My mom and I attended one of the events they host - cross-stitching cats led by instructor Tiffany…read moreTzeng! There were only 12 seats available to be reserved/paid for in advance on their site. The space is beautiful and cozy for the cats around. Mary, the director, briefly introduced us to the organization, the mission, and explained their careful interview process for matching cats with interested adopters, which they call "Tinder for cats" haha. The event lasted 2 hours and 45 minutes but it felt much shorter! The whole time, different cats (all available for adoption) would flop down on the long table all of us sat at and let us pet them. We had a wonderful experience socializing with the cats and the people around us and learning how to cross-stitch too! All materials were provided and we got to bring all supplies home to finish the piece.

Local cat rescue located in downtown San Jose and it's a great place to visit if you're looking to…read moreadopt or just wanting to hang out with cats. The Dancing Cat is a peaceful place where they have approx 6-12 cats that live in the space, just depends on how many get adopted and other factors. I came by during my birthday because I love cats and it was so nice seeing them so at peace and comfortable. Some cats prefer peace and quiet while others are actively seeking out play and treats! Would recommend people to check this place out. Love their mission and what they aim to do.

The kittens and cats are sooooo well taken care of. Hard to explain. They roam around and come to…read moreyou while you sit. Very socialized and friendly. I frequent this place typically for an hour as 1/2 hour goes by real fast. The money goes for a great cause.

I love looking at the display of cats, although I am allergic to their fur. I decided to walk in on…read morea weekday for a 30-minute session at $15. That's a good time limit to prevent myself from having an allergic reaction since I usually start sneezing and have watery eyes in one hour. The big cats are typically shy or walk away, but the kittens enjoy playing with the toy. Just don't force them to play, chase, and carry around like a dog. I even got to pet them when they're comfortable, yet I can't adopt them because of allergies, and the adoption fee is from $200 to $500. The staff are mostly volunteers and always maintain a clean environment. Sometimes the whole store might smell like a litter box from the outside. You can find them at SJMade pop-ups in Santa Clara and San Jose during the summer and holiday season. They still charge for reservations to play with the kittens and cats.

We have adopted 2 cats from IBOK over the last 3 years or so. A wonderful tortie grandmother at…read moreonly 2 years of age (!) and a tiny little girl black cat. What IBOK does is they go to the shelters, such as San Jose and pick out the cats that are perfectly adoptable but face euthanasia because of over crowding and foster them and find them homes.. clearly this is expensive and time consuming to hold these cats and bring them to adoption fairs most weekends. These are just regular people doing this with mostly their own time and money. if you think they make any money doing this (??), well, you're not very bright, sorry. Despite the name it's not just kittens because our 2 year old tortie was an adult when we took her. They also host a black cat fair because, sadly, black cats are the last to get adopted. It's silly, but for some reason perhaps superstition, people don't often adopt black cats and dogs and those are commonly put to sleep at shelters. One of the cats that I remember they had for a long time was a special needs Siamese kitten with a genetic problem that caused his skin to be very fragile.. this is clearly the sort of problem that would cause most shelters to immediately put the animal down. Why would a shelter hold on to an animal like that when space is a premium?? IBOK stepped in, paid for the genetic testing and held the animal for many months until the right home was found. They didn't ask for the new owner to pay for the testing. The shelters just don't do that. They are a big machine and cats last maybe two or three weeks max then they're put to sleep. Anyways, we're on our third IBOK cat.. this one also a black cat but a boy. He is a little rough and still a big clumsy kitten but they gave us plenty of time to see if he can get along with the others. My opinion is that they clearly love the cats they rescue and want to find them homes. One of the things they ask is that if you can't keep the cat you adopt cat, please give it back before you drop it at the shelter. This is for the cat's own benefit (as I say, the vast majority of cats at shelters are put to sleep) -- it also shows these people do love what they're doing.

The owner was extremely rude and unwelcoming. I walked in with my two young daughters, ages 5 and…read more6, to inquire about a kitten, and we were treated very disrespectfully. She was dismissive from the moment we arrived and was quick to shut the door in our faces. I can't say for certain whether race played a role in how we were treated, but the interaction left me with the strong impression that we were not welcome, and I felt that there may have been discriminatory behavior involved. Based on my experience, I would not recommend this place. There are plenty of businesses that understand the importance of treating customers--and especially children and families--with basic courtesy and respect.

There are lots of other Mini Cat Town locations and this one seems to earn the highest rating. They…read moreused to be located at Stanford Shopping Center and now this is a better location. Visiting is super easy. Just walk right in. You sign a waiver and you wait for the next group to be called, which happens pretty quickly. It's $15 for 30 minutes and honestly that's just enough time without getting bored or feeling rushed. They have lots of young kittens so most cats are alert and playful. You do have some in the back who just prefer to be sleeping and there are plenty of couches for you to rest with those laid back cats. They ask that you not pick up the cats but sometimes they'll just plop onto your lap and what do you do if you have to move?! While there were a never ending line of people coming to visit the cats, it never felt too crowded on a Friday afternoon. There were LOTS of younger children, around 6-10 and some of them were not conducting themselves properly around the kittens, yet no one said anything. There are staff, maybe volunteers, in the space with the cats but no one seemed to say anything to the kids who were being too loud or aggressively playing with the kittens. You can tell some of the kittens were scared when kids would run towards them. Mini Cat Town seems to be a successful business. It's a good idea to visit if you're looking to adopt so you can get a feel for the cat you'd make a good match with. It's also a good place to visit if you need some cat loving but don't want to have one of your own.

If you are looking for the perfect "reward" for a brave kiddo (or yourself!), Mini Cat Town in Palo…read moreAlto is a must-visit. I brought my daughter here right after her wellness check, and being able to play with the kitties was a reward for both of us. The setup is very well-organized and professional. They accept walk-ins, which was perfect for our post-appointment visit. Before entering, you'll need to sign a waiver, put on provided shoe covers, and sanitize your hands--it's clear they take the health of the cats and the cleanliness of the space seriously. The pricing is also very reasonable for a quick dose of "purr-therapy" at $15 for adults and $10 for kids for a 30-minute session. The environment is clean and bright. We saw everything from sleepy tabbies curled up in wooden cubbies to social, friendly cats lounging on the sofas. My daughter was in heaven--she even wore her favorite kitten dress for the occasion! It's a wonderful, peaceful spot to bond with adorable, adoptable cats. Whether you are looking to adopt or just want to support a great cause while getting some kitten cuddles, this place is a gem. We left with huge smiles and will definitely be back to this location, and we're already looking forward to visiting their other ones as well.

We recently discovered a feral cat has been living in our front yard, under our bay window. I…read moresuppose she turned into a long-term tenant once we started leaving food out for her. It wasn't until I started googling what we should do for feral cats that I learned about TNR. Well, lo and behold, the San Jose shelter's online appointment system showed no openings for two months in a row, and we were starting to see our new tenant mating (oh the wonders of Ring cameras). I reached out to 13th St Cats, and Cassie and Laura helped us our tremendously, first with arranging to loan us a trap and instructing us on how to trap the cat, and getting us an appointment at the shelter when there was a cancellation. We were able to get our feral cat fixed, all in a day's work. I really appreciate the work 13th St Cat Rescue is doing to cut down on the overpopulation of cats, but also to help us care for the cats that are already out there. It was very apparent that Laura and Cassie care very much about the work they're doing. I'm very thankful for them, and for 13th St Cat Rescue.

We went to an adoption event they were having this weekend and we fell in love with a pair of…read morekittens filled out the adoption application so we could meet them. Spoke with the owner for about thirty minutes before even heading inside to meet them to give her the baseline of things that typically raise concerns to cat rescues. We have two dogs, live in a studio, and they would stay in the bathroom while getting acclimated to us and the dogs. We let the rescue team know both dogs grew up around cats and have never shown any issues and they know to go to the door for potty time (ensuring the back door would not be left open for the cats safety). During this conversation I heavily emphasized and talked about my Pitty mix because she is off weird with people and we won't push that but she has never shown any signs of aggression towards other animals. They were very open to our situation and told us they do a "trial" period to ensure a smooth transition for the cats and even if it doesn't work out after the three weeks we can hand them back over with no ties. We were super excited to find a rescue that seemed open and willing to work with us. I have been the pet industry for over six years so I know how finicky cat rescues can be sometimes and was super excited to thought I have found some place different. We spent 45 minutes looking at the cats and they were absolutely adorable and we wanted to go through with the adoption process. We talked to the owner she approved our application and we set up at time for Monday for her to drop off the cats to us. We were told we would be getting a text from the foster that same evening confirming drop off time and sending over some pictures of the kittens. We didn't get anything that night knowing they were running the adoption event through the weekend and they may be busy we decided to send an inquiry email Sunday at around 3:40 pm. We didn't get a message back until almost 9pm on Sunday. The rescue staff knew both of us worked Monday-Friday so meet up would have to be after than. We went to the pet store on Saturday to buy the basic cat necessities and once we got a message confirming the meeting and that we would be receiving the cats we would order the bigger things (cat tree, things for outside of the bathroom, etc.) but given we weren't texted until 9pm the night before everything had not arrived or is now arriving today (Tuesday). When the foster arrived to our home we immediately felt judgment due to the location of our home. Before entering our home the foster asked to meet the dogs we allowed for her to meet one but again with my pit mix she is ultimately nervous around people and it's not worth stressing her out and the foster let us know that was a "concern" for her but ultimately something I didn't feel comfortable stressing my dog out for. After entering the home it just felt like a very judged and invasive process. Under the impression based on the interactions with the dogs she would not be leaving the cats with us she still proceeded to take pictures of our home which we do not know if they have been deleted or not. Ultimately I do not blame the rescue or the foster as I believe they are doing what they believe is best for the cats but I do also want to warn people that the adoption process was very very invasive and left us with an overall icky feeling. They got our hopes up and seemed super welcoming and willing to work with and then completely flipped when it came to meeting at our home and we were judged for a number of reasons. We set up our home for two new additions and still have materials being delivered to our home with no use now. Ultimately we just find it very rude and distasteful.

We have adopted two kittens from the HSSV located at the Petco in Saratoga. Both experiences were…read moreexcellent. This time a woman working there named Cat helped us pick out our kitten and answer all our questions. She was very sweet and knowledgeable. Wouldn't have got my baby if she had not been there to help. Thank you! Also a volunteer named Florence was great help too!

I've tried to visit twice now, both times during posted business hours (once mid-day, once evening,…read morea couple months apart) they have been closed both times. The staff at Petco knows nothing about their hours either "it says they should be open...so they should be back there" both times

We hosted our dogs birthday party at Pup Plaza, and it was such an amazing experience! Everyone had…read moreso much fun - both the dogs and their humans. The space was clean, maintained, and perfect for celebrating. Yvonne was amazing! Super friendly, welcoming, and extremely helpful. We couldn't have asked for a better place to celebrate our pups special day. Highly recommend Pup Plaza for ant dog party or play date.

Great plaza area (indoor outdoor) space. You don't have to worry about the weather. Great for dog…read moreevents.

I really hope this place survives it was so cute. We decided to visit on a whim randomly when…read moredriving around this area. It's a quaint shop but the inside is bigger than you think. The first part of the store inside has goodies / merch to buy. While the store is free to visit the cats, we felt obligated to buy something as we had a great time. The cats were so cute! I bought a coffee. In the interior cat area there are many cats inside, with many toys to play with. Lots of varieties. We saw one with inly 3 legs but he was so adorable!!! They came in different moods, some were napping and some were ultra hyper. The staff was very nice and it seemed lots of them were getting adopted. Several parties can sit inside because it's so spacious in the cat area. Highly recommended!!!!

I appreciate everything about this organization and every rescue organization. This dedicated team…read moreputs in all the time and effort in ensuring happy healthy lies and future lives for innocence creatures that have no voice to defend themselves. How can anyone not support rescue organizations?? Every life matters! Every life deserves a chance! Please adopt and don't shop!! Support your local business!