Texas Bengal And Exotic Cat Rescue

I surrendered an indoor pure bred Bengal about 9 years old in excellent condition to this rescue and I don't know what they did to him but I insisted on taking him back after a month because of the reports they were giving me. He came back four pounds lighter, and with all the hair scraped off his nose I guess because he was in a wire cage outside in the hot summer. Now he has a large growth on his nose and will bite you now, which he never did before. I would not trust these people with ANY cat. Their hearts might be in the right place but they obviously cannot care for the cats. I greatly regret that I ever trusted them. Thank goodness he put his weight back on within a few weeks. I don't know what they were trying to feed him but kept reporting he would not eat and they were syringe feeding him. I sent his food with him and he's always been a good eater, but I wonder if he was in a cage with other cats. I don't know, but whatever you do find a different rescue. I would not adopt from them either because of the poor care they took of my cat. Loosing four pounds in a month is a very bad sign. And he's always been my best eater. I feel compelled to leave this review to warn other people.

I adopted a Bengal cat (6 months old) from the Texas Exotic Cat Rescue thru Petfinder. Their address is listed as:
PO Box 212 in Dallas. The kitten and some of its litter mates had been in foster care for 5 weeks due to fleas, ring worm, and under weight. Although my kitten was fearful when I brought her home, I have quarantined her this past week from my resident cats and she has started to warm up to us. The rescue gave me all her records. They spayed her, treated fleas, ring worm, gave vaccinations and tested for deadly viruses Felv and fiv, and put weight back on her. The vet check I took her for today went well. No issues. She still has a few fleas but the frontline should eliminate them soon. I finally have a Bengal after waiting years for one. Worked with Jackie and she has continued to answer my questions all week. She is awesome at handling cat rescue! She has offered me tips as well to help my kitten adjust to its new home. I could not be more pleased with how this organization has handled this adoption. Thank god for volunteers like Jackie that want to help cats find a good home. I’d like to be a foster home one day for cats as well when I retire!

Thankful,
Tasha G

The people here work tirelessly to help so many animals, it's hard to even describe how good these people are.

It's obvious to me that some reviews on here come from people who were turned away for one reason or another and they are offended and wanted to hurt the rescue. If a home isn't right for an animal, this rescue won't send it home with a person. These animals aren't for sale - many have been mistreated in their previous homes, and many more have gone through terrible conditions in the past. They are treated extremely well at the rescue and they care very much about finding the right homes for these animals.

If you're looking to make a really good home for a great pet, I would highly recommend contacting this rescue. If you just want to buy a specific breed of cat at a discount, you're in the wrong place.

I adopted a pair of Siamese mix siblings. They are totally bonded. This is what I wanted. The rescue was up front with me about the mix breed and one little ear mite that it was being treated for.
From the very first day, they made themselves right at home. I have not had any problems with them. They are a joy to be around. They complete my home.

I was delighted with the cat I got from this group. She is everything they said she is, loving and friendly and so wonderful to have around! Their way of doing things is a bit different as they do not do adoption events, just individual appointments, but it seems to work for them and you get one on one attention. I would tell anyone looking for a kitty that they do wonderful work and they are open about the cat's needs and personality. Thumbs UP!

These people have a never-ending supply of very specific breed mixes. Bengal + pixiebobs? How many of those particular breed parent cats are out there supplying that very specific breed mix? And are they not spaying the mothers? They will list a "bengal + maine coon" mix kitten, then state that they have more available but just haven't listed them yet. Sure enough, a week later, there are a couple more listed. And the next week, a couple more. Are they rescuing these cats, or breeding them?
They will post group photos with 4-5 cats showing, and use the same photos for 2 cat listings, but never post the other 2-3 cats.
They can't seem to keep track of the information given to them (by potential adopters) from week to week. They will provide some information, but not actually answer questions directly. They will try and push a cat, but then when asking for more information about that cat, they'll imply that it's not a good fit (then why recommend it in the first place?). They offer the cats at the cheapest price of anywhere in the metroplex, despite all being "purebred mix" cats. They do not appear to fix the cats before adopting them out.
The volunteer has given several pieces of advice/opinion on how to treat cats/what cats need, that run counter to standard knowledge.

Based on this information and the other reviews here, I suspect that they are either breeding cats themselves, or going to shelters and finding cats that sorta match the right look they're going for, and passing them off as mixes; being a mix gives them plausible deniability for not being anything like the breed they're being passed off as. They are the least organized, least responsive, second most holier-than-thou rescue that i have come across over the past month (out of about 15 that i contacted). As much as I'd love a cat like they're describing, they just come across very suspicious in their super consistent supply of specific mixes and their evasive answers.

If I could give them no stars, I would. I adopted a kitten. I met the lady, who said she ran the rescue, at PetSmart. She told me she would not provide vet records from the rescue, that none existed. She said the cat was cared for by their volunteer vet tech. I took her to my vet the next day. She was dehydrated, malnourished, had ringworm, had an upper respitory infection, and had fleas. I requested a list of vaccines and treatments she had received and was told there were no records kept. She was not through her deworming treatment by the time I adopted her.

The lady would not let me personally connect with the foster or talk to the vet tech who treated her. This place is not legit. These people should be investigated for fraud.

My entire experience with Texas Bengal and Exotic Cat Rescue (aka Texas Exotic Cat Rescue) was unpleasant from beginning to end. I give them "zero" stars but I had to select at least one to submit this review.
Last month, June of 2017, (on a Saturday) I adopted a cat from them. I met up with the volunteers at the location they told me to go to, which was a pet supply store, so I could meet the cat. The volunteer who I dealt with was very distracted, couldn't answer questions straight-forwardly, seemed nervous/anxious, kept complaining that she was so busy, kept walking off, wasn't very helpful, and was rude. When I decided I was going to adopt the cat, I asked for its medical records/paperwork. She handed me a rabies certificate and that was it. On the certificate were some handwritten notes on it. I asked if the cat was FIV negative and she said "we don't test for that anymore" and gave me this long story that didn't make sense. I expressed my concerns about that and said I'll take the cat to my vet to get tested. She said if I find out the cat is positive, that I can bring the cat back. The adoption fee, or what they call an "adoption donation" was $95 cash. I paid that and asked for a receipt. She said they don't have such thing; looked at me like I was crazy. She could tell I was concerned again, as I don't just give someone cash and not get a receipt or some kind of proof that an exchange was made. She said "didn't you fill out an adoption application?" and I said "yes" and her response was "well, that's your receipt." Lots of red flags going up when I was there, so I decided to still adopt the cat and get out of there. On my way out with the cat, the volunteer said "oh, we will not pay for any of your vet expenses". Like that was needed to be said. I know that. My reply was simply "I know. I'll take care of her from now on." We went home.
The next day (Sunday) I emailed the rescue center/volunteer wanting more history on the cat and had some questions I wanted her to relay to the foster mom. I also asked for a donation receipt and they provided one, although it literally looks like they just typed something up in Word really quick, but I'll take it. That same day, I also discovered fleas on the cat. It being a Sunday, my vet was closed, so my husband and I went to Petsmart and asked the Banfield Hospital for advice on what to do and which flea product to get. We needed it taken care of immediately. We were told to bathe the cat in dawn soap or flea shampoo first, let the cat dry, then apply the over-the-counter flea topical medicine. So we did exactly that when we got home.
I emailed the rescue center to inform them the next morning (Monday) that the cat has fleas, just as a FYI so they can treat the other cats it lived with if necessary. Just trying to be nice and give them the heads up. I told them I got it taken care of and gave the cat a bath and flea topical. The volunteer's reply to my email was accusatory, dramatic, and rude. She told me they already gave the cat flea meds a few days before adoption, and my response was "Oh no! Why didn't you tell me that or provide me what that documentation?" Her excuse was that she might have been distracted at the adoption event, basically. Then she goes on to say, I need to get the cat to a vet ASAP as I might have poisoned it. And then says I shouldn't have bathed the cat since it was recently spayed and "her insides could come out and that means she would die". Her incision was fine, and I did not bathe her in that area. I was extra careful. I called the Pet Poison Helpline immediately and they confirmed I did NOT poison the cat and everything was and will be fine. When I told the rescue center volunteer that I called the Pet Poison Helpline, she said I don’t need to call them but instead to call a breeder professional for that particular breed. That doesn’t make any sense. I know I did the right thing.
Considering I had being going back and forth with the volunteer via email trying to get the cat’s medical information (I asked several times if the cat was FeLV negative and she bounced around the question a lot until she finally said she was negative), I decided to go ahead and take the cat to my vet and get it checked out. I knew something wasn’t right. At my vet’s office is when I found out that the FIV test is a COMBO test, meaning FIV and FeLV are tested at the same time. The volunteer said the cat was negative for FeLV and that they didn’t test for FIV, so that doesn’t make sense. My vet did the ELISA test in office and confirmed the cat was POSITIVE for FeLV, negative for FIV. My heart sank. We also did an IFA test to double confirm and she was FeLV positive on that too. Saddened for the cat and wanting the best for her, we decided to keep her and give her the best life possible, for however short that may be, after much consulting and discussion with my vet and husband. The cat is young and healthy right now and has no symptoms. Could have issues down the road and a much shorted lifespan. We went home and I emailed the volunteer, informing her the cat I adopted that they said was FeLV negative, is actually FeLV POSITIVE. I provided the test results from my vet…something the rescue center could never provide me. It’s very obvious they never did the test. The volunteer’s reply to my email was simply “we will take her back and have her euthanized.” I was shocked. This is coming from a rescue center that claims they are a no-kill shelter, says it on their website. At that point, I knew exactly who they were (that they are not who they say they are) and no more communication was needed. I was angry and disgusted, sick to my stomach.
I wrote a simple post on Facebook sharing my experience with my friends and warning them of this rescue center and to do their research on rescue centers before adopting. The post was made public so my friends could share the post if they wanted. Later that day, the volunteer emails me and threatens me. “If you do not take down your slander from the social media, we will file charges against you. You were told to return the cat so we can retest with a different test. Please refer again to our contract. If your slander is not removed, you will be hearing from our legal representative.” First off, I am entitled to share my experience with others. I’ve read the contract, I did not break any of the terms in any way. Secondly, they are liars! They did not tell me to return the cat so they can retest her… they told me they would take the cat back and have her euthanized. I have that in writing, in an email. All our communication was via email. I have the entire email chain on paper as proof.
In short, this “rescue center”…
• Adopts out sick cats (and they know it)
• Will NOT provide you with all the animal’s medical records like their contract states they do…so they violate their own contract
• Says they have a volunteer vet tech that does the FeLV test and other vaccinations, but who is this person? Are they even qualified or licensed? If these things are being done, where are the results and medical records? Are they even doing those tests/vaccinations?
• Has rude volunteers who are accusatory and defensive (I don’t have time to share with you all the comments that were made to me)
• Is SHADY!

Please be aware, do your research and look for red flags.