It seems like a lot of the one star reviews are from people who got their applications rejected. You may or may not agree with the staff's methods, but I think the personal insults to the staff are probably not particularly helpful. It may be that some of the staff is better with cats than people. I had no negative experience in that sense. They do lean towards more experienced cat owners- I'm not saying I agree with their selection criteria but I think their hearts are probably in the right place. I got a "take a chance on me" cat while the shelter was in the midst of moving buildings. I believe that little Cash (now Ash) was neglected there- not on purpose of course, but he fell through the cracks. He needed a lot of care when I first got him, and I think at least some of his health issues should have been addressed at the shelter. However, he is thriving now and I have no regrets. Laura was appreciative and helpful once it became clear that Ash needed more care than initially expected. read more

"Over a year ago, I adopted four "unadoptable" ( for various reasons) cats from Ahimsa Haven. My adoption experience was amazing, when all cat adoptions were under different management. I wrote a five star review for this shelter. I have since deleted it. I even became a volunteer doing background checks with veterinarians and personal references for potential adoptees, because I really wanted to help this organization in what I believed was a heartfelt mission, which at that time it was. I was even asked to become a member of the board because apparently they wanted some fresh new ideas. Well, my fresh new ideas were only acknowledged by one board member, who was not able to influence change up against the other controlling board members. Prior adoption management resigned as a result of their treatment. I resigned as a result of my treatment. Many volunteers have resigned as a result of their treatment. This is not only an insult to people who volunteer their valuable time to help shelter cats, but it is an insult to the cats who need their help. More recently, I was involved in a situation where there was a cat in need. Ahimsa Haven ghosted the Volunteer who was trying to get their assistance to bring this cat into their care. To make a long story short, after ACO involvement, this cat was brought into Ahimsa's care and shortly after, adopted out. Interestingly to me, there was no public posting of this cats's adoption. Ahimsa posts every adoption as a sentiment to all the good they are doing. Why not the same for this cat? Because he came to them under the guise of three former volunteers and not the channel they liked? One of the then current long term volunteers was terminated because they were involved in having this cat brought to them, apparently incorrect protocol by their "rules". Currently, there is a situation in a town, 16 miles from Ahimsa, from where Ahimsa had previously taken in many cats, where about 20 cats are still living in squalor with no one living on the property to feed them. Ahimsa, despite claiming they would take care of any of these cats if they were brought to them, has offered no help in this situation, when their shelter is nowhere near full capacity and the placement need for these cats is urgent. Apparently they are no longer taking in cats from the streets. These are not street cats, they are abandoned cats. So exactly what cats are they currently saving? It should not matter how cats in need of help are brought into the shelter, so long as proper protocol, per Massachusetts law, is adhered to, which it was in these situations. This organization no longer offers to help the cats on the street (in specific and many towns) and there is no sense of urgency to help cats in need, yet the new shelter they acquired stands half empty under the current management. The majority of Board members of this organization appear to be narcissistic, petty, or silent under the control of the two dominant board members, have no appreciation for their volunteers, and do not uphold the mission that they claim to exist for. One of the things I loved about the shelter when I first visited was that so many cats who could coexist were roaming freely. Now all cats are caged. No cat in a shelter/caged environment exhibits their true personality until they come home, realize they are forever home, and understand they never have to fend for themselves on the streets or elsewhere. Shelter cats learn what love, caring, regular food, a warm bed and calm environment mean really quickly when they are adopted into good homes, and become the best pets. Case in point. The president of the Board of Directors recently adopted an otherwise unadoptable cat herself, crediting herself for her sole socialization of said cat. The truth is the current and former volunteers are the ones who spent time socializing this cat. Ahimsa Haven does not deserve to be the interim place these cats spend their time. They treat their volunteers horrendously, yet celebrate the wins of their adoptions. It is the volunteers that go the extra mile to socialize these cats and work with these cats while they are in the shelter environment so that they become adoptable. So, with this review, I want to commend all of the amazing volunteers who put up with the red tape, the criticism, the refusal by management to accept that maybe some of these volunteers have some great ideas, and that maybe they care about the cats more than the shelter "Board of Directors" do, whose mission now just seems to be to "sell" cats ... truly sad. With this said, think twice before you volunteer at this basically two person run shelter, who will treat you like an imbecile, and use you until you are forced to resign, even though it hurts you because you care so much about the cats in their care. read more

I had such a great experience with adopting 2 kitties through Ahimsa. The foster moms for Ahimsa are amazing. They treat these animals so well! I lost my cat after 18 years last year. Finally feeling like it's time to be a mom again so reached out on a post through Facebook. The foster mom was so caring and accommodating to us. 2 kitties were a perfect fit for me. They let us decide when we wanted to pick them up to go to their forever homes and gave me samples of what they've been eating so I can get them all set up at home. The cats were already fixed and given vaccines (such a blessing)! I would highly recommend adopting from the Ahimsa family of people that care for these pets so kindly. I had such a good adoption experience. They are a great team! I love my new fur babies and they're doing amazing! read more

ahimsa haven - Mitts & Dot/Sissie - Animal Shelters Near Me - Winchendon, Massachusetts

Application rejected for wanting an indoor/outdoor cat. I can understand that some cats are not fond of the outdoors or can't go out because of certain medical reasons, but a big part of a cats life is being outside and we have a cat we did not adopt though this system, but he's happy being indoor/outdoor. Our other cat was almost 20 years old when she passed away a few months ago, so our orange cat has been lonely and now we're looking to get a friend for him so he has someone to play with, but we'll look elsewhere for a cat that needs a home. If anyone is looking to apply through the online form it's 27 pages long and asks the same questions three times about the vet you take your pets too. read more

Laurie spent so much time with us during our visit. She walked around the entire shelter with us and introduced us to every cat and gave us their back round. After the entire shelter tour she let us go back on our own and visit the cats that we were most interested in revisiting. After about another hour we decided we wanted to adopt Cricket. This place is amazing and they truly care about these cats. They do amazing work. I highly recommend Ahimsa Haven. Ann Marsh read more

ahimsa haven - This is Cricket. She is our newest family member from Ahimsa Haven - Animal Shelters Near Me - Winchendon, Massachusetts

This adoption process left a bitter taste in my mouth and want to share my experience. We adopted 2 kittens. Both 3 months old, female but different litters. Complete opposites on every way. 1 is a little acrobat and the other was timid. When we got them home there was an abundance of hissing, growling and fighting. So I called to say that I wasn't sure it was going to work. Instead of advice and hearing us out right away, Laura demanded we return both kittens. Well we didn't return them. We demanded in return to listen and give advice she she knows so much. Her advice was great... however it didn't come without condescending words and belittling statements. She made me feel very stupid on this phone call and it was very hard for me to hold my tongue. Happy to say the 2 kittens are bonding and doing well but I'll NEVER do business with Laura again. I feel bad for the other volunteers. And by the way... the shelter reeks to high heaven of cat shit. read more

They discriminate against you,if your older. The head one is rude. Instead of allowing people to adopt they try to discourage it especially if you're older they want to give you an older cat thinking the cat will outlive you. I was 70 when I got my beautiful Simone and she died of a brain tumor he wasn't quite 10. Well I went somewhere where they appreciate me I'm 77 and I adopted a 3-year-old cat from Baypath humane society. If anything happens to me my son would take her read more

My boyfriend and I just adopted the sweetest girl from Ahimsa! You have to be 21+ to adopt from them but I personally think that's very reasonable The adoption process took about 2 weeks for us ( which I completely expected and had no problem with as they are doing their very best right now). Laura was very quick to email my boyfriend back and was professional but extremely nice! I can say we got a little impatient and emailed her about our application after about a week and within the next few days she emailed us back and said it would be worked on the following day. The very next day she called all of our references and spoke to my boyfriend (he is over 21). She was very sweet and covered everything we needed to know and answered all the questions he asked. This is our first time adopting on our own so we were definitely nervous about being denied but we got approved! Following our conversation with Laura, another lady named Michelle quickly emailed us about setting up a time and date for the adoption and that was only 4 days ago. Today (7/21/21) we met with Michelle and signed all of the paperwork. I was extremely impressed that they had Saturn see the vet once more earlier today before adoption to make sure she was all set. I was also very impressed that they had all the medical records we needed and that Saturn is microchipped as well as completely vaccinated, spayed, and healthy! After chit chatting and asking some questions were able to take our sweet girl Saturn home from their adoption center at the Leominster PetSmart! I can confidently say Saturn will be very loved and spoiled here! She was already coming out of her shell of nervousness after being here for only 30 minutes. So far she loves head pets and rubbing up against us I absolutely recommend Ahimsa!! Although there are a decent amount of negative reviews, I believe Ahimsa is amazing and are doing the best they can under current circumstances and conditions. Not every single application can be approved for one reason or another. They are extremely nice and professional and will email you back when they get the chance. read more

ahimsa haven - Animal Shelters Near Me - Winchendon, Massachusetts

the lead person is not only rude, but insulting. age discriminatory, and committed slanderous, false allegations against us. we had recently lost two of our cats, one of which was 19 and the other was 12, which passed of medical reasons. a previous cat of mine passed also at the ripe old age of 19. we have had pets for many years, including a spaniel, which passed at the age of 21. we do not, and never have, mistreated any animal. this lead person accused us of mistreating a kitty which we had recently picked up there because we asked to return it as it had bitten and scratch both of us. it apparently took longer to acclimate to our home than others had, but it did start to mellow out, and i was going to keep her, but that's when the person at the shelter started throwing accusations, which were very hurtful, and insisted on getting it back. even more disgusting is the fact we have been refused the first cat we chose, which she said was not ready when we ask for it. read more

They like to mock grieving owners of the cat they adopted out on their Facebook page. Blocking and deleting posts that don't agree with you isn't what accountability is about. You kept the cat safe and healthy but horrible business practice and behavior handling the situation. Such a Masshole way to handle something. Posted details in pictures attached. SHAME ON YOU AHISMA!!! read more

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After loosing my cat that was not adopted through them, I finally decided to adopted another cat, 8 years ago I adopted 2 kittens from Ahimsa the kittens ended up having a genetic disorder so we paid thousands of dollars to have their teeth removed so they can have a better quality of life. When I applied again I was questioned way to much especially about my beautiful cat that passed away that had nothing to do with them. We are good people and good loving people deserve to be able to adopt a cat or dog without this nonsense. At the end of the day I changed my mind, I am not going to adopt another cat. I now know why there are so many animals in shelters, to much time having to prove yourself to them. NOPE, I am better than that. read more

My husband and I adopted a 12 year old cat from Ahimsa Haven in May 2023 and were grateful to have been approved for adoption. Laura responded very quickly to our application and made the meet and greet easy and pleasant. The shelter's cages are massive and I am happy that the cats have plenty of room. What a wonderful service for our community. read more

Laura and this place in general is very unreasonable. While understanding the need for the lengthy application and 50 questions (to which I filled out honestly), being denied right off the bat due to stating I let my current cat outside for a few hours during the day I don't feel is reasonable. Seems like they are denying people right off the bat without actually interviewing them or giving them a chance to explain any situational needs. Very poor treatment and unfortunately MANY of these animals will go without loving homes due to the shelter denying just about everyone based off of little to no information. Total bad vibes and would seriously recommend giving your business to a shelter that actually cares about getting these animals a forever home because this one does NOT as i'm clearly not the only one with this experience. read more

Some reviewers take issue with the shelter's high standards about who'll they'll approve, but given the history of people abusing animals or adopting them from shelters only to use them in experiments, I appreciate their process. I adopted a lovely 10-year old kitty, and they were very upfront about her history and quirks. The facility is nice - the cats have multi-level enclosures, and are allowed to walk around freely as well. read more

Terrible shitty shelter that never responds and completely ignored my application and messages. Never once did i get a response and now the cat i wanted has been adopted. And they STILL didnt bother telling me read more

This was such a disappointing experience. I can't wrap my head around the skewed logic they use when approving or denying applications. I put on my application that I work from home permanently. Our application was first denied because we have had no pets that we owned on paper, but we grew up with pets and I worked with animals for a good period of time. They told us they're currently not adopting out to first time pet owners. I haven't felt like this since I graduated college, applied for an entry level job, and was denied because I lacked experience. We inquired as to why this was an Issue and then they told us that that wasn't actually the issue, but that a lot of first time pet owners want company while they work from home and then go back to work. First off, I told them I work from home permanently, so that's not even an issue...secondly.....it's really insulting that they just assume the absolute worst. I'm also wondering what they did before COVID when more people were not working from home.....I have never gotten such a hard time and dealt with such ridiculousness from anywhere else. I'm so disappointed because I would love a cat to care for forever, but they sound like they'd rather leave cats to sit in cages than put them with loving, adequate homes. They really made what should be a pleasant experience, a deflating, sad one. We would like to adopt a homeless animal, I now understand why people just go buy animals instead. read more

I was able to adopt a wonderful cat from Ahimsa. Laura was so helpful. His shelter name was Carmello but I called him Buddy. He had been put out in the street when his owner entered a nursing home. He lost several teeth and had to have an abcessed toe amputated. They left me foster him until lab results came back that said no cancer. He is so sweet. He was 5 when I adopted him in 2019. They took great care of him and he is now doing terrific in his forever home. I strongly support their rescue center and the volunteers. I am very thankful for having him. He is a love. read more

A few months ago My best friend adopted a cat that was said to be two years old and have some "mild stomach issues that will go away with the special diet we have given her" today that cat went in for surgery. My friend got a call that her cat is actually 10 years old, had to have all her teeth ripped out because they are rotten, and she has a tape worm that have been starving her for god knows how long. My friend had reached out to the shelter for help because the cat REFUSES to take any kind of medicine. She forces herself to vomit and my friend can't give it to her alone because she's so difficult, yet my friend will not give up on this poor cat. Either the shelter is FALSE ADVERTISING their cats or they neglected to take it to a vet for a check up. This cat could have DIED and they do not care. They do not care about the well being of animals. They only care about getting them out and making any kind of money they can. It's absolutely vile the way they have treated this cat and my friend. Please DO NOT adopt from here. read more

Dealing with this Laura is very hard, very hard to talk to. Laura is one way thinking and that is it, she doesn't listen to you, it is her way and that is it. I filled out an app in Templeton and fell in love with an older cat, I answered the questions honestly on every one. One of the questions she did not like how I answered it I guess? The question was do you want a declawed cat?? I answered "Declawed or not, either or I don't care? Meaning I would take either or It doesn't matter. So she denied over that telling me I suggested I was going to declaw my cat. I was so upset and I called her cause she takes a very long time to get back to you. Well she was very upset about calling her and started drilling me like a sergent and was very rude to me. She told me I was not adopting any of her cats so needless to say we hung up abruptly. Laura should not be in charge to adopting the cats out, I think she has a big chip on her shoulders and a little bit of a power trip. My heart was broken of not getting this cat named Kitty Kitty, we would of given her a very spoiled great home. We went to the Gardner shelter (very nice people) and brought home a 5 year old black cat on Halloween that we named Ozzie who love dearly, it was a pleasant experience. I hope and pray Kitty Kitty got a loving forever home and they get someone with compassion patience, and a friendly person in charge of adopting the cats out. This is our Ozzie below we adopted from the Gardner Shelter. read more

ahimsa haven - Animal Shelters Near Me - Winchendon, Massachusetts

I have had cats all my life, treat them like family and keep them indoors, and yet apparently, I was deemed unworthy of adopting one of their cats. Their application is a lengthy questionnaire, and even after that, they want to talk to your vet to make sure you take care of your animals. I am still waiting for a definitive answer as to why I was denied. I had 2 cats, strictly kept indoors, but one snuck out, and I have been conducting an endless search to find her. In Ahimsa's eyes, that makes me an unfit owner, I guess. I have had mostly purebred cats and have never been through such an unreasonable screening process to give a good home to a poor cat who is kept in a small cage in a smelly environment. Cat breeders don't have draconian adoption requirements like theirs. Don't waste your time with this place. I really question whether they truly want to place their animals. read more

The woman named Laura who looks through applications has poor judgement. She declined my Mom's application because my old cat passed away with a rare lung disease that could not be treated. My mom tried to call her back to explain that it was not our fault that our old cat passed away and we would bend over backwards to make sure our cat is in good health. She blamed us for not taking him to the vet but little does she know our cat got really stressed with people touching him so we tried to avoid making him stressed and made him comfortable instead. She called my mom after she declined our application, and told her that she could go visit more cats. After the call my mom found the email and tried calling to ask why we were declined. She hung up on my mom, and emailed my mom telling her to stop calling and that she won't change her mind. Poor customer service and poor judgement and it's too sad because one of their cats could have came to a loving home and family. read more

Don't bother being honest just lie & tell them what they want to hear! Very unreasonable especially when instead of a yes or no answer you actually take the time to explain anything to them. Apparently they would rather let cats sit in cages than in loving stable homes. I saw them giving a cat to a woman who had previously surrendered. But I own my house (as in I have a deed) and was honest about my feelings on outdoor cats I previously adopted from other shelters but was denied. Umm ok you are completely ignorant if you think that a cat that had previously been able to go outdoors will never have the desire to run out an open door. Of course you don't let a cat who has only ever known indoor life to become an outdoor cat but it's very hard to break a cat of their ability to go outdoors once they have been able to. I was honest about that simple fact and got denied. ‍. I have never surrendered an animal but because I care how the animal feels and about the animals happiness I'm a bad pet owner. So if you surrender animals and have unstable living arrangements you can adopt them surrender and adopt again without anyone batting an eye. read more