Meow Cat Rescue — Attraction in Kirkland

We had a bit of a mixed experience with this shelter. We visited MEOW this past weekend to find another cat for our family after recently losing our cat of 12 years to kidney failure. We have adopted three cats from MEOW in the past. Unfortunately, one of the kittens we adopted 12 years ago had a neurological disorder and only lived to be about 8 months. We tried everything including a lot of $$$ spent on neurological specialists, scans, meds, etc. but there was nothing we could do to save him. This left us with his littermate, Tiger who was quite literally the best cat ever until he passed from kidney failure this past summer.

Our issue with MEOW started with a third cat we had adopted a year or so after our kitten died from the neuro disease. We wanted a friend for Tiger and decided to go back to MEOW. We adopted a beautiful tabby kitten named Priscilla which got along great with us and Tiger...at least at first. As our new cat grew older we saw an odd change in behavior with Tiger. He stopped being social with us and would just hide in our closet or under our bed anytime Priscilla was around. We noticed that when Tiger did come around, Priscilla would constantly pester him. Then, we had our second child which seemed to cause additional behavior issues in Priscilla. After enduring for a couple of years, we shared our frustration with a friend who offered to take Priscilla into her home where she had no kids and another cat that was lonely. This seemed like a great solution for all parties, and once the cat was in her new home with someone we trusted, our cat Tiger became his old self again. Turns out Tiger was happy being a lone cat.

Back to our visit at MEOW this past weekend. After filling out the application, we were grilled over and over as to why we didn't keep Priscilla. They acted like we had dropped her off on the side of the road instead of with someone we trusted and made to feel as though we were unfit to adopt another cat from them. They seemed to look past the fact that we took care of Tiger for 12 yrs and did everything we could to help his littermate fight a neurological disease.

MEOW, I understand you want your cats to end up in great homes which is why we chose you to begin with, but my wife, kids and I left this weekend with a heavy heart. I think you could have been a bit more understanding. I've read some of the negative reviews on here and coupled with our recent experience I can only hope that you have a 100% placement rate for the animals in your care, because if you're this stringent on applicants, I feel bad for the cats that could have ended up in a loving home but didn't as a result of...

I had a wonderful experience with meow cat rescue, and I would absolutely recommend for anyone wanting to adopt a cat. I found my boy Esteban on petfinder, and the pictures and description from the ad were very accurate. I filled out the adoption form and heard back quickly from Marilyn (sp? one of the many people that volunteer there). If you're approved they schedule meet and greets on the weekend, which we scheduled for the following weekend.

Shortly before I was about to leave to meet him, Marilyn called me with some unfortunate news -- Este had become sick with a fever. She offered me the option to come and meet the other cats or to keep in touch about Este. I had a strong intuition that Este would be the cat for me, so I decided to wait it out. I was honestly worried that either his condition would worsen or that they would forget to keep me in the loop and someone else would adopt him. However Marilyn promptly returned all my calls and kept me up to date weekly. He is also totally healthy now, and his illness was likely due the shock of the new shelter environment.

When he was feeling better (2 or 3 weeks after initially inquiring) Marilyn invited me to come meet him and even put him on reserve (not sure if if this is normal, but it seemed like the circumstances called for it). I got to meet him in an enclosed private room with toys and my friend was able to come along too. Marilyn was very knowledgable about cats in general and also knew the person who found him, so I got to learn about his situation before being picked up by the shelter. Great way to get a feel for his personality.

The adoption fee was a mere $65 and they accepted payment by credit card. The $65 covered his previous neuter operation, treatment for worms, vaccinations / other health stuff, the microchip (he came chipped and they registered him to me on the spot), detailed documentation on his health records, guidance documentation on the various issues on adopting a new cat, certificates for mudd bay and all the best and a free wellness exam for the vet. Really crazy value.

I honestly really can't think of this experience going any better. They also followed up with me a month after adopting him to see how things are going, so I appreciate that care about how their kitties are doing post-adoption. If I ever decide to adopt another cat, I will without a doubt go through meow cat rescue.

Attached a few pics from when I got to meet him and him getting cozy in...

1-Star Review:

My fiancé and I were genuinely excited to adopt a cat and give a loving home to a pair in need. I even called ahead to make sure everything was in order. But when we arrived at Meow Cats Rescue and Adoption, we were completely ignored. Despite being there first and showing sincere interest, we watched as other visitors were greeted warmly, assisted quickly, and left with cats in hand—while we stood by, overlooked and unacknowledged.

It was incredibly disheartening. I couldn’t shake the feeling that we were being judged for reasons I still can’t understand, and it genuinely hurt. We came ready to provide love, care, and stability, but instead, the animals were left behind in cages for yet another day.

If anything, it feels like the cats need to be rescued from this organization. It’s heartbreaking to think that potential adopters are turned away, while these animals remain confined. Adoption centers should prioritize the well-being of the animals and treat every prospective adopter with kindness and fairness. Unfortunately, that was far from our experience.

Edited in response to

Hi Adolfo,

Wow you responded to my review expeditiously. Wish you could have done the same for my application. Thank you for your response. I understand shelters have protocols in place, and I completely support the need for thorough adoption processes to ensure every animal goes to a good home.

However, I’m genuinely disappointed in how I was treated during my visit. As someone new to the adoption process, I came in with excitement and hope, and I left feeling dismissed and unwelcome. At no point did anyone offer assistance or guidance when I was clearly unfamiliar with your process. While you mentioned that I didn’t ask for an application until 4:30, the truth is I felt overlooked from the start and unsure of what to do next. A simple offer of help or a welcoming approach could have made a world of difference.

I recognize that your staff may have been busy, but being busy should never come at the cost of kindness or clarity—especially for someone looking to give an animal a loving home. While I understand you won’t be a resource for adoption moving forward, I do hope you reflect on how first-time visitors are treated. Compassion shouldn’t only extend to the animals—it should extend to the people trying to...