that would not infect my other cat. They even called me a few months later to see how things were going.
If you are looking for a Happy & Healthy kitty or need to find a home for one, I think Cats in Need Fullerton should be the first place to look.
B. Thomson ~ Fullerton

We recently put our beautiful loving cat to rest from cancer. We adopted Brandi from the former petsmart in Brea 11 years ago. We decided to look at cats at the fullerton petsmart. there the adoptions are available by cats in need. my wife, daughter and I saw Devin, a domestic gray and white 1 ½ year old female short hair. The ladies from cats in need (Mary and Barbara) were wonderful, they gave us all the info from birth (bottle fed} to present. these ladies and all the volunteers are a blessing, they put their hearts and souls in their care and love of these felines. We adopted Devin with a beautiful experience and memory. thank you all at cats in need.