Kelly C.

They do their darn hardest to try and get you to not cancel. Even when I followed through with all the steps and ignored their discount, they didn't completely cancel. I was charged the discounted price anyways. Emails were dodgy, non-compliant, and it took forever to get a hold of them even after calling. Made me distrust free-trial based services. To be extra safe, I canceled the card I used with them and had my bank mail me another one.

STAY AWAY FROM KITTYKARE, KITTY SHOCKWAVE (RUN BY STEVEN JOSEPH HOCK https://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/pets/cat-hoarder-jailbird-runs-animal-rescue-group-60-days-rikers-article-1.*******)
I contacted Kittykare and they put me in contact with a guy named "steve". We talked a couple times over the phone, seemed like a good man. I did have some red flags pop up early on and honestly should have done more research. He showed me some of the cats he had (that fit the age/personality of what I thought would go best with my current adult cat). Here's what I went through:
1) One of the pictures showed a rather ill-looking kitty but the picture had flash and was kind of blurry. I went with another kitty but that one did concern my family and I.
2) Over the phone, he was telling me how it was fine to not get cats vaccinated because there has been some proof that cancer developed at the injection sites. Yikes.
3) When he came to do a house inspection and a meet and greet, he didn't really check for much (loose wires, meshed windows, etc.) and SMELLED an awful lot like saliva. Sour, pungent, and just... yuck. The stench lingered even when he left and I thought maybe it was the kitty (I didn't know he was a hoarder then).
4) I left the kitty alone for a whole day but realized on day 2 that something was wrong. Took her to the vet and she had ear mites, giardia, was abnormally sensitive to light (hence a lot of squinting), AND severe gingivitis.
-Since it was her first visit, the vet couldn't rule out whether she developed this overnight or it got more severe overnight or was given to me like this.
-They THINK the gingivitis was attributed to a poor diet (Steve was feeding her some cheap fancy feast)
-the giardia/ear mites might have been from drinking water/living with multiple cats (hoarding?)
-her color wasn't all that intensely orange and she was actually pee stained/having trouble cleaning. He couldn't even bath her? I did it the second day in and the more I rubbed, the more the smell hit me! She looked so much better health-wise and appearance-wise after the bath. A simple bath!
5) I had to pay for a ton of bills two days into getting her and he would refute every claim I made. I had pictures and proof but his explanations would be something like "how come you didn't see the itching/bald spots when I showed her to you (which he didn't really and I didn't push because she was shy)? It obviously wasn't there when I had her". Ridiculous.
6) He said I signed a contract and that I was liable for everything after. I understand that but it doesn't if you give someone a cat with pre-existing conditions, CLAIM for them to be clean and up to date, and then for it to not be true even AFTER adopting.
7) He started trying to play the woe-is-me card by saying he did so much for me by traveling to another borough and bringing her to me. He said he does it out of the good of his heart because there's no profit to these services. He OFFERED to transport the animal to me and said that it was a part of the service. Also, I was a full time student working a part time job, volunteering, and doing an unpaid internship at the time. I did not hesitate to pay the bills and did not even mention this until he started whining about how much he did for me.
8) There is a mandatory "donation" but the price at RECOMMENDED. I just gave in full since it would be the same I would pay for a younger cat in ASPCA. He kept saying it was optional but if it really was, does that mean these cats could be given out even if someone gave a measly $50?
9) He also made it seem like it wasn't his fault because he's "just" a foster, but turns out he OWNS the kittyshockwave company. I did NOT know KittyKare referred me to someone OUTSIDE of their company and this Steven guy wasn't working under them.
10) KittyKare replied saying they personally know Steven and that he's going back to court "to recover damages for false arrest and false imprisonment". I read articles on his case and he had 69 (official reports say 62) cats in a U-Haul van after the landlord threatened to evict him due to his neighbors reporting a stench coming from his apartment (I would know...). He served 60 days in Rikers and had probation for 3 years restricting him from owning any more animals. I don't care what he was trying to appeal or believes was misunderstood. I think he retrialed in 2015 for whatever he wanted to be rectified... but 60-something cats in a u-haul van parked outside, exposed to the elements, and inadequately fed? Lord jesus. He told me not to believe everything being written out there but... at this point, I don't know why he'd think I'd STILL believe him.
https://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/pets/cat-hoarder-jailbird-runs-animal-rescue-group-60-days-rikers-article-1.*******
11) He said the kitten was adopted out before me and in the contract, it states that if you do not want him/her anymore, you HAVE to give it back to kitty shockwave. He told me that the previous owner refused to give her back to him and relinquished her to ACC instead (which Steve got custody back from). My guess is she wasn't in great condition and if they couldn't provide for her (they didn't sign up to own a sick cat anyway), I'd say that was a better choice than giving the cat back to Steve since he did nothing for her or CLAIMED to have not noticed anything awry.

She is THRIVING now. Everything was taken care of and the only thing left is her dental health which I have water additives, gel, toothpaste, and treats to address. We're making slow but steady progress with her gingivitis.