St. Hubert's Animal Welfare Center Madison — Local services in Chatham Township

UPDATE: I have had Violet since she was 2 now shes 5 she has totally let her walls down and it took her a while to trust us she has come a long way she is so lovable she headbutt my lips every morning she has to have a kiss We love her so much she can talk she calls me mom and she can even say her big sister name Pamela before my mom passed she would say grandma she still says grandma my other baby Fluffy didnt even meow her voice is tiny Violet helped her now we can even hear Fluffy meows because of Violet Amazing place to adopt the new member of your family adoption was seemless brought Violet home the same day in about a week she and my baby Fluffy are cool I absolutely let them meet when I brought her in from a distance of course but I prepared by letting Fluffy hearing cats meowing on YouTube she would look for the cat so when Violet came I let her see to know that there was really another cat here which made the process easier thanks be to God because I was so sad keeping Violet closed off God worked it out and let them get along thank you St. Huberts God bless you. one year later Violet is very happy and is in love with her human big sister shes very talkative like me when my 17 year old daughter moves shes right by her we can hold her now shes so lovable and she has officially taken on our last name I guess what people don't understand whenever you take on a rescue you don't know what condition they are in and they did tell me to take her right to my vet she has some problems she was Among 70 other cats in a Hording situation I was told to keep her separated from My other baby because cats can get things that they can pass onto humans Just like humans can give cats diseases also I lost a childhood cat because he caught the flu from me and he passed away When I was 9 It broke my heart because I blamed myself he was always up under me so you do have to be very careful you have to immediately take them To your veterinarian This is just my opinion our a veterinarian says she was in great shape she is an amazing cat I feel so bad for the things that your families had to go through and your experiences With Saint Hubert's but they rescue pets from all over even when there's floods and other States they take on a lot of pets Sometimes when you're adopting these pets like this you have to take on some of the responsibility yourself out of all the other places that tried to adopt from wanted to know everything about my life This was so stressful this was the easiest for me Even though I did feel a little rushed I did not plan on taking her home the same day but Im glad i did She's been with us a year she was challenging she was untrusting she was hurt mentally but now she's the love of my life and I'm so very grateful for for her she fit in my family perfectly My mom has been bedbound for 4 years now and when she came out the The Carrier she kissed my mom this made her feel so happy it took her more time to get used to me and my daughter but my mom she connected with immediately we just had to reassured her that we love her she was sleeping in the cat Pan because she didn't know any better This broke my heart to see her like this I can't even imagine what she had to endure even though she has a bed. she always worries about not having food and she's still deals with this issue if she see the bowl is about to be empty she panics And I try to reassure her that she will always have food It's a challenge when you get a rescue cause you don't know what they've been through Just like adopting a child. I really contemplated taking her back I even contacted them to take her back but I didn't have the heart to do it because she just needed someone to love her and even though I have a lot on my plate taking care of my mom she just brightened up my day I just prayed to God I didn't want to give her back I would feel like I was throwing her away I didn't want to hurt her that way so I'm glad I kept her and God worked it out for us God-bless all of you out there who adopted pets...

We adopted a 2-year old cat from this location who we were told had a "clean bill of health". In reality, she had an extremely severe case of periodontal disease which was present prior to our adopting her (verified by our vet), requiring a nearly $2,000 surgical procedure to extract NINE of her teeth (with SIX teeth already missing!). In addition, the cat has an extreme case of chronic constipation, which we were also not made aware of. It has required not only a nearly $1,000 emergency trip to AnimERge, but also a costly specialized diet which will cost roughly $1,000 per year for her food alone.

St. Hubert's refused to take any accountability for the condition of the animal prior to our adoption nor for their failure to accurately inform us of her health status and has refused to assist with even a fraction of her medical bills. We were told that we could "surrender her back to the shelter" if necessary...

At the very least, any respectable shelter has a moral and ethical duty to validate the health of their animals by performing a thorough exam, and to make available a full disclosure of all relevant medical details at the time of adoption. How else can the shelter be certain that their claim of "clean bill of health" is verifiably true?

In my opinion, this shelter either knew about her conditions and knowingly deceived us at the time of adoption, or utterly failed in their duty to provide even the most basic of medical attention, ie inspection of the mouth and teeth of this animal in order to make this diagnosis and general behavorial observation to identify the constipation. Such negligent practice is as shameful as it is unethical and cruel. We should have been told either "this cat has some very severe health conditions that will require expensive treatment" or "we have not thoroughly inspected this animal and thus have not determined its health status", not "clean bill of health" when a basic, routine visual inspection could instanly prove otherwise.

If you intend to adopt an animal from this establishment, I would strongly advise that you do your own due diligence to establish the health of the animal you wish to adopt. We made the mistake of taking St. Hubert's at their word, which led to not only immense medical expenses for pre-existing conditions we were not made aware of, but also unnecessary emotional anguish at having to consider surrendering the animal back to the shelter due to the cost of the procedures.

One Year Update: The silver lining is that this precious animal is one of the best pets we could have ever asked for, and that our wonderful vet has fully turned her health around. Eleven months after writing this review and it still makes me FURIOUS when I think about the fact that this defenseless creature was undoubtedly SUFFERING SEVERELY while she was in this shelter's care. SIX OF HER TEETH FELL OUT BY THE TIME WE ADOPTED HER! The rest were rotting away, severe resorption, she could barely eat and still faces difficulties directly resultant of this abuse. Absolutely disgraceful. St Hubert and staff, I hope you reflect on the cruel torture you inflicted on this animal and improve your procedures. What would the state think if they were told about this blatant, negligent abuse? Frankly, you should be doing better from a strictly moral perspective, but I'm going to assume that doesn't matter to you given the harm that was inflicted on her. I am beyond grateful that we were able to rescue our angel from the despicable life she endured while living at St Hubert's, because she was legitimately hurtling towards severe infection and death. How could you possibly sleep at night knowing how much suffering creatures like her experience while under your "care"? Takes a really sick mind to be more concerned with collecting a $50 adoption fee than with ensuring the health and life quality of helpless animals held captive for a few bucks profit. So shameful. Please do better...

Notice how this business has replied to many negative reviews, but not this...

They killed my cat. Words can’t express how heartbroken, disappointed, betrayed, and most of all guilty I feel. My cat was a rescue cat from St. Hubert’s when she was just 8-9 months old. My father originally adopted her but ultimately I ended up taking care of her for nearly 4 years. She was very anxious and because of my work schedule I felt that I couldn’t give her the attention she deserved. She was loving and cuddly she just couldn’t be separated from my mom or me or she would become extremely frightened and distressed. Because I would be home at night sleeping, she would regularly wake me up to keep her company. The lack of sleep was becoming detrimental to my mental health and I thought finding her a new forever home would be better for her. I was wrong. After unsuccessfully attempting to rehome her through my own network of trusted cat lovers, I decided to surrender her to St. Hubert’s. I was hesitant, but I had faith in this animal welfare center from which she came, a shelter with a high rating and that required an extensive surrender application. I made sure to cross all my Ts and dot all my Is. I mentioned her anxiety and what kind of home I thought best for her. Before dropping her off I was even told that they had other solutions for her if she didn’t do well in a kennel situation — they had open areas for her to walk around on her own and a foster home would even be an option. Nowhere on their webpage or in their communications with me did they mention they were a kill shelter and that euthanasia was even on the table. Had I known that, I would have never EVER surrendered her to St. Hubert’s. Leaving her broke my heart and I made sure to check their adoption page every day for a month without fail and NEVER saw her posted. Out of concern, I contacted St. Hubert’s myself and I was immediately told, via EMAIL, that she “did not do well at the shelter. She was very stressed and anxious and did not eat. We decided to humanly put her to sleep rather than having her suffer.” She was not sick, she was not old, she was not randomly aggressive. She was a perfectly healthy cat who was spayed, vaccinated, healthy, and who came from a loving home. At no point did they post her to their webpage and at no point was I contacted at all for advice on how to handle her anxiety even though I detailed everything in her application. Not once was I contacted before they made the pointless decision to put her to sleep. Words can’t express how heartbroken and sorry I am. I feel like I failed her, like I abandoned her, and as though I sent her to her death. St. Hubert’s handled the situation horribly. I wish I could have her back and I implore any cat lover who finds themselves having to surrender their fur baby for ANY reason to think twice before leaving them at St. Hubert’s. RIP Ruby. 🖤

UPDATE RE RESPONSE TO MY REVIEW: Thank you for your response to my review. However, I find it unsatisfactory for several reasons.

Your explanation of Ruby Roo’s situation is vague and does not address why I, as her former owner, was not consulted before the decision was made. I could have offered valuable insight or support that might have influenced her outcome. And I would have re-adopted her.

Additionally, your response fails to acknowledge my personal heartbreak or my prior concerns about Ruby Roo’s well-being. A more compassionate approach would have been to reach out to me directly. Instead, your response feels impersonal and lacks the care and transparency I expected.

It is also ironic that your shelter offers grief counseling services for pet owners while not acknowledging or supporting my own grief caused by the situation.

Given St. Hubert's access to various resources and networks, it is hard to believe that euthanasia was the only option for a young, healthy cat. The response I received seems only to have been prompted by my 1-star review.

I hope my feedback will help improve future interactions with individuals who have surrendered animals to...