Brysons Animal Shelter — Local services in Gateshead

I really hope I can be a warning to others with this review. If I could give 0 stars I would.

This shelter has serverely upset me and my boyfriend whilst trying to adopt one of their kittens. After being told that one of the kittens is already spoken for in this litter of 3 we spent almost an hour bonding and socialising with them and almost named the one we wanted. We then went to the office to put down a deposit and were told by the guy we had been previously talking to that we might not be able to reserve them as they have not had their health check yet just incase they have FIV. Like as if that was going to be a problem and maybe they wouldn't be available to adopt anymore. It really upsets me that shelters don't have the necessary information and knowledge about FIV and think that cats cannot live happy and harmonious lives with the condition. I also mentioned to him that mummy cat and babies seemed to have diarrhea but there was no blood. Just so they could keep an eye on it. I think after that they just took a disliking to us.

So he went to ask another woman if we could reserve the kitten and she came back in and said "sorry I'm going to disappoint you. You can't have the kitten because you aren't going to let him outside." we had given this information before we had spent almost an hour bonding with this kitten and were never advised that it was going to be a problem.

She then told me that it was just their "policy" and they have always had it. Even though I adopted 2 kittens from them 2 years ago with them fully in the knowledge that they would be indoor cats.

She tried to advise me that outdoor that are much happier than indoor cats and told me how a cat's face just lights up when they go outside for the first time and "would I really want to take that away from them?" She also has the audacity to tell me that most indoor cats are overweight because the can't exercise and get overfed. This woman has obviously never owned a cat and I hope to God she never has, as her knowledge on them is shockingly nonexistent. I think an owner should be allowed to make the decision as to whether their cat is allowed outside for their own reasons. I don't let my cats out as we live very close to a main road, there are a huge amount of poisonous plants out there that they could ingest and worst of all there are some really evil people in this world who really don't like cats. I would rather have my cats in the safety of their own home where they have plenty of room to run around and have their own space than be subjected to the horrors of the outside world. I really, REALLY don't appreciate it being implied that I somehow am not a suitable cat parent because I don't let my cats outside.

Every pet owner knows that they look after their animals in different ways that work for them so how can a shelter decide whether it is better or worse for a cat to be allowed outside.

I hope someone from this shelter reads this as has a good long look at their so-called "policies" and work out if they are really allowing their animals to go to the best home possible.

Bryson's, you have thoroughly upset and disappointed me and my boyfriend who chose your shelter specifically because we had such a good experience in the past. I think it is important to talk to your team and make sure everyone is on the same page because it just makes for very very disappointed adopters.

I also see that there have been a couple of other people mentioning similar experiences and one person who seems to have gone through the same horrible ordeal as me.

I just hope for the best for that poor little kitten, that has a lower than average chance of being rehomed because he is black. I really hope he is lucky enough to have another loving family find him and adopt him.

AND ADVICE FOR ANYONE. Just tell them you are going to let them outside. Don't let them dictate how to look after your pet.

You have some really despicable people, one inparticular, working for you. If only I had been told the...

Honestly wish I could give this place 0 stars. Absolutely disgusting behaviour from a certain staff member (Tracy). My family and I had reserved a kitten on the Wednesday, we were due to pick her up on the Sunday at 2:30. They warned us that we could not take the kitten away unless our father was with us so our full family had met the kitten which was understanding and fine because he was going with us to collect her. We payed a visit on the Wednesday twice, once on Saturday and then again on Sunday morning before we were going to pick her up. We went and bought all kitten stuff in preparation of bringing our new little kitten home. It was a sensitive situation as we had to get our cat put down a few months ago, so obviously everyone was still upset. 2 hours before we were going to pick her up we got a phone call from Tracy. She said that a couple wanted to take both kittens and she was considering giving our reserved kitten to them. It was never stressed that the kittens had to go in a pair otherwise we would have considered it ourselves. Tracy rang back to say the couple had taken both kittens even though we were meant to be picking her up in 2 hours time? How does this even make sense? Why would you promise a family something like that? Clearly there are no polices in place and this shelter has a very poor managerial system (if any). Having volunteered at various shelters, It's absolutely disgusting seeing how this shelter is run with someone like this in charge. It's such a shame as there are some lovely people who work there. :(

My devistated mam and sister went up to the shelter to get some answers. Tracy informed us that she knew the couple she gave our reserved kitten away too... so it was clearly a matter of favouritism.

Family was left absolutely devistated as we had just lost our own cat and hopes of caring for another little girl were promised and taken away from us. I don't understand why anyone would want to do this to someone, just pure evil and unessessary upset.

A very disappointing experience. Rehoming an animal should be a happy exciting experience. I don't want another person or family to have to go through what we went through today so please be aware when dealing with...

Where do I start?! I was up at brysons 2 weeks ago looking for kittens while I was there we were talking to one of the staff who showed us to the kittens that were available we got chatting I told him I wanted a kitten around the 17th June as that is when im on anual leave from work for 10 days then the day I start back at work my Mam is then on anual leave from her job for 7 days so that the kitten has nearly 3 weeks to get to know us the house and our dog I was told there was going to be 2 litters of kittens ready for around that date and that we could go and view them 2-3 weeks before hand. We got talking about where I lived I told the man that due to where I lived I wanted a house cat because there not safe outside he said he understood and that that was fine. We've gone up today to visit the kittens to find there was only 1 litter and all but 2 were reserved which they were so cute I'm surprised they weren't all reserved but the person that seen us today (a woman) asked whether we wanted and indoor or outdoor cat when I said indoor she said they only sell cats to those who let them out when I asked Why I wasn't told this 2 weeks previous I didn't get an answer I again explained where I live and that there is at least 8 cats or more in my street that pretty much live outside and that we live next to a busy road she said she would speak to the manager when the manager came along she seemed very snotty and literally told us that it was kinder for a cat to get killed on a road than it was to keep a cat safe and loved in a house where she gets this from I will never know! SORRY TO SAY THIS BUT BRYSONS IS ALL ABOUT THE MONEY THEY DONT CARE ABOUT THE ANIMALS AS I FOUND OUT TODAY, to me when IVE paid £80 for a kitten I should be the one to decide if it stays in or goes out I don't want a street cat that goes missing or catches something off another cat or be driving along the road to see it dead on the side of it I love animals to much to put them through something like that so for all that I will never be using this so called...