Hermitage Cat Shelter — Local services in Tucson

With a HEAVY heart I felt compelled to write this review. What the PUBLIC must know before you surrender a cat/kitten. Rescued a kitten in a storm drain, trapped her brought her home to foster and care for her and move through a rescue for adoption. I took her to a vet for a check up, as I always do. She tested positive for FELV and was estimated to be 5 - 6 mo old (Oct30,24) I kept her aside from my own 3 cats in a separate room . I had never come across a FELV feline before. I had the DNA test done This was done in mid Dec24 in the interim, I had her neutered and vax. She became so loving, sweet and truly trusted me, I fell in love with her and she developed a strong bond with me too! This created a contradiction for me because of my 3 cats who were not vax for FELV. Kiki's results she is progressive. So in the first week of January 2025, I made contact with Hermitage. This is where it all began with Hermitage. At the time, I thought this was possibly the right decision for Kiki. On the drive down to Tucson, (it’s a 2-hour drive) I felt in my heart it was wrong; it just didn’t feel right letting her go! I had been sick for a few weeks with a severe respiratory infection, which I believe played a factor and my being confused about the well being of my cats and the fear of the FELV spreading. I was clearly upset when I walked in. Sydney at the front desk, saw I became emotional as we talked about it. They took Kiki away and I became more upset. I was given tour of the facility. Very crowded, 30 FELV cats in a smaller room, it was overwhelming. I asked to say goodbye to Kiki and she was trembling, scared and confused. She trusted me and I left her, I can’t believe I did this!

Driving home, I sobbed. It wasn't a setting where Kiki would flourish, so I thought it was the incorrect choice for her. I drove back down the following morning before they opened to nullify the surrender, less than twenty hours after bringing her, I encountered Tiffany Johnson, a vet tech who is the med supervisor, "Kiki is now property of Hermitage," she said, displaying a lack of empathy. I responded that she is a living being and not property. I made a terrible mistake!!I pleaded with her and stated they can keep the $500. She was very condescending to me then dismissed herself. She informed me I signed a paper giving my rights up and that I was not allowed to visit her, I left distraught! The next day, I contacted Amber Nix, the Facility Ex Director, who said she would speak with the Board of Directors and confer with Tiffany Johnson, the Vet Tech. Amber promised to get back to me by Monday and advised me to have my cats vax right away. I have even offered additional donation to help the shelter I emailed the proof of vax of my cats. Amber Nix, finally emailed me back and stated “ It is their policy not to return cats to their owners” and that do to Kiki’s FELV viral load (progressive) she would be best to remain at the shelter where she can receive care” Tiffany, Amber and Natalie Meier Pres of Board, have made a decision to sentence Kiki to a life as a shelter cat when she could have come home where she was happy, thriving and LOVED. I made a terrible mistake. It is unfair and unjust. Their “Policy” is a guideline not a law! I have the funds to provide medical care for anything Kiki may need. Kiki deserves to feel safe and loved ( I know she is sad and misses her life here at home) all of the days of her life and they have denied that to her, sentencing Kiki to be a shelter cat. Please don’t make the same mistake I made, as they are cold and lack empathy and unforgiving women that clearly do not have the best interest of the cats that have no voice. I just wonder how many others they have done this...

!!!PLEASE READ THIS TO UNDERSTAND THE RATING!!! Before I start anything, please understand that the cats there are EXTREMELY HEALTHY AND VERY WELL TREATED! They are constantly kept clean, monitored, fed, watered, and given loads of elbow room, along with rooms that allow them to watch birds outside without actually going outside. They have loads of toys, brushes, and everything. However, the staff are a different story. They aren't the best with people, and give off an aura that makes you feel unwelcome. When I tried to adopt a cat I had bonded to there after volunteering there for a few months, they denied me for four reasons. The last three were understandable; too many cats, I mouthed off (though wasn't aware of my mistakes) and my cats are too old for a young cat. The other reason was stupid, such as; history of declawed cats and yelling at the cats. Declawing was done over 10 years ago, and the vet never told me of the consequences of it, and I told them I learned better, but because of the fact I have a history of declawed cats, I was immediately stamped as UNTRUSTWORTHY, and ignored from then on even if I gave good reason. The other reason, I yelled at the cats to break up fights, WHICH IS STATED IN THE MANUAL TO DO, but they pinned me to the wall for it even when I pointed that out. The staff simply ignored me about the problem or restated what I did wrong even when I justified it. Eventually, I tried talking to visitors about it, if it was fair, and stuff like that out of my frustration. The staff DO NOT WARN YOU if you do something wrong, and simply wait for you to make a mistake if they don't like you so they can fire/ banish you. Being someone who doesn't understand social cues, I was kicked out for verbal mistakes I made without any warning. I am now banished, labeled as a trashtaker, untrusted person by this shelter, and no longer allowed to even set foot on the shelter's grounds. I explained to them in more detail by email why I did what I did, and asked why they didn't warn me, but got no response. However, when I told them I would give them a low rating, they immediately paid attention. From this experience, I get the impression they do not care of those who are willing to help, volunteer or not. They will not confront any problems you have with them, and will ignore you unless it directly affects them. AGAIN, the cats are treated EXTREMELY well, but if you want to volunteer or adopt, BEWARE. Volunteer, keep your mouth shut no matter what happens. Adopt, well, have a spitting clean history or you WILL BE DENIED for the tiniest error. THIS HAS HAPPENED TO OTHERS, SO PLEASE THINK IT THROUGH BEFORE YOU DECIDE TO COME TO THIS PLACE. Also take note that this review is YEARS old, so they could have changed for the better. I encourage others to visit and write their own reviews. At the very least, prove to me that this place has improved so I can take this down. I don't want to bring down a good cat shelter if they've...

The Hermitage unfortunately is a deliberately deceitful organization that doesn't care about or work well with either cats or people. What they do work well with and seemingly only care about are quotas. Case in point, I go down there fairly late on a Saturday to have the most beautiful and personable kitty pick me out. I submit the application online and go down on Tuesday (next day they're open) and work directly with the adoptions coordinator to pick him up on Friday. I call the next day to ask what food they recommend and am told by an individual, that up to this point I have had no dealings with during my previous two visits, that the cat I'm interested in has a brother it's bonded to and that, if I like the cat that fell in love with me and despite what I was told the previous day, I would have to take both cats home. I am told this of course after making online purchases in preparation for the cat I was told would be ready for me to pick up later in the week. After deliberating that evening on what to do, I come to the conclusion that the organization is either incompetent (no one really has any idea what's going on with any of the cats at any given time) or they are deliberately deceitful (they have people pick out one cat only to tell them later that they have to take two). Neither was acceptable so I declined and found a wonderful kitten at the Humane Society. After a lot of understandably negative feelings, I chose not to post a scathing review online, chalking the incident up to them having a bad day or week. THEN, just today, a co-worker from another building sought me out to tell me that she heard my story and that the same exact thing happened to their friends 5-6 months ago: their child fell in love with a beautiful and snuggly orange tabby, only to be told later that it was "bonded" to some other black cat and they would have to take both. The child was in love, of course, and the parents capitulated and now have a wonderful orange tabby and an anti-social black cat they can only find when it's time to eat. So it's obvious what's going on: the Hermitage has too many cats and is willing to do anything, including lying and deceit and manipulation, to unload them. They say their mission is to pair the right animal with the right person and they are not only failing that mission miserably, they are failing that mission deliberately by not allowing people to take home a single cat that needs a good home. If we were truly a society that cared for our domesticated animal population AND the emotional wellbeing of our children, this place would be investigated and shut down. What's wrong...