Kitty Connection

Never Again.
This place, while probably well intentioned, is a COMPLETE Cluster F***.
My family decided to get a cat, and we googled and went to several shelters, and then looked around for a while. We say Kitty connection had an adoption event on a Saturday, so we went.
The adoption event is in a sketchy house, around in the basement. It is so small, and REEKS of cat urine. This leads me to believe it’s where all the cats live all the time– and it’s got to be a board of health issue.
We found the kitty we were looking for, and he was perfect! His name is Rusty. While choosing him, we were told he was 10 months, and was neutered that day, always went in his litterbox, and was in good health.
When we went to pick him up, another volunteer told us he wasn’t neutered yesterday, he just got shots yesterday, because I asked about aftercare. *Mess #1
Mess #2– All rustys paperwork that I was given say he is 2 years old with $ 100 fee. However, I was told he was 10 months, and paid 130. How old is the cat? Should not be THIS difficult.
Mess #3– His vet paperwork and the ladies at Kitty connection told me he was healthy! Yay! Im attaching a photo here, showing that in the upper corner of the vet paperwork, someone hand wrote «Has Distemper 1−17−16»
Tried to call Kitty Connection about a million times to figure out WTF that means– The vet checked that he’s in good health. Does that mean he got the vaccination? No answer from them.
He came home and threw up about 6 times his first night and went to the ER promptly the next morning. The vet said there was visible gas in his intestine– lots of it. He was dewormed ASAP.
But they were right about one thing– he does go in the box.

My experience with Kitty Connection was very smooth and easy. For me, my girlfriend and I had decided that we wanted to get two cats, under one year old, from the same litter. Many places do recommend keeping the litter-​mates together when possible, so you get put on a separate list when you are looking for a pair of kittens. Basically, they will give you priority over people who are only looking to adopt one cat, because they would rather see the cats kept together whenever possible.
I filled out pre-​adoption forms and emailed it in on Saturday afternoon. I had received a response that night, and was connected with Marie the next morning. Marie did an excellent job of keeping me in the loop on the pair of kittens they had and another pair that were incoming. I was able to meet a pair of kittens on Sunday, just one day after I had submitted my application. Those kittens didn’t seem right for me, but Marie told me that she had two 16-​week old litter-​mates coming in the next day. On Monday evening, we went back in and met those two kittens. They were sore and groggy and confused — it was their first day in the shelter and they both got spayed plus a check up from the vet, so they weren’t feeling very social. But we put a deposit down so we could keep them together until we could get back and have a chance to meet them under better circumstances. Wednesday evening we went back, and the kittens were just so sweet and cuddly and playful with us. We melted for them immediately and we wound up taking them. The kittens just had their first vet appointment a couple days ago and everything is looking great for them so far.
I had visited a rescue shelter prior to coming to Kitty Connection, and I just feel like Kitty Connection seemed like a better place for the cats waiting to be adopted. It seemed like a better controlled environment. There are a few rooms, so they can separate/​quarantine cats as needed, but most of the cats were free to walk around, play on kitty trees, choose from different foods to eat, and co-​mingle with the other cats. The cats seemed to be well cared-​for and happy in there, even when we went in on a busy Wednesday adoption event.
They have called to check up and make sure that we are happy with the cats and that they are adjusting to their new homes too. Some friends have asked where we found the kittens and I have already been telling them that Kitty Connection is a great choice and worked perfectly for us.

Obviously it goes without saying that people who volunteer are to be praised. Their hearts and their actions speak millions.
That being said, I’ve been dealing with these people for over a week now and somehow they’ve managed to get everything mixed up. My emails are answered by several different people, none of them seem to be able to read the prior answered mails to keep abreast of where the conversation lies. Now be it due to this being a volunteer situation or simply to what I will call” too many hands in the pot” it is completely unorganized!
After lengthy emails discussing rehoming my cat, I was sent an email from kitty connection accusing me of listing one of THEIR cats on line for rehoming. Again I will remind you all
It is MY cat being discussed, the cat I own, feed, care for and have since he was 6 weeks old, who is now 2 yrs old.
The volunteer who emailed me this” claims” she had been forwarded my previous mails…
I can assure you, she couldn’t have, but rather ASSUMED something shady was going on. and sent me a very rude email accusing me of nonsense.
It’s great to have volunteers in the world, but a little organization and communication would also go a long way.
Kitty connection has dragged me along for over a week going back and forth on If they cam or cannot take this cat, they’ve caused anxiety and frustration, also caused me to remove my craigslist ad to find him a new home in the promise they were going to find him a new loving acceptable home.
I would say here if you find an animal in need in the streets perhaps you should call these ppl. However if you want to rehome your pet (for whatever personal reason you’ve made this hard decision) look elsewhere for suitable new owners.
Kitty connection simply is not organized enough at this point to make such a thing a smooth transition for you or your pet.
Sorry this had to be said.

Do not call these crazies. They have no interest in reuniting a lost cat with its owner – they think that a cat should never go outside & any owner who allows it is unfit to have a cat. Activist cat crazy lady on the other end of the phone – please don’t call her if you find a lost cat.

Run Away… read the reviews, there are many more negative than positive. Do your research. This place should be shut down. Marie uses bullying and abusive tactics if someone has a problem with an animal placed with them. They do not assess the animals for illness or behavior problems, they just collect the cash. I got a dog from them and found out the dog was previously returned by an experienced owner, the dog had biting issues and after 3 months and several biting episodes, my vet told me I couldn’t keep the dog because of liability and that this dog should never have been placed in a home until the issues were resolved. My vet wanted to take the dog to a specialized place where it was breed specific and people would work with it, Kitty Connection refused to let me do that. They took the dog back and resold it with no warning of biting issues in the ad so it goes on and on. If you don’t believe me, ask the local vets. Their reputation speaks for itself in Medford and the surrounding areas and if you have a problem with an animal, Marie gets abusive and takes no responsibility and puts the blame on you. Real class act.

The kitty connection is in a sketchy, unsanitary basement.
My husband and I adopted 2 cats in December 2013. There was a lot of discrepancies in their vet records and they failed to be upfront about their health problems before we adopted them. Obviously, the common pet owner has no idea what the vet records actually say. They use shorthand and scribble the information.
Quite frankly, they should have paid us to take these poor cats away from this shelter. In the last 2 months we’ve racked up more than $ 1,200 in vet bills caused by anything ranging from ringworm, yeast infections in their ears, a tape worm, giardia, etc.
They never mentioned that one of them had a tumor in its eye, or that she has a heart murmur.
When adopting a cat, I expect it to be fully examined by a vet before I agree to adopt it. I don’t think that’s too much to ask for. I regret not having our vet examine them first.
As much as this has been a financial burden for us, we’ve brought out their personalities and grown to love them unconditionally.
As far as what I’d suggest to this shelter is setting up more temporary foster homes so these poor animals aren’t crammed into every available square inch of this place.
I also understand that they are underpaid and that they work hard to take care of the animals. However, this is not an excuse to lie about the cats’ health.
I also think this place could use a surprise visit from the board of health.

The place was dirty and smelled very strongly of cat pee. The woman was incredibly rude and told me «by just looking at me she could tell I couldn’t handle a pup.» I know I look young considering I still get carded at every store I go to… but really?! I have two children and have been in a committed relationship for over 10 years. She clearly knew nothing of my commitment and dedication to this possible new member of our family I have a nice home and plenty of space, time and money to spend with a puppy. The woman didn’t really care about any of that, in fact I don’t even know if she heard anything that came out of my mouth, to me It felt like she was being very condescending. She wouldn’t let me meet or make an appointment to meet the dog in question. She then proceeded to show me dogs anywhere from 6 years old and older of mostly small breeds after I specifically stated that I was looking for a medium to large breed puppy. Overall between the cleanliness and quality of service provided I would never consider this place again not would I recommend it to anyone.

We got our cat from them. Great people and organization.

I recently found a new home for my dog through Kitty Connection. The short of the long is that my circumstances changed rather abruptly and I could no longer care for my two-​year-​old pup, who I love more than anything.
All of the volunteers with whom I communicated were very helpful. In particular, Marie worked quickly and closely with me to find him the right home. She clearly knows her stuff and was both reassuring and compassionate throughout the entire process.

Well, just after I wrote my below review, I got motivated enough to check it out for myself and started to volunteer. I go in a couple of times a month and help with the cleaning and caring. Yes, the cats are still being fostered in a basement, and yes sometimes it smells in there. Sometimes it smells in my house when my cats use the litter box, it can actually wake me up :-) And I only have three cats :-) At first glance it may seem sad but the cats are safe, sheltered and clean and certainly loved by the volunteers. They are being fostered there and in other foster homes… lots get adopted. A lot of the cats are caught out on the streets. On occasion an owner may contact us regarding a lost cat and it is joyfully returned. Just recently a cat was trapped, given a lot of dental work and routine vetting, Turns out, it belonged to a woman who lived the next city over. She called and came and got her cat. Most cats are owner surrendered OR part of trap, neuter release (TNR) program. When a cat shows some sign of friendliness, we work with them and hope they can get adopted instead of being put back on the street. There is no way for us to know if a cat has a home or had a home and was just dumped somewhere. Most people do not microchip their cats. Not everyone is aware of the number of cats living on the streets, I know I never was. The numbers seem less this year, may be due to our awful winter last year (cats die out there) or maybe the TNR program is working. I read comments about our customer service, UNFORTUNATELY, I find this wherever I go, especially in stressful environments such as this. I see it at work, even in grocery stores. We can all only hope for a kinder society throughout, I know I do. There always seems to be a focus on the money but never on all the vet appointments, the food etc. KC may not be perfect but I have seen lots of happy endings. All of the cats adopted are followed up on… frequently at first, than less so as the time goes by. It is expected and agreed if the cat cannot stay with adopter it is to be returned to KC. This is just my perspective, people will not agree with me on everything and that is fine, that is why we have Unilocal.No one asked me to write this and are not even aware I am writing this. But, as a true animal lover and owner of multi pet household, I can recommend this place, it gets crowded on adoption days (again, it’s in a basement :-) it serves a purpose in this society and will continue to do so as long as there are unwanted or discarded cats out there. JAN 2016
I cannot understand people giving negative reviews because the basement smells of cat pee. Being the owner of two dogs and two cats I am well aware my house does not always smell of roses and that is only four animals. Yes, I find it very sad that these cats are living in crates in a smelly basement. I find that a reflection of society that we continue to be irresponsible enough to continue to overpopulate with unwanted cats and dogs. I have had several animals throughout my life and most came from rescues, most also had runny eyes, ear mites and parasites here and there. None came from kitty connection. It would be nice if someone not directly involved in KC but in the local animal community could comment on some of the concerns brought up. Thanks to all shelter workers for the hard work and care. Oct 2012

I’m a very experienced cat (owner). I’ve gotten used to the holier-​than-​thou attitude of many shelter volunteers and I’m a crazy cat lady myself. But these people are over-​the-​top in terms of attitude and under-​the-​basement in terms of competence at actual cat care. I went to one of their adoption events. Their volunteers hovered over me, bombarding me with condescending and pushy «advice» (yes, I know I can name the cat whatever I wish). They did not handle the cats well (no, I’m not afraid of the cat, I just believe in a gentle slow approach to a cat, rather than your «just stick your hand in the cage and grab the cat method»).
Some of the cats definitely needed grooming. I left, without adopting any cats and feeling rather sorry for the poor creatures.

we have trapped/​vetted and re-​homed the skinny, dirty strays that come to our yard for days on end, helped people re-​home their cats and dogs for years and we are devoted to our pets. never did we profit monetarily from this. thus i must tell my experiences with this group. i suspect this group is using volunteer labour and pets to profit.
a volunteer from kitty connection lured our cat (who looks like a well-​fed turkish angora show cat) with food, put him in her car and drove him 35 miles to kitty connection where he was put in a cage in a dark damp basement. they screamed at the animal control officer in our town (a cop) for trying to do his job to get the cat back and they threatened to not give him back to us.
it just so happens that he looks like a very expensive cat. he was sitting outside our house on a quiet street minding his business and the next thing he knew he was in a car driving to a cage in a nasty basement. they were about to put him on craigslist. imagine how much money they could get for a cat like him. one of the worst nights of our life.
they defended their behavior and told us we were very, very lucky that hey had «saved «our cat. now i see they are hawking more solid white «abandoned «cats. when i wrote to ask them about their volunteer’s actions and about why they have so many white cats for sale the «president» defended their actions, again told me how LUCKY i was that they rescued my cat, and had her LAWYER write to me. they are very quick to use the phrase «legitimate rescue «. i think they are using stolen pets and volunteer labor and profiting from people’s feelings about sad abandoned pets. the sad thing is that they may be so warped that they do not admit to themselves that they are doing this. if some actual strays have been helped that is great but something is very, very wrong here.

I was overwhelmed when 2 of my indoor girl cats had kittens, following the unanticipated break-​in to my garage, staged by 2 sly feral males (Scooby & Dooby, now part of the family). I went from 3 cats to 23. It prompted me to join Unilocal,creating a shout out for help when the kittens were only days old. I called every shelter I could get a number for on the list of Mass –Approved shelters. I placed Craigslist ads which were invariably flagged for reasons I never understood. Out of over 10 calls, Marie from Kitty Connection called me back the same day, explained that Craigslist was not a good idea and prized to help me find homes for all 18. She was as good as her word and I started sleeping again for the first time in weeks. Elizabeth, the Kitten Coordinator, came to my home, gave the babies vaccinations, came up with a vitamin naming scheme, and helped coordinate adoption events (with Marie), volunteer care and more. I felt self-​conscious about my situation. I am truly an animal lover, but have had some economic set backs that delayed spaying. I could barely afford to feed and scoop for the cat armada and had no car to get around… The folks at Kitty Connection made me feel welcome, not judged in any way, and were truly the light in this girl’s recent storm. I thank them, recommend them & will reciprocate their kindness with some volunteer action as I extricate myself from a period of health disability, now thankfully resolving. I can’t give a higher recommendation than this.
If anyone is facing a kitten dilemma, this would be a great place to start. I loved my kitty babies and feel reassured that they were placed in homes already spayed/​neutered (or with an arrangement in place). I think one thing I did right was to start looking early, before they were ready for the adoptive world.

The love of my life came from this shelter. I adopted my cat Sasha at 6 months old back in May of 2010. She was tiny, fixed and loveable. I am glad I did so because she was healthy and I have never had a problem with her to this day (knock on wood). She only goes to the vet once a year for her yearly appointment. I think Kitty Connection took very good care of her until I adopted her. The adoption fee was reasonable, I think I paid $ 135 for her, which is priceless to me because I can’t put a dollar sign on my happiness with her!
I also did some volunteer work for them during the Christmas season of 2010. I posed a Santa Claus one Saturday in December at Petsmart in Everett to help them out. It was a great idea on Kitty Connections behalf to host your pet taking a picture with Santa Claus! They money they raised went to the shelter.
This is a no kill shelter so I urge you that if you are looking to adopt a cat or a dog to go through them. They also have a small selection of dogs too.

Do you like dead kittens? If you do, you should absolutely purchase a kitten from Kitty Connection.
They are in the business of selling kittens that have been fixed WAY too early, selling them as soon as they can, and refusing to take responsibility for the inevitable vet bills that follow.
I’m a dog person, but even I know that kittens are as fragile as they are adorable. This shelter takes rescues, and I get that rescues are often separated from their mothers too quickly, and they are not in the best health often. However as an organization, their philosophy is NOT to care for the kittens until they are sound enough of body to be neutered/​spayed, but to fix and sell the kittens as soon as possible (for $ 175 a pop) to avoid incurring vet bills themselves. Even if your kitten does get sick hours after you pay to take them into your home, they will not only shirk all financial and moral responsibility, but they will YELL at you about how hard what they do is to accomplish, and that you are an awful person for asking them to step up.
Our kitten became extremely ill the day we got her. Three vet visits and a week of almost 24 hour care given by my girlfriend who happens to be a teacher and have the summer off, our kitten is on the mend but by no means out of the woods.
All of her litter mates are dead.

After thinking this over a bit over the months, I’ve decided I really need to update this, and I feel bad doing so, but the other poster who left a negative review has a point.
I’ve been to other shelters that have been really nice, clean, spacious, etc. and KC unfortunately doesn’t really follow that standard. I think my 5 star review (and possibly other 5 star reviews) is strongly influenced by the love I feel for the cat I adopted. I’m so grateful to have her in our lives, regardless of where she came from.
But the fact that she mysteriously fell ill just a couple days after we adopted her never sit right with me. Clearly she had something going on while she was there. And it was something pretty serious. I’m just grateful we were able to scrape up the money to pay for all of her vet bills (3 kitty emergency room visits, rounds of antibiotics, and multiple vet checkups in just the first 2 weeks).
I didn’t really realize that the basement they have the cats in houses cats on a more longterm basis. I thought it was a network of foster homes that only brought the cats there on adoption nights… but I think I misunderstood that. The basement is very small and has a strong smell, which is hard to control I’m sure!
I’m sure that everyone involved in KC has the best of intentions. I don’t really feel like they’re only in it for the money, or that they don’t truly want to find homes for these animals. But I do kind of wish it could be a bit better conditions for the animals’ sake. One thing I do like is that they make the effort to reach out through PetSmart and hold adoption nights frequently. At least this helps expand their network so they don’t have to squish more cats in a small space.
Like I said, I am just exceedingly grateful to have my cat. I feel bad that I’m downgrading my review after all this time, but I have had it on my mind. Just keep a close eye on medical records and if you find the right pet, wherever it may be, that’s what matters!

The house is gross. However the woman who runs Kitty Connection is super-​dedicated to saving cats lives. I adopted Elton from KC one and a half years ago. Before then I had never owned a cat. I didn’t even think I liked cats. He is just so lovely, and now I can’t imagine my life without Elton. Thank you Kitty Connection for giving Elton the chance to choose me.

The crazy wonder cat known as Miles came from Kitty Connection, and our lives are better because of it.
We read about Kitty Connection off of a CL posting. The hubs and I made a trek out to Arlington to a house where they were bringing the cats and kittens to be adopted. They had found a litter of kittens in bad shape and had been nursing them back to health. Of the 7 kittens Miles climbed onto my lap, and fell asleep. I was in love.
The fee to adopt was $ 125. A bargain in my opinion. Miles came with all of his shots and already fixed. They also had him Micro chipped. At the vet this would have been MUCH more expensive.
When he got home, however, we did soon find out he was sick. He was sneezing, and very… drippy. We took him to the vet (which we needed to do anyways — he was a new kitten and we wanted to have him checked out!) and they gave us some meds. He had an upper respiratory infection, a common and treatable ailment in cats.
I can’t blame kitty connection for this, they save cats off the streets. If one kitty has a mild cold, they can all catch it and it won’t be detected for days.
Today, Miles is big and healthy. If not a little rambunctious at times. Kitty connection has made us proud parents.

I’m not at all surprised that the previous poster was left with $ 1000 vet bill after adopting from Kitty Connection. I wonder about the 5 star review, but whatever. I originally attended an adoption event at a local pet store to view a 4 month old kitten that the owner told me about. The 4 month old kitten was actually a 6 month old kitten with multiple medical issues. Unable to take on the challenges of a sickly cat I looked at the other kitties up for adoption. I immediately fell for a tiny little kitten who was recovering from her spay surgery. I adopted the kitten and brought her home that evening. Unfortunately, her paperwork and vet records had been misplaced by KC, but the volunteers assured me everything would be mailed to me the next day. Even after multiple requests, the records were never sent.
Within a day of bringing her home the kitten began her long 40 hour nap. She left her bed only to eat and visit the litter box. Concerned for her health, (she had chronic diarrhea) and unable to get in touch with anyone from the Kitty Connection, I contacted the MSCPA. I’ve since learned that this kitten was much too small (only 1.5lbs) to be spayed and she has worms (hopefully that’s all she has) which were passed on to my existing cat. After 2 ½ of weeks of failed attempts to contact Kitty Connection and unsure of what treatment she may have already been given, I finally had to drive out to their shelter in Medford to get kitty’s medical records.
I’m not at all pleased with the Kitty Connection and the way they run their business. I was misled and lied to. My kitten had her first vet visit today. He guessed her current age to be 8 – 9 weeks. That means she was barely 5 weeks old at the time of her spay surgery and adoption. That’s FAR too young! The KC wrote that she was 8 weeks old on the day of her surgery.
My experience with the Animal Rescue League when I adopted my first cat was SO much better. But, if after reading this you still choose to visit the KC adoption center in Medford, brace yourself for the stench. You can smell the place from the sidewalk. It only gets worse as you approach the basement. There are many better, cleaner, more organized shelters in the area with lots of animals that need adopting. Judging by the way my kitten was treated, my guess is that KC is in the business more for the money than the welfare of the animals.

got my kitten from here, and am so happy i did, because i would not know the joy that is now named herman.
kitty connection is located in Marie Mazzeo’s house in medford. what an amazing person she is — she works fulltime and in all her other time, gives herself to helping find homes for abandoned/​rescued cats and kittens. she basically lives upstairs, and her downstairs and basement are a shelter. it’s quite amazing actually what her and the volunteers do. they also have sister organizations that will drop off rescued cats.
AND they also have dogs available for adoption.
this is one organization that needs to get some more press. they are amazing and their efforts have saved and placed so many animals.
if you are looking to get your pet, get it here. the adoption fee is for a good cause, and i give them money when i can to make sure all the little mouths can be fed and have a place to poop.