The review is for management. There are 5 star fosters and event coordinators who do everything they can in the best interest of the cats, but the people who work in the office are deficient in their medical knowledge, and have no sense of accountability. This is my experience, I am not speaking for anyone else. The cats in this rescue deserve to be adopted, but make sure you take full advantage of the trial period to hold them accountable for anything going on with a cat you adopt. If you do adopt a cat who has a pre-existing issue, know that the foster likely asked for assistance resolving it, it was downplayed, and they did what they could within their means to fix the issue. I spent over $3000 on medical necessities due to lack of support.
I fostered with Meoowz for over 2 years, close to 70 or so cats. The families who have adopted my fosters have all been wonderful, and I am happy to have helped so many lives through this rescue.
When a foster developed a serious health concern, often my message was ignored, or I was told to use a shortcut to deal with it (putting bleach on their skin). Arika Kidman, who is in charge of making medical decisions, has no medical training/experience. I have a picture of a dead panleuk positive cat in an open container on the counter used to vaccinate and weigh fragile kittens. They do not follow basic sanitation guidelines. I work in the forensic health care sector, I have a clinical doctorate, and my job is to evaluate the course of specific disease processes and determine the most likely etiology, so I have some credibility.
I have texts from their president asking me to cover half (and front the rest) an oral surgery my foster needed, after a tumour was discovered during a private pay dental cleaning. I paid because I expressed twice to Arika and the president that my foster needed oral care due to foul breath and patchy coat. My concerns were disregarded. When I informed Arika they found a tumor, she responded with a single emoji.
That same foster also developed FIP which requires an 84 day treatment course. I received my first week of medication from the office. When I followed up for the second week, they were short, so they referred me to an individual named Tessa who insisted it would be easier for her to mail the medication to me. She forgot to mail it, but FIP can be deadly and if there is a lapse in medication you have to start the entire course over. Because it was urgent, I ordered the medication and continued to do so because of Meoowz's history of being unreliable.
What finally ended our working relationship was management essentially telling a concerned adopter that a kitten's pre-existing loose stool was never brought to their attention and he shouldn't have been put up for adoption. Not only did I ask for medical testing for the group of kittens who had months long GI issues despite deworming, they only agreed to test one of them (but not all), then their vet stated they didn't have authorisation to perform the fecal test, so I ended up paying for that too to ensure it was done. The test was negative, and the vet simply recommended a bland diet with probiotics until their guts healed. I relayed this information to Meoowz. A food sensitivity is not considered being "sick", and there was no indication from their vet Dr. Koch or Meoowz that any treatment was necessary. I spoke to several people in Meoowz about the best course of action and was told if someone was interested in adopting one of these kittens with GI issues, I would tell them the history, provide them with samples of their special diet and probiotics (which I paid for) and that they should follow up with the rescue during their trial if they had any questions or concerns about it. Several were adopted, adopters were aware of their history and special diet, and I let Arika know at least one adopter would be asking for medication. Meoowz doubled down on the accusation that I withheld information from the adopter despite others being present during the adoption to verify it was disclosed. They told the adopter I breached protocol which is a lie to avoid accountability.
Judy repeatedly tells me Meoowz "would have" paid for these vet visits but when I challenged her to refund me, she refused, despite having gone to their partner vet.
When illness swept through my fosters, killing 5, I told them their symptoms were vomiting, diarrhoea and some had seizures, nystagmus, and jaundice. The responses were "probably fading kitten syndrome", then "sorry for your loss", then nothing. They never offered medical care for the survivors. I paid to take one to the ER. The president once said (regarding other kittens she was upset she had to take home and care for) "if they die so be it".
Others may not speak up publicly because it may negatively impact the cats if people don't adopt from this organisation. I think the risk is necessary for management to realise they will be held accountable. read more