Colony Cats Adoption Center — Local services in Columbus

Full disclosure, I did adopt a kitten from them a few weeks ago. She's doing great, she's very sweet, and she's fairly healthy. She came spayed, with all her shots, and a chip. The one thing she does have is feline herpes, which is very common in cats that come from a shelter area. It isn't transferable between species, and all it's really done to her is give her some pink eye.

That being said, the adoption process was also very easy. I went in with my mother to take a look around and see if there's anyone I wanted to take home. I filled out a sheet of paper (front and back) that had some questions on it regarding my living situation, job, any other animals in the house, etc. They then needed to check with my "landlord" (who is my mom, I'm a 21 y/o student) if it was okay with her for me to have a cat, and since she was right there she said yes. They also needed to check with my dog's vet on her shots to make sure she's up to date, and my mom actually had a receipt of that in her purse, so I was able to be approved. I came back with my boyfriend on Tuesday to pick someone out, and I took my kitten home that day. She was $75.

The place stinks. I mean I don't know what else to expect when you go into a small space filled with like 100 cats, but it's really really strong. I was able to get used to it in about 5 minutes and stopped smelling it, but my mom got a headache and had to leave. When you walk in, there really are cats everywhere. They're mostly laying down or sleeping, with some walking around. They're all very sweet and let you pet them. There is a very VERY small room that is enclosed with sliding glass doors that holds the kittens. The kittens are kept together in smaller cages, but you can take them out and hold them. Towards the back, they have a front desk.

When I was there, there were about 4 employees. There was a woman in her 40's or 50's who seemed to be running the place, a few younger girls in their early 20's, and this one guy. The guy was weird. He wasn't very friendly and he was very abrasive and had sort of a haughty attitude. I didn't really like him. The older woman also sort of had an attitude. The younger girls were really nice and friendly, they deserve all of the praise. I didn't have a specific cat carrier or pet taxi, but I did have a small cage that I brought. They told me (actually they talked to each other ABOUT me) that I needed something else, and they let me borrow a carrier. They also had this attitude of "if you mistreat this cat we will find you." Which, I understand that you're protective of them, but I'm adopting her to give her a good forever home. They were like "we've flown all the way to California to get a cat from a kill shelter." Like, relax. Also they will not adopt to people who let their cats outside. They are strictly indoor, there are questions on the application about that. They also advise against and will probably deny your application if you want to declaw (don't do this, it's like cutting off their knuckles).

I give Colony Cats 3 stars because of the smell and the attitudes of the employees. The actual adoption process was really easy, and my...

My daughter, a 20 yr old who had just moved into her own place, was looking forward to adopting a cat.

To prepare, she spoke to her landlord to understand/follow the guidelines. Since this adoption was going to be an emotional support animal, she also visited her physician to get a medical note.

At that point, we sat down and researched the adoptable cats on the Colony Cats website, filtering the criteria we needed to follow.

We located what we thought was the perfect fit - An adult male named "Pudge" who loved cuddling and affection. He was Fiv+, but we were okay with the care that might bring. So, we submitted the online application.

Sadly, days passed without a text, email, or phone call. So my daughter called Colony Cats and left a message. What ensued was the most disrespectful string of communication from the woman who was fostering Pudge.

They say a company/organization is defined by its people. This woman was not a positive ambassador for the organization and the mission it represents.

For starters, she was very defensive upon returning my daughter's call... indicating she left messages at the number provided on the application. She went further to say we provided the wrong number. (We had no way of checking as the application was submitted online.) Lastly, she said she "declined" the application when she couldn't reach us. Just very rude and disrespectful. And frankly, defensiveness right out of the gate is usually a sign of guilt.

Ultimately, my daughter was told to get her medical note to her landlord as a next step. But the woman kept poking holes at my daughter... How old are you? Have you researched fiv+ and understand what's involved? I need to speak to your parent

My daughter was very perplexed by this behavior. Before even submitting an application she:

Took the time to speak to her landlord and obtain permission and criteria - A fact this woman substantiated in a phone call to the landlord.

Visited her physician to obtain a written note for an emotional support animal.

Spent considerable time looking at adoptable candidates on the Colony Cats website.

Submitted an application for an adoptee she thought was a good fit.

And let's not forget the time she would have put in to meet Pudge in person, pay the adoption fee, and afford all the supplies he would need.

My point here is that an abusive or ill-fitted prospect isn't going to go through this effort to adopt an animal, much less pay money! There was no need to treat her this way. And if a parent was needed for a 20 year old adult, then those criteria should be stated upfront and in the application.

Lastly, she lied to my daughter in a text indicating, "... that cat is probably adopted..." in an attempt to shut down the adoption process.

As her mother, an adoptee of 2 senior Colony Cats (Dumbledore-7 and Little-12) and a full sponsor of 3 additional cats, I am indignant that my daughter was treated this...

I love the concept of this place, the cats seem to be rather happy with their lives and it is much better than living in a cage. That being said - as a business that states they take in stray cats, there should be some process to handle this specific inquiry. In the search for my mom's lost cat who she has for emotional support reasons I stumbled upon a cat that looked just like her that according to the posting was in the care of colony cats. So I called to see if I could inquire about when that cat was acquired and if it may be her. When you call them, you are forced to leave a message, when they call back they do not leave a message (some people have jobs where they cannot just pick up a phone to answer whenever someone decides to call back. When I went into the location I was told just to look around, which is fine, with maybe 100 cats just roaming around you probably can't find just one. So I did, for over 20 minutes, my mom's car is a very unique color and no cat there matched her description at all. When I overheard a volunteer in training asking about intake and being told that if someone wanted to go back there to look for a lost cat they needed to be escorted, I inquired about it and was told no, that no one could go back there. The nice girl that I was speaking to said it may be a good idea to involve the business owner as she could see if a cat matched the description. The owner was no where in sight so she asked what I assume is an employee and is told, within clear earshot of me "I already told her just to look around, if she doesn't know what her cat looks like then we're not helping her". As previously stated, that was not the issue, I know exactly what my cat looks like. Cats run away, it happens, I made my mom move to the city from the country so I could take care of her, and this one escape artist cat for our before we had a chance to get her microchipped. Please be aware that you may not know the whole story and you should not assume, let alone you should actually respond to the question being asked. Thank god I wasn't a mother with a small child looking for this cat, or my mom. This interaction could have been crushing to them. Thank you for all you do for the pet community, I sincerely hope that rudeness of a few associates/volunteers that has been mentioned in numerous previous reviews can be addressed, your idea is wonderful and innovative and it is heartbreaking to see that there is something standing in the...