Alley Cat Pet Center

Alley Cat Pet Center, Vancouver, WA. — Please do not go here. Do not support them. Maybe if we stop supporting pet stores in malls, which I could have sworn became illegal years ago, puppy mills will cease to exist. These poor dogs look sick, and they certainly do not look like purebreds that they are claiming to be. It’s truly sad to see the dogs laying in cages looking like they can barely breathe and they are clinging to life.
There were some puppies that looked happy and healthy, they must have been new to the store. The rest looked sick, not tired, but truly sick. Please, do not support puppy mill locations. Buy animals from rescue shelters, or animal humane locations. Better yet, if more cities took the initiative that Salt Lake City did, that would be great too. You can keep the pet stores, but make them sell rescues instead.

It looked like some of the other reviews were pretty rough so I wanted to make sure I put my experience up here. I recently bought a puppy here and all is well. But wanted to answer to some of the service related reviews on here. The service here was fine. They answered all my questions and gave us good tips and instruction. To anyone on here saying these people are super rude, I would ask them to spend a week working in the mall at a pet store and then update their review accordingly.

Well I was giung t bring in my very large goldfish, after someone told me they would take them, but after reading these reviews, I will take them elsewhere…

Rude male staff tonight puppy’s are abused in cage I watched a poor puppy with his paw stuck and we told the guy and he said I can’t hear him so he is fine what a horrible person!

This place always has lots of pets! I was recently in & asked to see the bunnies, not only did the woman working tell me that the does & bucks weren’t separated (despite SEVERAL empty window cages) she also had no idea how to check. However I do. I asked her several times if I could just check & she was short with me. She wasn’t handling the bunnies properly at all. And I was interested in a lop doe that they had, but the woman let me hold her for all of two seconds & began pushing me to purchase. No employee could answer any of my questions about the babies. «How old are they?» «Are they purebred?» Personally I’m against buying pets unless you have an extensive background. I want to make sure they are healthy & I know what I am purchasing. Pretty frustrating store. However they have lots of supplies & a good variety of everything for their size.

I bought my dog here a few years ago. A year later he got very sick and had to be put down. Doctor said it was neurological but we’re not completely sure. I’m not blaming alley cat because I have no evidence plus we bought a Maltese there to heal the pain of our last dog. and she is perfectly fine. They gave us a $ 100 discount for our loss. Seriously?! «You lost a member of your family here’s $ 100. Hope that makes you feel better.»
But anyways here’s my biggest concern the papers they give you on the day of purchase has NOTHING stating where the puppies really come from. All they give you is sire and dam #. What the hell can I do with that? They say papers will be delivered to your house but I don’t remember getting any.
When I got my second dog from a breeder this time she gave me a while family tree, medical records, akc registration papers and a micro chip.
They have a sign in the shop stating all animals are from local breeders but are they really

They do not treat the reptiles like they should and put them in cramped cages with not enough heat and zero humidity. I only got mine here because I felt sorry for it. Vet said it was undernourished and dehydrated and was appalled that his place sold pets.

I’m honestly surprised this place even exists.
If you’re interested in getting a pure bred dog please do your research and find a reputable breeder instead of supporting a store like this where the puppies are coming from questionable backgrounds at best. Even better, go check out the local Humane Society, the amount of pure bred dogs up for adoption may surprise you.
My sister bought two dogs from this store several years ago (much to my dismay) a designer bichonoodle who has congenital heart problems and a german shepherd who died two weeks after his purchase due to again — heart problems. Yuck.
I’m an Alaska girl and saw what were advertised as Siberian Husky puppies in the window and asked to see one. It started out friendly enough, but when I suggested perhaps the puppies were in fact Malamutes (which they clearly were) and started asking direct questions about the breeders, the parents of the puppies, etc. the puppy was literally snatched from my hands and hurled back into the cage. If everything’s on the up and up I don’t understand the defensive hostility.
The place sketches me out to no end and I hope if you genuinely care for the welfare of animals and are looking for a new addition to your home you won’t patronize a shop like this.

Its really hard to get service in this place, I’ve spent nearly 30 minutes before getting somebodies attention, and they dont keep inventory of the fish they have in stock so they have to look around in every single tank for the fish youre looking for (if they even have it) and so you can spend a good hour in this store just trying to buy a fish. The people who work here aren’t very experienced at all, especially with fish, I once saw a seahorse in a community tank with way to much flow, the little guy was bouncing all over.

I have horrible allergies and am asthmatic. I was never able to have an animal of any kind growing up. About 15 years ago I found that I was not allergic to the Jack Rusell Breed. So thats all I hjave ever owned is Jack Russells. In August we purchased our 3^rd Jack Russell from Alley Cat when one of our other dogs passed. We love our new dog, however I noticed after a short time that her skin and fur was making me break out all over when I held her or played with her. Then I started having difficulty breathing almost immediately after she had been around a couple days. I was immediately suspicious of this dog because the environment in the rest of the house is very controlled due to my health. So when we took her to the vet to be spayed the vet told us he suspected she was not a Jack Russell at all but in fact was a rat terrier. So now that she is already larger and weighs what our full grown Jack Russell does and will be 7 inches taler and weigh almost 10 more pounds than a jack russell. These people are liars and cheats. The only people that have more than a star on here are people who put things up when asked to by the staff after all the bad reviews. I didnt even mention that the dog, which cost us $ 450 to begin with cost an additional $ 280 to fix a hematoma in her belly caused by the mother pulling on her umbilicle cord to hard and soon. Of course we love our dog and despite my health issues because of her not being what Alley Cat sold her to us as we are going to do our best to keep her in our family. Just very disappointed with Alley Cat and its staff for theur dishonest business practices. I dont know if I am so mad because there is nothing I can do or because I know they practice this kind of business and are allowed to get away with it. One word for the owner and staff SCUMBAGS. Do not buy from this place if you go here do it with a picket sign.

We recently got a parakeet at Alley Cat. When I called with questions about the bird, I got very thorough answers. Captain is a very vocal member of our household and we just love him. One person, I think the owner, even offered to show me how to clip the flight wings to keep my tame parakeet from flying off into the wild and becoming the meal for a cat or other animal. I really appreciate that kind of customer service.
The kids like to go and see the animals there when we are at the mall. Of course, like any pet store/​rescue, the animals have small living quarters. After a short conversation with one of the employees I realized that the pets aren’t there very long, they are quickly adopted into families.
I also learned that they do not get their puppies from puppy mills but they often know the breeders so that is another bit of information that has raised the bar stars wise for Alley Cat. I realize that there is a place for animal rescues like the humane society and they do great things, but that is not a reason for the many people to write such awful reviews without much research.
The owners and employees treat the animals well. The animals seem well fed, clean and the employees are constantly holding a pup, or kitten so I imagine they are also well loved between finding their place at Alley Cat and then finding a home with a family who loves them.
I really appreciate a pet store that has reasonable prices, but that are high enough that people think about all the details before they choose to take on the responsibility of a new furry family member.
We are fans of Alley Cat.

I refuse to patronize these kind of establishments. We have thousands of animals euthanized every day in this country because of overpopulation. Puppy mills breed puppies to sell to pet stores. Pet stores sell them for ungodly amounts of money, and sometimes they are sick or diseased. Chain pet stores have adoption/​rescue events, finding homes for pets in shelters and rescue groups.

Those poor puppies, who would keep them like that? Small hamster cages for the youngest of them, some of whom I’m not sure are old enough to even be separated. Miserably sad.

My friend bought her kitty here and he seemed just fine. A wonderful little boy, everybody loved him. He was an indoor-​only cat and for the duration of the time that she had him (about a year) he did not come in contact with any other cats.
The poor little boy died of feline leukemia. The only cats that he ever came in contact with were from Alley Cat. The only way that a kitty gets infected with the Feline Leukemia Virus is through contact with other cats’ saliva and/​or nasal secretions. His death resulted in a lot of heart ache for everyone that was involved in the kitty’s life.
Please don’t buy your pets from this store, they do not treat them well and they are likely sickly and infected with something. This is not right. Don’t support this evil company. Warn your friends and family know about them too, buying a pet in this place will only result in heartache.
Save an animal’s life, adopt from the shelter instead. Both of my kitties are from the shelter and outside of a cold that they had when I first got them, they were 100% healthy plus they had all their shots so I didn’t have to pay for all the extra care!

There are so many things wrong with this place. Let me begin!
1) A few years ago, I bought my Mom a rabbit from Alley Cat for her birthday. Long story short, it died 3 days later. I went it with the rabbit the same day and asked for a refund, but they refused and offered me a new rabbit? Why on God’s green earth would I want a new rabbit from you? I don’t want to go through the heartbreak again.
2) I have to agree with the other reviewers. The animals are in cramped cages, especially, the hamsters, rats, mice, and guinea pigs. I am in agony when I see them.
3) When I have seen the fish, many times there will be two or three dying or dead and floating at the top. This is not healthy for the animals, it is not a good presentation by the pet store, and lastly, it will traumatize the children. More than once, I have heard a child scream, «WHY ARE THE OTHER FISH POKING DORY AND WHY IS SHE FLOATING ON HER SIDE?»
4) Most recently, last week I went in and saw a hamster with a bloody, gnawed-​on tail. It greatly disturbed me. I went back the next day and he was at the bottom of the cage being stepped on by the other hamsters. I made me want to cry. I went to the cashier, who by the way is the owner of the store, and asked about the hamster. He said, «The males in those cage are sexually frustrated cause they are older, so they take it out on that hamster.» Really? That is your best answer?! Then take the hamster out and take care of it! I bargained the price down of the hamster and told him I wanted it. (The hamster was very sickly and had been that way for a while and I wanted to take him home and care for him and if he died, I wanted him to die knowing he was loved. I know, that sounds extremely mushy, but I adore animals.) So… the phone rings and I kid you not, he starts a conversation with a friend or family member, I don’t know which and they are just chatting and he goes into the back room. After 10 minutes, I said «forget it» and left. I feel terrible for the hamster and all the animals at this store.
I GREATLY recommend you buy your pets and supplies somewhere else.

Had to point out to an employees that one of their beta fishes was dead. My sister-​in-​law bought a puppy who turned out to be sick and infested with fleas.

Alley Cat is an awesome pet & pet supply store! The big chain stores don’t have a huge price advantage over this privately owned business & the locally raised, carefully selected selection of livestock is what sets them apart from the other stores!