Cat Depot — Local services in Sarasota

I highly recommend adopting a cat or kitten from Cat Depot! My boyfriend and I visited this past Saturday and had an amazing experience bringing home our new furry friend.

The layout of Cat Depot was excellent! Instead of keeping cats confined to cages, they have spacious rooms enclosed with fences, allowing visitors to see and interact with the cats by reaching in to pet them. This setup provides a much more comfortable and enriching environment for the cats, reducing stress and allowing them to socialize naturally.

Cats are only placed in cages when necessary, such as for medical monitoring, ensuring they are eating properly, or receiving specialized care. Most rooms even have cat doors leading to lanais, giving the cats access to fresh air and additional space to explore. This thoughtful design is a stark contrast to many other shelters, where cats are confined to cages 24/7. The setup at Cat Depot not only prioritizes the cats' well-being but also helps them feel safe and happy while waiting for their forever homes. It's clear that their comfort and care are a top priority, making it an exceptional place to adopt!

From the moment we walked in, we were warmly greeted by the receptionist, who was incredibly friendly and helpful. She asked about what we were looking for, and after signing in on the tablet at the counter, she explained the distinction between volunteers and employees based on their shirt colors. She then welcomed us to walk through the adoption area to meet the cats.

As soon as we stepped inside, an older volunteer greeted us with kindness and explained how we could look around, pet the cats through the fences, and interact with them safely. I really appreciated this setup, as it ensures the cats are protected while still allowing for meaningful interactions. This set up also ensures the cats are not tired out when people who really want to adopt come in to visit with the loving kitties. They also require visitors to sanitize their hands between rooms, which is a great measure to prevent the spread of germs.

After spending time meeting the cats, we returned to the lobby to fill out an adoption application. The questions were reasonable, asking about our living situation, existing pets, and how we planned to care for our new cat. Our application was approved almost instantly!

What truly stood out was how much effort the staff put into helping us find the perfect match. They took the time to understand our home environment, our existing pet, and what we were looking for in a cat. Once approved, we were met by Lex, an incredibly kind and knowledgeable employee. She was especially helpful. She didn’t just show us random cats—she carefully considered their personalities, energy levels, and compatibility with our current cat. She thoughtfully guided us through the process, ensuring we met cats that would be the best fit for our situation. The staff genuinely cared about both the cats and the adopters, making sure each cat went to a loving and suitable home.We visited every room except for the FIV-positive cat room and the one housing three bonded cats, as bonded cats must be adopted together.

I fell in love with three cats—Floof, Toast, and Sunny—but something about Floof just felt meant to be. He was almost two and a half years old, and as fate would have it, I later realized his birthday was the same day my grandmother had passed away. It felt like a sign that he was meant to come home with us.

Floof was already up to date on his vaccinations, neutered, and microchipped. His medical records were provided to me immediately, and his microchip was registered to me on the spot.

Since bringing him home, Floof has been the sweetest, most loving cat—he adores cuddles and pets. I couldn’t have asked for a better experience, and I wholeheartedly recommend Cat Depot to anyone looking for their...

Giving this place two stars because the cats do seem to be very well taken care of. However, I wish they took as much care to actually try to get the cats adopted. Now I will say I adopted my beloved Joni from them 16 years ago, before they became "big" and moved into a larger location. They were much more welcoming then, and that was one of the best decisions I ever made. After 16 years of unconditional love, I had to say goodbye. My heart is broken. Even though I thought it may be a bit too soon, I found myself back at cat depot, thinking if I found "the one", my gut instincts would tell me and change my mind.

I went on a holiday, so I made sure to call and make sure they were open. She said they were, and that was all the information she gave me. SO excited to interact with some kitties, my boyfriend and I drove 40 minutes to get there. When asked if she could help me, I told the elderly lady up front that I was interested in seeing the kitties. With obvious hesitation in her voice and no excitement to have potential adopters there, she asked if I had an appointment. I didn't, so she explained I needed to fill out an application, then make an appointment in order to handle the cats (we could however walk through the area where they were). Why this wasn't explained on the phone is a mystery to me because I was obviously interested in coming in that day. We asked her if we filled out an application right then and there if she had any appointments available that day. I was so disappointed when she said it was a holiday so they were booked. I accepted the dismissal, and decided I still wanted to at least look at them and maybe get to pet them through the cage barrier.

In the time we were there, about 30 minutes, I saw multiple employees standing around talking, not busy at all, while zero other customers came in looking for a cat. I can understand filling out an application first, but to tell me they did not have time to allow me to interact with the cats when they obviously did made me feel like they were having an easy, quiet day and just did not feel like doing the extra work.

Again...I wasn't sure if I was ready yet, but totally had feelings for two sweet girls (Gabby and Gracie) and who knows, if I got to hold one maybe my heart would have chosen her. Maybe if one of the employees would've offered some facts about the two cats we were obviously interested in, as we kept going back to them, I would be more inclined to pursue adoption another day when they thought it was more worth their time. There is so much they could have done to get us excited about adopting, but nobody tried. All we got was the basic "let us know if you have questions". Makes me wonder if getting these babies adopted is even their main goal.

The sad part in all this is that the cats are the ones who are truly suffering from the laziness of this organization. I could go back, but after leaving in tears and feeling dismissed/lied to, I think I will support a rescue who I feel truly has their cats best interest at heart. I hope the appropriate person finds this and creates a better protocol to make sure people know what is expected of them before coming in. Also, find someone more welcoming and excited to have potential adopters come in,...

Hello. As a lover of animals since a child, High School teacher for 14 years, volunteer in the county jail and years of performing my silly songs in the area iwas so upset today by what I experienced at the Cat Depot. They have an application which is so poorly designed ( I say that as a market researcher for 30 years) that you have to answer questions which are irrelevant. Such as: what about the other people living in your house? There aren't any. Do any of them have allergies? You mean the people that don't live in my house? So I might have annoyed them even though I did it in a very nice way to sathat the survey is set up that you really need some improvement and I would do it for free if they wanted me to I will cop to that.

The trouble began when the cat adopter came out to talk to me.. or cross-examine me which is how it actually felt. Apparently the problem is that on the question about declawing cats --the one I had to answer to submit the application the one I wanted to talk to them about since I'm not an expert and have only had two cats I said I have no opinion on cat declawing because I've had people tell me positive and negative things about it which is why I wanted to leave that question black cuz I wanted to ask their opinion on it . But I answered it "mixed feelings it's certainly easier as far as the furniture and reinforcing that you don't want to ever let the cat out was". I don't have any opinion on it. I've heard people say it's bad and I've heard people say it's fine which is why I wanted to leave that blank so that I could get your opinion whatever you all tell me is what I'll do cuz you're the experts. That somehow put me into the category of so if we tell you not to declaw you're going to take the cat and then go get it declawed somewhere else . Huh? why would I do that? What I'm saying is I had a cat for 16 years the cat and she was declawed at the time of when her pregnancy was terminated .I do not know whether I was involved in the decision or whether my friends who found this stray cat were involved in decisions I don't remember it was a really long time ago . ..if you stop interrupting me like I'm trying to Glam you or get out with a cat so I can just go get the claws taken out like I'm some sort of animal hurter you might hear what I'm saying. Please leave the premises the answer is no answer is no. No cat for you. excuse me ...please leave the premises the answer is no you cannot adopt a cat here no I mean I can't talk to you about this or explain any of this? no we ask you to leave you need to leave okay how did...