Hearts Alive Village Cat Cafe — Attraction in Las Vegas

Let me begin by stating that I wish there was a place to review JUST the rescue side of Heart's Alive, because I would review them separately. I have had only GREAT experiences with both Cliff and Kelly McMahon at HA Village, they have always been incredibly kind and accommodating.

On April 7, 2019 I received the call from HA animal rescue that I'd been waiting for, "Can you foster a mama and her FIVE 5-week old babies?", of course I was ready! My husband and I drove north to pick them up and so it began. I received messages from other foster's with HA welcoming me and offering their support, which was wonderful. I received emails containing a lot of information on what steps to take, which order to take them, who to call, etc...I did EVERYTHING that I was supposed to do.

About 3 weeks into this journey, one of my littles (Cindy) became a little sick with diarrhea, so I was given probiotics to assist with all their gut health. She felt better for a day and then things went downhill very quickly. It was late at night, I didn't know what to do, couldn't find anything in the verbiage I received about where to take them in case of emergency, so I waited until the morning to start contacting others. It was a sleepless night and Cindy was covered in feces b/c it was uncontrollable. I weighed her and she had lost 120 grams in ONE day, which was about a third of her body weight. I knew the situation was dire. I did NOT call the "medical director" (Nikki Martinez) b/c I knew she was on a big hoarding job that morning (I saw it on social media), so I didn't want to bother her, nor did I think she'd be able to answer, so I called the next in line on the list, Christy Stevens, she didn't answer. So I called the next on the list, Stephanie. At this point, I was holding Cindy, she was weak, very sick, and I was crying. I informed her of what was going on and she had me get her to their hospital right away. I felt so relieved after I dropped her off, I knew she would be cared for, and that I wasn't equipped to take care of her. I was immediately told by HA that I couldn't call and check on her b/c they were too busy and that they'd give me updates. I dropped her off on Wednesday and didn't receive any follow ups until Saturday when I was told she was "better and that I could pick her up."

I said that I skipped calling the "medical director", not because I was trying to bypass anyone, I was DESPERATE. So, later that evening I received a message from the "medical director", Nikki Martinez, saying that she heard I had a "sick kitty". To which I replied, "Yes, but she's at the hospital, I spoke to Stephanie...". To which Nikki replied, "You are to contact me. I'm available 24/7." We went back and forth, I apologized NUMEROUS times for not following proper protocol, until I got sick of apologizing. It became apparent to me that it was all about TITLES, not the urgent care that Cindy was in desperate need of. What followed is unfathomable. The mean girls, Kelly King, Nikki Martinez, Stephanie, and Christy wanted nothing to do with me and were not helpful at all. Meanwhile, I still had 4 fosters and mama that I needed to get adopted. I sent all the photos to Stephanie to post on HA on two separate occasions and not ONE of my photos of my babies were ever posted, NOT one! I got them adopted out myself, no thanks to them! Oh, when I picked Cindy up, she was still just as sick, she wasn't any better! I had to take her back the following day b/c she was so hungry, but diarrhea was coming out of her WHILE she was eating. I NEVER heard about what happened to her again. I only received a text saying that they were putting her with a "more experienced foster". And mama Carol? Turns out, she was pregnant, apparently was impregnated after giving birth and before being rescued, and no one knew. They had me take Carol to HA Village for a spay and abort and I NEVER heard anything about her again. I have taken my money and efforts as well as my friends to other worthy...

Sadly, I have to write this tragic review. My 8 year old and I decided we would get two white kittens for our home. We were connected with Lillian who was fostering the kittens and started to visit them weekly in March. We were told they would not be ready until late June but loved them so much we decided to wait. We have one current cat, a senior dog, and a few hamsters, which were all indicated in the initial application to adopt the kittens. We were asked to make weekly visits to Lillian's around her schedule which was nice enough but going there was awful as she is incredibly rude, and very abrasive to my daughter. June 15th... We are coming up on when I was told the kittens would be ready and I am told multiple times she needs to do my home visit. I have welcomed her openly to my home since April, which is 5 minutes from hers but she has made alternate excuses more than 3 times. So I made time last night June 17th for her to come see the house. Prior to the visit I did get additional shots for my cat that she did not need and over $500 in new equipment for the kittens. She came inside and although my home is shoe free she insisted on wearing her dirty sandals through. She was extremely rude and abrasive again, although I have complied with every request. She then tormented my dog who is literally dying of kidney failure with 2 unneeded strokes from around the back of his head; trying to provoke him. His toothless nipping at her in defense required her to state that if the dog did that to the kittens we cannot have them.... it was then I realized she was looking for a stupid excuse to not give us the kittens. Today I took time off work to go to the house and do a dog greet. My dog was very nice to the kitten she brought and we again bonded with the kitten. She then put the kitten into the crate, told me that she has a lot to think about, that she does not like my lifestyle, she does not feel comfortable giving us the kittens and then leaves.... leaves not just the kitten but two very broken hearts and a sobbing 8 year old. 3 months every week visiting and this crazy cat lady decided she did not like us personally. Very, very bad practice and absolutely not appropriate management of "volunteers". Lillian is a mean, ugly-hearted, horrible person who likes to take out her pain on people so please be VERY CAREFUL. 3/4 kittens got their owners swapped by week 10. Do not invest time going to her home, she will find a reason to screw you over. Horrible person, no solution provided by the organization. Unruly, crazy, not normal person making decision so beware she is...

So I want in to Hearts Alive a few weeks ago and found my perfect new family member. I described he to my friends and family as my spirt animal. She immediately pawed at me and begged to be picked up. I loved her immediately. I was informed due to the upcoming Holidays that she wouldnt be ready for adoption for a few weeks due to her just being dropped off that morning. I wish that's where this story ended. After a week I called back to check on my baby to make sure all the paperwork was approved and I'd be getting her whenever she was ready. The man whom answered was extremely rude and seemed too busy to be answering the phone. I told him my name and the name of my fur baby and asked if I could get an update. This man had no idea what animal I was even talking about. I explained again that she was a siamese I met whom was dropped off the day I came in. He proceeds to tell me Sidney had already been adopted to someone else a few days earlier. I told him this had to be a mistake since I was told I was the first to meet her and he said siamese get tons of applications. I asked him to look for my paperwork and maybe the can find my cat. He told me "that wouldnt help, she isnt her". He then had the audacity to tell me "if you're serious about adopting then come in Monday-Friday when I'm here". That the people working on weekends are mostly volunteers who dont know what they are doing. I started to sob and told him that the situation ducked and he responded with "yes it does" I continued to cry and he hung up on me Then today 2 weeks after that devastating phone call and heartbreak I received a call from Brittany whom told me Sidney would be ready to come home in about a week as her spay would be taking place soon. I couldn't believe it when she told me this. I called back and told her what I had been told and she apologized. I also told her a few days before this call I had found another animal from the Animal Foundation that I had adopted. I told he I was so upset it took weeks to want to look for another baby again and that die to the rudeness and outright heartlessness of the man I spoke to I didnt want to go to Hearts Alive ahain.

The man if he would have taken 5 minutes to find my paperwork would have seen that she was still there waiting for me and would have saved me so much heartache and so many tears over the holiday season. He clearly doesnt have the compassion or patience to help animals find their forever home. Now Sidney will be waiting even longer in her kennel to get another...