Our family adopted our cat Ruby in December of year 2021. We underwent the process of being approved, starting with the paperwork and even someone coming out to our home to see if we were a good fit for the kitty. The kitty is a special needs cat that was born with an eye condition and she is blind. We were approved to be a good fit. We signed the contract and paid the $150 adoption fee and took her home. Ruby has been with our family since then, 2 years ago.
Our worst nightmare happened on 1/27/24. Ruby had escaped our property. We couldn't find her and spent all day and night looking for her and calling her. We looked everywhere. We went to the neighbors and called and called her. We drove around and walked the neighborhood. We searched and searched. We also immediately contacted NTCR for help to locate her since they work with shelters and other rescues and have several volunteers. They had recommendations to post Ruby's picture online and register her in paw boost and other sites to help get the word out and find her. We did everything they suggested and more. We even hired a pet detective to help locate her. It had been a terrible long 3 weeks of looking for her.
Just when we were very down on our luck, on 2/20/24 @ 9:45PM, we received a text from Kelsey Foligno, a representative of NTCR, who wrote: This is to let you know that Ruby was found by animal control. We have her in our custody and will have her checked out by our vet. Given that this is not the first time she's either been allowed outside or gotten out of your house, we feel that it is in Ruby's best interest to stay with our group for now. We know you care about her, and wanted you to know she is safe.
We were shocked! How could they take our beloved pet! Thats all the information they were willing to give at that time. They wouldn't tell us anything else. We then proceeded to contact the Mckinney animal control. Animal control confirmed that NTCR picked up Ruby, but she had been picked up on 2/18/24. They had her for 2 days before they contacted us. We proceeded to try and retrieve more information and her whereabouts from NTCR. They were reluctant to tell us if she was okay and where she was.
They finally contacted us and claimed that they took her to the vet on 2/21/24 and said she was healthy and in good condition. This was 3 days later! We would've taken her to our vet right away. NTCR did not provide any documentation from their vet that she is indeed healthy. Still, NTCR proceeded to explain they were going to have a meeting and decide whether they were keeping our cat from us or not and would get back to us in a few days.
On 2/22/24 Kelsey with NTCR proceeded to call our family to say they decided they were going to keep Ruby from us. How is this even legal? This is our cat and she is a part of our family. Thats like kidnapping! She proceeded to ask us if we will surrender her to them. Our statement in return: I will not surrender Ruby and will reply to you via email regarding the conversation this morning implying that I stated we let Ruby outside. All cats in our family for 40 years are indoor cats and are never allowed outside. I am appalled that you bait and switch to put me into a defensive mode knowing that we trusted you to help us find our cat. All texts and conversations will be updated online. All of you have been to our home Rhonda specifically inside my own home that stated our animals are so sweet and match. Rhonda herself told us that while she was being fostered was let outside and enjoyed it. We never allowed Ruby or any cat to go outside.
The only resolution we will accept is the return of our family member, Ruby, to be brought back to us. We have all documents showing she is our cat and the contract signed by both parties. We have documentation of the posters and posts made looking for the cat since she was missing. We have proof from the animal control and other texts stating they picked up the cat without our knowledge 2 days prior to reaching out to us and not taking the cat to the vet right away. We have documents showing they have violated our rights and violated the contract made.
I volunteered with NTCR since it’s founding and am proud to say I was one of the 5 women who started it with very little money, a lot of heart, a lot of energy and way too many cats and kittens needing help. I retired and moved out of state and have watched their growth and dedication to saving cats and finding them wonderful new homes. They are the very BEST of rescues.
The bad reviews are extremely unfair. First, when you adopt an animal, make sure that you plan to care for it the rest of its life. A new baby, a move, a new boyfriend/girlfriend is not the reason to give that animal away. NTCR’s priority is taking cats and kittens from the overrun shelters where they can face euthanasia. That is what rescue does. I’ve had a new baby, a new kitten and many moves as well as baby number two and the cat moved with us and stayed with us until it passed away from old age.
When you fill out an adoption application, please remember that you are adopting a cat that has been loved and cared for by a foster. They want the best future for that animal. A doggie door gives access to the outside world where it is very dangerous for a cat or kitten. When we returned from Katrina, I fostered several kittens from there and they were adopted. Several months after they were adopted a young woman who had adopted one of them came to adopt another kitten for us. She wanted another one because she had let the Katrina kitten out because “he wanted out so badly” and he ran into the street and was run over and died. My heart sank as this kitten has been through so much to find the perfect home. Young cats want to go outside because they are curious but the contract signed said they will keep them indoors. We denied her adoption.
If you have a doggie door that does not go outside, but to a screened in porch, etc, then put that on the application. Volunteers processing the application are not mind readers about your set up and to give them a bad review is grossly unfair.
They are not being rude. Their first priority is to the cat, not to you. And remember as a rescue, their priorities are to cats needing rescuing and facing euthanasia in a shelter. An offer to foster, take the cat to the adoptions, a donation can go a long way to rehoming your cat. But you have to be patient and try as many rescues as possible.
I heard good things about thing group helping an older lady with getting live traps set for spay/neuter assonance. Help! There are 23 cats ( many beautiful), in a colony Richardson. Can the NTCR help me?
My sister just passed away and was working on this huge colony. There is a tiny Tuxedo that needs a foster now. I am afraid the coyotes will get him he is so little.
conleys58@yahoo.com
(Susan)
I support rescues and fosters 100%. However, I had reached an unfortunate situation where I was needing to rehome my kitten due to living situation and having a new baby about to be born I would not be able to provide the desired home my kitty deserved. I attempted to reach out to friends and family first, as I deeply wanted to keep my kitty close. However, after no luck we accepted that we may have to surrender her. I am completely against kill shelters (though I understand all can due age and health) but she is 1 yr old and perfectly healthy I didn't want a duration for a good home to determine her life. So I contacted Rockwall Animal Shelter and discussed this with them. They were super friendly and provided me a list of rescues and fosters I could reach out to in order to allow a little more time for her to find a great home. NTCR was one of the ones listed so I sent them an email stating her age and that she had her shots and that "due to current living situation and a new baby coming. Things were no longer working out." I didn't feel the need to go further into depth as I figured they would understand that a kitty that young needs more then I was going to be able to provide to her. As well as, I have other issues I didn't feel as though I needed to explain. Now I understand if you're at capacity and can't accept surrenders. However that was not the response I received. Instead I received a response of, "Im not sure what having a baby has to do with getting rid of your cat.....but we are curently at capacity and can not take in this kitty." Again, I understand if you can't you can't. I am still going to strive to find a better home for my kitty. But to be so rude in saying I don't know what having a baby has to do with getting rid of your cat is ridiculous. Having a baby is not my reason but it is a contributing factor. They did not know my concerns as to why but instead felt they should take it upon themselves to pretty much say having a newborn shouldn't change my ability to care for my cat. For that I'm truly and utterly saddened by this approach. I feel its rude and unnecessary and they do not care whom they are shaming. My response was kind but informative and respectful but also noting I believed it to be unnecessary to respond with that they lacked understanding my situation. A simple, "I'm sorry but we're at capacity" would have sufficed. Just know if you try to work with them in anyway they're going to be rude and judgemental and not thinking for the best interest of the cats. Instead more childish to try to give personal attacks where they deem fit. I was just incredibly disappointed and displeased with their response and believe it reveals ALOT about the character of the staff of this organization. I would not in good conscious feel comfortable donating or encouraging friends to donate to this organization due to the fact if this is their character towards people I can only imagine how they truly treat their rescues.
They are refusing to adopt me a cat because two cats I owned got lost and one of them was found.
I will do all I can that the next cat I adopt will not get lost
I am writing this review to not only bring awareness to people but to also provide constructive feedback in the adoption process. We are strong believers in the adoption process and I think for the most part it works out well for both the adoptive parents and animal.
Roughly 2 weeks ago we lost our beloved orange tabby cat Morris, to cancer. Our family was absolutely heartbroken. We decided to go to PetSmart that Saturday to find another kitty to complete our family again. While we were there, I was approached by one of the fosters who told me all about one of her kittens that was ready for adoption. Several of the volunteers for NTCR overheard the conversation and even joined in. I exchanged numbers and emails with the foster mom and was in contact with her. She informed me that in order to meet the new kitten I would need to complete an application, per NTCR. After visiting their website and reviewing all qualifications - our family decided to start the application We answered all questions truthfully. After several text, emails and multiple conversations, we had narrowed down to a young male orange tabby the foster told us about. . The foster mom and I discussed this little guy repeatedly, exchanged text and several pictures. .These exchanges went on for over a week. I also had several email exchanges with NTCR. At this point we had no concerns about our application and the answers to the questions.
This morning I received an email stating they did not feel we were a good fit for this kitten because a "friend" of one of the board members had a kitten that went out the doggy door and was hit and killed by a car. They were concerned that the same situation would happen to this kitten we wanted to adopt. This is extremely upsetting and troubling for the following reasons:
1. When filling out the application our family answered all questions truthfully and with no hesitation. Telling the truth was never a question - it was the right thing to do. The application asked if we had a doggy door and we answered yes. Our doggy door is on the screen door, not the main back door. This far in the adoption process, we never thought by answering the question about having a doggy door would have disqualified us as adoptive parents. If anywhere on the NTCR website it stated that applicants would be disqualified if they had a doggy door, we would have never submitted an application.
2. That the North Texas Cat Rescue made a decision on my application based on a "friends" situation. We feel that North Texas Cat rescue should look at each application individually. If NTCR could have seen past the friend's situation, they would have seen that our application, qualifications and our obvious overwhelming love for animals (especially cats) would have outweighed the misfortune their friend experienced.
Lastly, the NTCR recommended we adopt a kitten from any of the local shelters. In their opinion, I guess it would be ok for a "shelter" cat to live in a home with a doggy door. It is just unfortunate that someone else's misfortune would play a role in the decision on OUR wanting to adopt. This little guy would have hit the jackpot with us and now I have had to break the news to our 12 year old daughter who was so ready to meet her new kitten. If you and your family are looking to adopt a family pet, I would suggest not meeting or discussing any cats with NTCR until your application is 100% approved.
NTCR helped place the perfect cat with our family. I had lost my cat to cancer and was looking for a new cat with similar "cuddling" characteristics. They know about the cats they have and made sure the fit was right for us and the cat. They are all passionate about what they do and I am grateful I found them.
I'm a NTCR volunteer for almost 3 years now. It's just a wonderful program who rescue cats from local shelters, place them in safe foster homes until they get adopt it.
I feel very proud to be part of this rescue group and do my very best to save kitties lives.
For them,
Mara Morris
I have been a volunteer with North Texas Cat Rescue since November 2009. I am proud to be associated with such a wonderful group of people. The volunteers at NTCR are very caring and dedicated in their mission to rescue kitties and place them in their permanent homes. Most of our volunteers have full time jobs yet volunteer many hours holding adoptions, fostering, cleaning...... the list goes on, to rescue kitties and get them adopted. It has been such a rewarding experience to be in this group, to see how many kitties that we have rescued, many from shelters where they would have been euthanized, and now have wonderful homes!
I've been a volunteer for about 3 years with NTCR. I've also adopted from the group as well. NTCR gives their rescued cats and kittens a second chance at life. The group rescues cats and kittens from over-crowded shelters that euthanize animals for space. The rescued cats/kittens are placed in loving, safe foster homes for socialization and TLC until the cat finds a forever home. NTCR takes excellent medical care of the rescued cats/kittens in their group. All animals are treated for any illness they may have, and once healthy, they are vaccinated, spayed/neutered, and microchipped prior to adoption. It's a wonderful, caring group of individuals who make a positive difference in the lives of many animals and people!
Since its founding in 2007 NTCR has rescued , placed in foster care and then adopted out to great families thousands of very adoptable cats who found themselves in high kill shelters. The network of foster homes is a great way to socialize the cats and prepare them to be pets and part of someone's family!
I am very privileged to work for this dynamic organization and its awesome volunteers - I should say friends!
NTCR has been a part of my life for a little over a year now, and it has been a life changing experience. I love knowing that I can help the kitties who are homeless and alone in shelters. The team at NTCR is great!!!! So many wonderful people who have become my friends! I'm so grateful to be a part of something so special!