Dirty Little Paws Rescue

Everyone I've met through this organization has been lovely, eager to help, and knowledgeable about how to best nurture the kitties in their care. They do their best to make the volunteer experience as easy as possible. Because of my experiences with them, I have been talking up fostering with anyone who will listen. Plus, they somehow always rescue the most beautiful cats!

Dirty Little Paws brought me and my husband our sweet little boys and I can’t even begin to explain how grateful I am. These boys have brought so much love and joy into our home. And on top of it even after we adopted them, the

Five Stars!

Volunteering with Dirty Little Paws has been an amazing and fulfilling experience. The foster-based model ensures that every cat is cared for in a loving home, which helps them adjust to family life and prepares them for adoption. The rescue does an incredible job matching cats with fosters who provide individualized care, whether the cat needs socialization, medical support, or just a quiet place to recover.

As a volunteer, I’ve been impressed by the level of communication and support from the rescue team. They make sure fosters have everything they need—food, supplies, and guidance—and are always available to answer questions or offer advice. The emphasis on placing cats in foster homes makes such a difference in their temperament and well-being.

It’s been incredibly rewarding to see cats thrive in foster care, going from shy or scared to playful and affectionate. The rescue is also dedicated to finding the perfect match for both the cats and adopters, which makes for successful adoptions!

The best cat rescue in North County! They don’t pick and choose who they want to help. They truly go out of their way to try and help everyone that reaches out to them. When I first moved to Oceanside, I noticed a stray cat that was sick coming around our neighborhood. I posted online looking for help and reached out to several rescues. Kat Parker at Dirty Little Paws was the only one that responded. Now that cat is living an amazing life with his forever human!

I first encountered Dirty Little Paws Rescue after some friends stepped up to foster with them, and it turned out that the organization's president had rescued one of my all-time favorite cats 12 years earlier. So I wanted to meet her and invited her to come see how her rescue was doing at age 17. One thing led to another, and I offered to use my professional expertise in writing and fundraising to help the organization. And then I started fostering--first a short-term foster for a traumatized cat whose person had committed suicide, and then two somewhat longer fosters, who were aggressive toward my cats and had to leave. And finally I was asked to foster another cat whose elderly guardian had died a few months earlier. The woman's daughter was desperate to place him with a rescue, as she couldn't take him back with her to Hawaii. And of all the rescues she contacted, only Dirty Little Paws was willing to take him in. And he became my latest foster (and soon to be foster fail).

In all my interactions with Dirty Little Paws, I've been impressed with the unwavering dedication to the welfare of vulnerable cats exhibited by the president and volunteers. I too am now committed to helping Dirty Little Paws Rescue help cats who need medical care, socialization and homes.

BEST RESCUE SERVICE EVER - we adopted a kitten a few weeks ago and I cannot express enough how amazing the service was and the overall communication between me and DLP was. They truly care about the animals and want to ensure they go to a great home, which I appreciate so much. They provided so much valuable information upfront and throughout the entire process leaving no stone unturned. 100/100 would recommend to anyone looking to adopt a new fur-baby. Thanks DLP, we love Murphy!!

Dirty Little Paws is a fantastic organization to find your furever pet! After I lost my cat of 17 years, it was hard for me to imagine finding another animal who I could love as much as I loved Bowie but they worked with me to help me find the perfect companion. They were so patient, informative and responsive with me as I inquired about different cats. You can truly tell that everyone who is part of their organization is so passionate about animals and making sure that each one has an opportunity to thrive in its perfect home. Not to mention that they also dedicate their time to ensuring the cats who are still on the street are neutered/spayed AND fed weekly.

I will be forever grateful to Dirty Little Paws for introducing me to my little lover Stevie! He is such a doll and brings so much joy to my life every single day.

DO NOT GIVE CATS to Dirty Little Paws this rescue The Director Kat had a cat that she was holding for me Euthanized without even letting me know I told her that the cat had teeth pulled prior. He would need follow up medical which I offered to pay anything that was needed and would take him back. The rescue is completely broke and she will euthanize rather than raising money which as I said she wouldn't have even had to do in this case. My heart is just torn out for trusting her. Again please do not donate or give any cats to this person that has this rescue Dirty Little Paws his cat is dead now and there's nothing I can do to help it. My below review was done before I knew they were killing cats for no reason there

Such an amazing rescue full of empathetic and helpful people who really want the best for you and your kitties!! They are truly fantastic and I recommend them to everyone - I had the best experience fostering and adopting from them :) they’ll stick by you and your cats for the rest of your lives!

I gave this organization 5 stars because of how compassionate they are and how much care they have for their cats! Kat and Yelena were very helpful when I was in the process of adopting. They really do their best to ensure that the kitties find the right home. I recently adopted an orange kitten from them and I am so in love with her. She's so sweet and lovely, I am grateful for this organization-- they even accept adopters who live far away from them. I drove 2 hours to pick my kitten up and they were accommodating on the date and time. Please support them!

Dirty Little Paws is a great organization that is definitely needed in this never ending kitten season climate. Kat and Yelena have been so easy to work with and helpful getting supplies when I need more, putting me in contact with people to meet to pick up kittens or supplies, setting up vet appointments, etc. With DLP I have helped trap cats and kittens at an abandoned decaying home days before it was scheduled to be demolished. Cared for and nursed back to health spicy kitties that had been traumatized in their short life trying to survive outside, one of which had gotten a foxtail in his eye and needed treatment multiple times a day for weeks, they are now sweet loving companion animals looking for their forever homes. As well as countless neonatal litters I wouldn't have been able to care for financially with all the formula, pellet litter and everything that comes after like with the older fosters: wet food, dry food, clumping litter, spay/neuter and vetting. They are always willing to help as long as they have a foster willing to take in the new addition. They are an amazing growing rescue, like any other are always looking for more donors, volunteers and fosters to be able to help more.

I was introduced to DIrty Little Paws in early 2022. I have fostered for them and adopted from them. I’ve seen them save cats that no one else would help. They go above and beyond for their animals and fosters. They work hard to ensure happy, healthy, forever homes for the cats. It’s often a thankless, heartbreaking job to work in rescue and not become totally jaded. And yet, they stay positive and focused on the great work all rescuers are doing. I’ve been fortunate to help foster when other rescues have asked them for help. They really care so much about the cats and saving all that they can. They also listen to the feedback from their fosters so they can make the best decisions about adopters. I have felt supported, respected and cared for as a foster and as a pet parent. I’ll add a pic or two but really I have a ton of gorgeous, healthy cat pictures from our many success stories since I met DLP.

I am new to the feline rescue world. Everybody at the Dirty Little Paws has been caring, dedicated, responsive and helpful. They put the animals before themselves and are available at all hours to help with questions, concerns and in-person assistance. Not a huge company with a lot if overhead so donations truly go to the care of the cats and kittens. I can't tell you how impressed I am. The commitment and dedication of everyone in this organization is first rate and I can't express my gratitude and appreciation enough. I needed help with medical issues and kitten adoption screening and they were there for me every step of the way. Thank you!!!

Dirty Little Paws is a wonderful organization to work with. I recently fostered two kitties resuced from horrible conditions. I have onyl fostered odgs inthe past so was unsure what to expect. Yelena and EMily were the womst responsive, wonderful people to work with. They answered every text immediatly provided everything i could possibly need to make the process easy and convienant for me. I am so glad that i connected with them! I am happy to say that my two girls were adotped by a wonderful family, all thru the effrots of this amazing group! I highly encourage you to support their effrots and definitly consider fostering and adotpting from them!

Fantastic rescue, above and beyond. People should be aware of their service to the community, as all good rescues are. After a brutal kitty season and many city shelters not accepting cats, please remember them with food or monetary donations.

Kat Parker is an awesome human being who loves animals and people who love animals. Ms. Parker built her cat rescue, "Dirty Little Paws, several years ago out of her small home in North County, San Diego. Along with her volunteers, cat fosters, and others that help her find fur-ever homes for homeless cats that just need another chance to live the life that all of our precious animals deserve. I have volunteered for Kat and love her approach to placing as many cats as possible, finding the best match for the cat with their purr-fect fur-ever cat-family. She never gives up until the cats are safe, well, and living safely inside with caring pet-parents.

Dirty Little Paws Cat Rescue is awesome-pawsome because they've helped me, and others I know, with kitty-cat business lol. And by that I mean getting help, fostered, and rescued, etc.
The feline passion is real, and totally Meow-tastic. I highly recommend because they truly will help! =^_^=

Kat literally saved us. My father-in-law passed away leaving 2 older cats with a couple health issues. There was no way we could keep them and I couldn’t surrender them to the Humane Society knowing they would likely spend the rest of their lives in a cage. Kat came to the rescue with open arms. Her absolute passion and love for all of the kitties is so evident. Kat is truly an angel to these babies.

Dirty Little Paws Rescue is a wonderful organization and has given me so much help. I started feeding a feral cat about 3 or so months ago. She ended up being pregnant and had kittens. I didn't know what to do so I called Dirty Little Paws Rescue for advice. Kat Parker has helped me so much with information, vets visits, and setting up a foster parent for the kittens when It was time to separate them from their mom and get her spayed. It's been an awesome experience having Dirty Little Paws Rescue and everyone involved helping me!!!!!! Thank you so much Dirty Little Paws Rescue!

Dirty little paws is a Wonderful organization. They have helped me foster kittens and find forever homes for them. They have helped me with food, vet visits for the kitties. I am so grateful for all they do to help the cats and kittens. I am so thankful for this program and the people who run it.

Kat and her team are always there when we need them. They rescue socialize and adopt out many cats in dire need. I feed and keep an eye on many feral cats in my area. Kat has helped us get the kittens adopted and/or capture ones in need of help many times. I always refer people to them looking for cats/kittens or in need of a rescue.

I first discovered Dirty Little Paws in July 2020 when I was looking to adopt a pair of bonded kittens or cats. I reached out to Dirty Little Paws and they let me know that the pair I was interested has already been spoken for. I followed their social media because I loved the name and in August 2021 I saw a pair of bonded kittens that needed a foster home. I already had 2 cats of my own, but had been interested in fostering for quite some time so I decided to reach out to apply to foster them. Dirty Little Paws cares about their cats and kittens and wants to make sure they make it in the best possible home even if it means taking extra time to find the perfect home. To date I have fostered and adopted 5 kittens with Dirty Little Paws and I can't speak more positively about the organization. They are caring, knowledgeable, and just all around wonderful. I highly recommend serious adopters, fosters, and volunteers to work with Dirty Little Paws, you won't regret it!

I'm sure others have had positive experiences, but unfortunately I can't leave a good review for this rescue. After over a month (37 days) I have still not heard back from them after submitting an application for adoption. I would've reached out, but once I completed the application, it said they'd be in contact with me shortly. Now after over a month of constantly checking the cat's page on Petfinder, it was removed sometime recently. Needless to say we're a little heartbroken & frustrated, and just would've appreciated any kind of message back if she was unavailable, if we were denied, etc., so we wouldn't have gotten our hopes up. I can't speak to anything other than lack of communication, but based on other reviews this rescue may be ok..

Two months ago I submitted an application for a beautiful Little kitten, the first I’d seen who really felt right after I lost mine of 20 years.

Two weeks after applying, I heard nothing and sent an email. No response. A week later I called, no answer. A few days after this I received a call back from the Main woman who was initially very kind. She mentioned having seen my app weeks before and said I sounded like a great fit. Then she told me the kitten had been put into a foster that weekend -again 3 weeks after my initial application showing interest. I was then told that I could meet her the next day and do a formal interview. I was thrilled, despite how long the process had taken and how difficult it had been up to this point.

The next day, I never hear from the main woman with the address so I call her. She answers but is abrupt and tells me she doesn’t have time for this but to call her later. Later I call again and She tells me the foster loved the kitten so much that she’s decided to adopt her but “I advised the foster that it’s her job to foster and not hoard cats, so we’ll give her two days to make a decision.” So I said ok and waited. Never heard back at all, even called with no answer.

Flash forward to last week, again two months. After my initial apps and more than a month after her being “adopted” I get an email from the main woman saying the same kitten is available if anyone wants her. I replied to confirm, and yes the foster had changed her mind. I was very angry and already traumatized from my initial negative experience of being given hope then ignored, but I went against my gut and started conversations about this kitten again. This time with both the foster and the rescue woman. They went so far as to check my references and call my last vets, only to not contact me once again, after days of waiting.

I just texted the foster to be told that the kitten was adopted out this weekend, they had to do it urgently as she couldn’t keep her in the home anymore. And despite all the effort they put in with me, despite their past abuses of my time and inconsiderate actions in how they dealt with me as a potential adopter, despite having already checked my references, I wasn’t even told this was happening. I guess they had plenty of time to play games with me as a potential for more than two months, but not enough time to actually give me the consideration or care to follow through.

The main woman, her fosters and the entire rescue have no real interest in adopting out these kitties. They just cause potential adopters trauma and heartbreak. She’s too busy to do the job right or give you the care you deserve through the process. Absolutely do not recommend putting yourself through their hoops and manipulations. This was horrific and heartbreaking.

Great rescue, they are always there to answer any questions and are very helpful with cats and kittens.

I have worked alongside with Kat for the past 9 years and I have never in my life seen a rescue save so many cats and kitties from all parts of the county as well as down in Mexico Kat goes the extra mile she lives and breathes this rescue...her dedication is out of this world.❤

Dirty Little Paws does amazing work with very limited resources. They have a wonderful network of volunteers who truly love animals. Every donation goes a long way.

Having lived in an area where people have cats and don't bother to get them fixed, we ended up taking care of some of the strays. One of the cats, we named her Penny, was a loving little thing and was looking for a home. Sadly, we couldn't take her in since we already had 4 cats and a dog. Making things a little more complicated... Penny was pregnant. We got word that Dirty Little Paws would be able to help us. Kat Parker took the time to listen to our concerns and within 48 hours she arranged a transportation chain to have Penny moved from Covina to Oceanside. It was all done with lots of love and care for Penny. Less than 24 hours after Penny arrived in Kat Parker's care, Penny gave birth to 5 kittens. What can I say, because of Kat Parker, Penny had a safe place to give birth to her litter and found a loving forever home. All kittens found loving homes thanks to Dirty Little Paws' rescue. If I am in need of advice, Kat Parker is always there to help without expecting anything in return.

As long as I have known Kat she has been an advocate to care, foster, and give her time and heart to helping kittens & cats. Getting mama kitty & kittens out of shelter where they can get care and compassion means everything. I will always remember volunteering and witnessing firsthand Kat's dedication to mama kitty and kittens getting needed medicine to recover and giving them a brighter future they wouldn't have had without her dedication. Many a cat's happy future started with caring here.

Kat Parker from Dirty Little Paws works tirelessly to rescue felines and provide all the care they need. She puts all of her heart and energy into this rescue. The more funding Dirty Little Paws gets, the more cats can be rescued and cared for. Kat Parker provides as much funding as she can afford, but there is only so much she can do. Money towards this nonprofit will be well-spent for any animal lover.

Dirty Little Paws is an awesome organization run by awesome people. We fostered a kitten not long ago and we’re pleased to have the little one around. Kat was very helpful throughout the process and was there for advice every step of the way. When it was finally time to give the kitten up for adoption, the process was straightforward and simple, and her new humans were very happy to have her.

My daughter has been a volunteer for Dirty Little Paws. It has been awesome to work with Kat and Laurie. They trained my daughter to bottle feed kittens, matched her with young kittens who needed help, provided her with all the necessary basic supplies, and they were fantastic in their guidance to help get the kitties adopted. They are selfless and relentless in getting feral cats off the streets, helping them get cleaned and vaccinated, and then rehomed with caring families for those animals. They are thorough in their vetting of the families to ensure that the animals would be cared for in the best manner possible. We need more people like them in our communities and are fortunate to have met them.

We adopted two kittens through Dirty Little Paws and love them to pieces! We just realized they've been with us a year already and can hardly believe it. We told Dirty Little Paws we were looking for kittens that would snuggle and cuddle with our daughter and they found us the perfect little guys!

Very disappointed in how quickly they denied my application to adopt two cats! They did not like that the cats would have been kept in the garage and house. They did not even inquire about my garage set up what that was like, and one would think that if you were concerned about giving the cats a good home you would at least inquire further into what the space is like before just out right denying the potential new owner. Had they asked further about the space I am sure they would have found it was more than acceptable. Then they had the audacity to suggest I try the Humane Society as "they are likely to have less strict requirements". Oh and this is not before reassuring me that the denial is not a judgement on me or in any way personal. Also they seemed very unorganized and all over the place during their adoption even in the PetSmart. I also did not like that they said it would take an hour to review my application as several others had to look at it. The application was also very invasive for the adoption of a pet. Very unhappy with this organization.

I live in a "country" neighborhood where animals seem to run free from coyotes, dogs & cats and all sorts of "critters." About 2 years ago we had a cat wander into our garage to have her kittens. We helped her along but she never become completely at ease with our attempts to domesticate her. I took care of her kittens and then they started to grow! Oh no... I went to my local pet store to get help and advice and was referred to Dirty Little Paws. And what a huge help they were. I had never had cats and they told me exactly how to care for them and gave me advice for dealing with a feral mom cat. I also got help with trying to trap the mom to bring her to DLP so they could get her spayed. They told me all about the programs and services and said they could assist me with trapping the other feral cats in our neighborhood. then it happened again!!! We cared for more kittens with help from Dirty Little Paws. Without their help, I would have ended up in tears trying to care for and keep safe all these kittens. Dirty Little Paws is the best and the staff are so willing to help with everything. I applaud their dedication and am grateful for their services. Thanks Kat!!!!