Marin Cat Connection

I have known Ann Allen and her wonderful Marin Cat Connection for over 17 years. Her organization is very caring and conscientious about finding the right homes for the kitties they adopt out. They know their felines and are extremely helpful in answering questions and offering sound advice. I like that they are available after adoptions, for follow-​up and discussion about our new furry family members.
Many years ago I adopted two 4 — 5 month old kittens from MCC, when they had adoption days at Northgate Mall. These boys came from a feral colony in San Francisco and were kept with a foster family until ready for adoption. Unfortunately Leroy died of cancer at age 13, but his half-​brother Jeffrey is 16 ½ now, and still doing great. Another cat I adopted from them, I met at PetCo. Bobby was there with his owner, who could no longer take care of him. He was 11 at the time and lived another 5 years until cancer took him away from me. The MCC received a stray tom cat from South San Francisco. Buster was 10 and had a very inflamed/​infected mouth. After MCC took care of neutering him and providing extensive dental care, I «fostered» Buster and quickly became a «foster failure». That sweet guy was with me for another 9 years.
The kitties adopted from the Marin Cat Connection are all tested, neutered, vaccinated, given any necessary medical attention, stay in loving foster homes, and are carefully matched to their new families. I have always believed that the safest and healthiest cats are indoor-​only cats. I am glad that Ann Allen and the MCC advocate the same. Ann is the best!

I adopted my wonderful cat Buddy from Marin Cat Connection when he was just 8 weeks old and that was 8 years ago!!. We first went to another pet food company known to have Saturday cat adoption days and were referred to Ann from MCC to help find my little orange boy. I got a call from Ann shortly thereafter and she told me she had a litter being fostered but they were not old enough to be adopted out yet. She did offer to have us go to their foster mom’s home to meet the litter. We of course fell in love with all four kittens but since I already had one cat, Ann let us adopt just the one (fortunately the other 3 in the litter were adopted by one family so everyone got a happy home) after he was old enough and had all his inoculations and was neutered. Ann had me fill out her adoption form and I was very happy to see she had some long term objectives for her cats to be in very safe and caring homes. I have seen in some other reviews negative remarks about Ann and her seemingly strict attitude about placements. It shows her intense commitment to the welfare of the multitude of homeless felines, wanting to give them the best possible environment and loving guardians to care for them for the remainder of their lives. In this throwaway society cats get ousted from their homes for a number of reasons and Ann wants to find the best match for her charges. One reviewer scoffs at the threat of coyotes and doesn’t believe they are out on the streets during the day. Well I’ve seen them walk up and down the streets in San Anselmo at all times of the day and night. Of course coyotes are not the only threat an outdoor cat faces… there’s traffic, dogs and even mountain lions in marin and cats are often their victims. I have been the loving guardian of 7 cats over the years in my adult life and they have all been indoor and loved it. They are my family, in their forever home, end of story.
I have gone to see Ann and MCC at PetCo a number of times to tell her how much we love Buddy and how much we appreciate the wonderful work she does. I have never been there when there hasn’t been many other former adoptive parents that come to Ann to show photos and talk about the wonderful match she has made for them. If you are interested in adopting a cat, Marin Cat Connection is the best.

We love Marin Cat Connection…
We adopted two cats from Marin Cat Connection. Though they started out feral newborns, rescued from a woodpile, Ann Allen and her foster caregivers prepared them well, and their guidance and love of cats is reflected in our well-​adjusted and lovable little monkeys!
Some Unilocal reviewers may have missed the heartfelt intent of this group.
Cat Connection is a small group of dedicated volunteers, organized by Ann Allen, who have rescued, medically treated, fostered, socialized, and successfully placed HUNDREDS of kittens and older cats for decades.
Cat Connection has specific requirements that may or may not be for you:
They won’t release a cat into a situation that they feel will not work for the cat. The volunteer foster caregivers that provide temporary homes for the cats, sometimes for months and months until an appropriate situation arrives, have full say about placement. The Cat Connection requires that the cats be indoor-​only, unlike some other rescue organizations. Also, they deliver the cats personally to their new homes and will not leave a cat there if they feel the situation is less than appropriate.
In short, you will not just walk away with a cat in a box.
We often stop in at Cat Connection (at Montecito’s Petco) on a Saturday afternoon to compare notes and ask advice. Regularly, former adopters come by with stories and pictures to share. Ann loves seeing photos and hearing the stories and is always attentive and appreciative. After all, they’re all like her children that have moved on to lives of their own.

This women single handedly refused to let me adopt an older cat who obviously had been around the block but at the time I didn’t have a cat and thought I could give it a good home-​the cat was already 9-​she said you should never let your cat outside-​NEVER! somehow this women thinks there are coyotes roaming the streets in broad daylight-​I wondered if she had children-​god forbid if something happened to your child while they were out of the house-​same thing with a cat-I’m not willing to imprision any animal and I think your nuts! I agree with the other comments-​you shouldn’t be running a cat adoption agency

Folks, I am still glad I met my cats, then small kittens, through this group. I hope the administrators of the organization are listening to the comments, but I am so happy with my cats, and I would seriously consider this group to find new feline family members. I hope all of you find your cat friends, they are wonderful.

Between my husband and I, we have had 8 cats, most of which lived to be 17 – 20 years of age. They were well cared for, fed, and loved. (Yes, we’re big cat people.) That being said, we were looking for a new cat as it was the first time in a LONG time we hadn’t had a cat. We missed having one around.
I saw the advertisement for Cat Adoptions through Marin Cat Connection at PetCo, so we swung by. Wow. Apparently the woman working the PetCo adoptions is the «Cat Whisperer».
First, we were blatantly ignored while this woman chatted casually with another woman for about 5 minutes, so we took the time to look at the cats in the cages and read their cards on the front of each cage.
Finally, I went up to the woman because she obviously wasn’t going to engage us on her own and asked her about a specific cat that we were curious about.
Without missing a beat, the woman replies «That cat is not right for you.»
Wow, really? How would she know? She knows NOTHING about us. Didn’t even ask one question. Then she said «You should fill out an application, and we’ll call you when we have a cat we find well suited for you.»
Yeah, thanks but no thanks. As a long time pet owner, I was willing to give one of your cats a very loving home, but apparently you don’t care about that.
We promptly went to the Marin Humane Society, where the Adoption coordinators were super friendly, accomodating and we met 2 cats we fell in love with and brought them both back to our home where they are thriving.

My husband and I went to check out the available cats for adoption at Petco and these women running it totally ignored us, and were just standing there talking to each other. So snooty and rude, you would think they would want to actually get the cats adopted and not just post up and gossip. I have never seen anything like it. If you want a cat, go to the Novato Humane Society where they actually love the animals and want to place them in good homes. This organization is a joke.

We were looking for a cat, not a kitten but a cat. One who was experienced and knew the difference between my really nice Italian leather boots and a scratching post. So we began our search on line and through the magic of Craigslist (shimmer!) we found Marin Cat Connection.
I knew they had a pet adoption at Petco (Montecito) a few days a week so I ventured down one Saturday and met Ann, the wonderful woman who started MCC years ago. She was so nice, she answered my questions and after hearing what we were looking for she said «I have a great cat for you»
Enter Clara, our totally cool sweet cat. She was there, in a cage chilling as only cats can do. Wow I thought what a totally cute cat. I told Ann that I had to still decide with Hubby but to call me later in the week. After deciding that we wanted this super looking cat we went back the next Friday and filled out all the papers, paid the super minimal adoption fee and Ann brought Clara home to us. She also gave us a ton of cat swag, a scratching post, toys food etc… that all was probably the same cost as the adoption fee.
All the cats are fixed, chipped, healthy and waiting for new homes. I really liked them b/​c the cats are fostered in homes and not kept in cages. Cages seem to ruin an animal’s psyche. Anyway, they are a non-​profit too, which is wonderful.
Ann is doing a great thing, she is very sweet and has her heart in the right place. Thanks for a great cat Ann, we totally scored!