Merrimack River Feline Rescue — Local services in Salisbury

Please forgive me for the lengthy explanation of my rating. I stopped in yesterday 8/13/25 to search for a cat needing a furever home. Met with a wonderful adoption counselor I believe was Katlyn. She was incredibly helpful and I chose a bonded pair of 1yr old cats. I fell in love with them immediately. My application was already on file and she completed everything necessary. The next step was to come back today 8/13 to pick up the two boys. I was thrilled to be a part of giving two older cats a home and lucky to participate in their “clear the shelter “ event. The event advertised no fee adoption for older hard to place cats. I arrived and was met by a different adoption counselor. She never gave her name. She took me back to the two boys while she completed the paperwork. After 25 minutes she came over and asked how I wanted to pay the adoption fees for both! Surprised I said to her that my understanding is there was no fee as Katlyn and I discussed. Her response was it was only certain cats and the two boys were not part of the event!! Shocked, I said to her that everything was reviewed yesterday. I was devastated as I had already fallen in love with both boys. I calmly expressed my disappointment and asked her to show me which cats were part of the event. She then made a statement that was completely unprofessional. “ She was CONCERNED that I could not FINANCIALLY handle the responsibility of taking home a cat!!! She NEVER asked about my financial status and made the appalling assumption that I could not afford this responsibility. For a nonprofit organization to treat a potential adoptive family in this manner was beyond unprofessional. Had she asked anything about my finances she would have been informed that I am a nurse who makes well over 80K per year!! I also ran a nonprofit organization for people with disabilities for over 35 years. Being in the nonprofit sector I would NEVER treat a person willing to open up their home to those in need whether animal or human in this manner!!! I guarantee my financial situation is greater than hers. This shelter currently has over 75 cats needing homes. This type of behavior and attitude will certainly not CLEAR THE SHELTER. After driving home in tears I had $185.00 worth of cat supplies on my deck which I had delivered to greet and welcome home my two new family members except I came home with no one! I have NEVER been treated in such a disrespectful and rude manner which screamed of suspicion. To make an assumption of my ability to care for two pets regardless of what I said to her is horrible practice and unacceptable behavior. I even said to her that she could call my incredible veterinarian and she could vouch for my character and financial independence. I have cared for and loved several cats and a dog who had medically intensive needs and financially supported them through seizure medication, cancer treatment, arthritis medication without hesitation or a financial struggle!!! This shelter actually called me several months ago based on my application to place a medically intensive cat based on my history. I was not ready to accept a new pet having lost my dog to cancer! I would NEVER recommend this shelter. It is not only my loss but the two wonderful boys Ash and Apollo who suffer the most. Both sitting in a small cage hoping they get a family to take them both home. I do not believe in paying for pets particularly when there are so many in shelters needing homes. I will absolutely adopt from anywhere else and if there is a fee for a pair of cats needing a loving supportive home so be it. I checked the link again when I got home for the CLEAR the SHELTER EVENT and both boys Ash and Apollo were listed!! Horrible false advertisement… Go anywhere else. I’m sorry for...

I love this place with all my heart, prepare for a book. I volunteered here for about 6 years as a teenager in the mid 2000's through early 2010's and if there is anything I can say about this rescue it's that they go above and beyond to care for their cats. This (surprisingly) doesn't go over well with some people.

This is something that I feel like might irk potential adopters (as stated in previous reviews) but this isn't an in and out the door with a new cat speedy little venture. This isn't a mall store pandering to people who purchase living breathing Christmas gifts; stores that are chock-full of "stock" from animal mills. This is also NOT the type of place that encourages purchasing animals for the novelty of them being cute. So many families visiting rescues immediately dart to kitten rooms without even sparing so much as a glance at cats who exceed being a year old or have lifelong complications. MRFRS encourages finding a cat based on your lifestyle, how many people you have in your home, the ages of those people, personalities of everyone involved, and (in the case of cats with chronic issues) emotional tolerance and if your current income has the possibility to provide adequate levels of care (with advice to map out those costs to see if you can handle long-term care and any complications that might arise as well). They want this to be a successful matchup so they do not send a cat into a home which they believe will be stressful and limiting to them. They do not want that cat to be abandoned (again) because it acts in a way that isn't pleasing.

I know it can be frustrating to feel so put under a microscope, however; In my many years of volunteering in shelters, I have seen countless cats spend all of their limited years waiting and waiting for anyone who matches them. Those cats pass away waiting, ignored by people who would be a good fit in favor of waiting on kittens, being added to waitlists @ other shelters for "rarer" cats or needlessly buying from breeders. In all my describing what this place isn't, I can sum up what this place is pretty easily: This is a rescue to find a cat who fits you, not for you to find a cat who fits into your dream of what your cat should look like. It's a personalized process for you and it's the most helpful process for the cat's health and longevity.

So please, if you are someone who wants what is best for cats and wants to fulfill their needs first and foremost to your best ability, give MRFRS a look. It's worth taking whatever questionnaire they are working with now and exploring which cats with which personalities you might be best to handle. You might be surprised by which fur friends make your...

This review is for The Cat Mobile division of the Merrimack River Feline Rescue Society

Pros: Cheap spay for cats (male and female) Numerous locations for appointments

Cons: Extremely unprofessional, careless, and rude employees Neglectful to the animals - swinging crates around and bumping them into other objects with cats still inside Extremely strict and ridiculous policies They seem to commonly have and deal with legal action against them (read below)

My Story: Got a new kitten with my fiancé, all vet records under my name, my fiancé made the appointment with cat mobile to get her spayed. I show up morning of the appoint to drop our new kitty off. I have all vet records in hand. When it came my turn to check in they outright refused me service because I wasn't the one who made the appointment, even after explaining myself, presenting them with all of the cat's vet documentation showing my name on the records, they still refused service and they refused to talk to my fiancé on the phone when I called after they gave me a hard time. All my fiancé did was make the appointment. When I pushed back with my dissatisfaction the rude lady said, quote, "If your cat dies, I don't know who's going to sue me". For those reading this I leave you with this quote to judge the integrity of the cat mobile as well as safety of your animal in their hands for yourselves. But as soon as she said this, a big red flag went up for me and I thought "how many cats die on you? How many times have you been sued?". With a business that is so combative, rude, strict, careless, and treats customers so poorly, I wouldn't trust my pet to them if I were you. And if that wasn't enough, after I calmly challenged them about their ridiculous refusal of service, they then threatened me that they will not allow me to ever make an appointment with them again. An empty threat in the end because I will never do business with these people ever again anyways.

I hope people find this review before taking and entrusting their animal to these people. You may end up with a dead pet and no sympathy or care from the people who held your pet's life in...