My experience with No Paws Left Behind Kitty Rescue, specifically with Robin and Julie, was deeply distressing, financially draining, and ultimately left me distrustful of the organization.
I personally fostered, socialized, and entirely supported a litter of four backyard kittens for over a month. I paid for all of their food, litter, and supplies out of my own pocket. My original goal was simply to have the rescue help get the mother cat fixed and find homes for two of the kittens while I kept the other two.
While I was fostering them, however, the kittens became very sick with severe bloody diarrhea and vomiting. Despite my repeated and urgent requests that they see a veterinarian, the only treatment the rescue provided was dewormer. When the illness persisted, the rescue insisted that I hand over the entire litter. I only agreed because I was explicitly told that they would receive the veterinary care they needed and because the rescue promised--both by text and in our written foster agreement--that my two designated kittens would be returned to me.
Instead, the rescue broke that agreement. They withheld the two kittens they had promised to return and brought back a completely different kitten that I had never agreed to take.
The kitten they returned was handed to my 84-year-old father while I was not home. They claimed he was
considered a TNR, even though he had no ear tip and he was very social with me. My father was told that the kitten was unadoptable and that he should release him into our backyard. Within hours of coming home, the kitten suffered a severe seizure. I immediately took him to a veterinarian, where he was diagnosed with toxoplasmosis and coccidia and found to have elevated liver enzymes. Had we followed the rescue's instruction to release him into our backyard, there could have been serious consequences for him and our other cats. The rescue had him for an entire month so who knows what other cats were exposed to the parasites.
I was also extremely troubled to learn that, while the kittens were in the rescue's care, they were rushed through spay/neuter procedures despite their ongoing illness. I was later told that the kittens experienced rectal prolapses during surgery.
After the rescue returned the kitten to me, we had a phone conversation in which I was told that if I wanted my original two kittens back, I would have to sign a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) through their lawyer.
When kind neighbors later stepped forward and offered to adopt the other kittens so they could legally be returned to me, the rescue refused those attempts as well.
I am sharing my experience to warn other potential fosters and donors. I entered into a written agreement and also received specific commitments by text regarding which kittens would be returned to me. Those commitments were not honored. My experience w/the subsequent legal pressure, the handling of sick kittens, and the instructions I received regarding the kitten returned to me was deeply concerning. Also they canceled two appointments to get the MOM cat fixed and I ultimately had to involve another rescue to get her fixed. Theres more to the story but will leave that for another platform.
The one kitten who was returned to me is now safe, loved, and receiving the veterinary care he needs. Getting him there, however, was an experience I will never forget. read more
