Neglected cats
They…read morehave a tiny, overcrowded room with tons of cats. The litter boxes were filthy and weren't even filled with enough clean litter to begin with. One cat that I was petting had several mats, with one particularly large one on its back (this can cause skin sores, bleeding, and infection). It's nice that they take them in, but you do actually have to take care of them if you do that.
I politely mentioned to the woman at the desk that the cat was matted, and she said "Yeah, that happens," and stared back at me. I asked if she cuts them off. She said yes, when she has someone to help her. I asked if she needed help, and she said no, she would do it later. I then mentioned that the litter boxes were low, and she said, "Well, I have a routine that I keep up with." Clearly, it's neither a routine nor kept up with, since the room is like that every time I go in, even though this store is never busy. This is just the first time I've complained. She then snottily asked me if I had made the donation while I was in there ("since you want to complain so much" being the implication). I replied that I had.
It's worth mentioning that no other customers were in the store, as usual, and there were two employees chatting at the desk while I was browsing and visiting the cats, so they definitely had time to check on the cats. Also, the litter boxes should have been filled more to begin with.
I have volunteered at and visited various animal shelters and the animals are always in better conditions than this.
The same woman was also very unhelpful years ago when I wanted to adopt a cat from there and I ended up getting my cats from a different rescue.
The store is also disorganized, overpriced, and poorly lit. It's no wonder that not one, but two other pet stores have opened up in this very small town and attract far more customers. Please treat those cats right!