Champaign County Humane Society Rude and Intrusive Behavior Urbana Illinois

On April 15, 2008 I visited this humane society in search of a kitten. My sister accompanied me. We found a kitten that we liked, Carmello, a short haired tabby. I applied for the kitten and was approved by a manager, a male. I didn't catch his name. He had short blacked hair. While we were talking to him the subject of de-clawing the cat came up. Our landlords require us to have the front claws de-clawed.

We were under the impression he wouldn't approve us for the cat if we didn't agree to not de-claw. We also have a small child. There is no way we would sacrifice our child's safety just so the cat wouldn't need to be de-clawed. Also, that is not the humane society's decision. It is the decision of the cat's owners and the child's parents. The only reason that you would still have any say is that you have the first right of refusal. We decided to look into alternatives, but we didn't know what the outcome would be.

We've also had many de-clawed cats and they have NEVER had a problem using a litter box. The manager looked like he didn't know what he was talking about when he said that de-clawed cats have trouble using the litter box. The only time I have ever seen this happen is when the cat has been given newspaper to use instead of litter.

To top off this controlling behavior from the manager, he decided to insult our parents. This was highly unprofessional and rude. Our parents own very expensive oriental rugs and had to de-claw all the cats that they have owned over the past 20+ years. One of the cats was even cutting the other cats with his claws. The manager told us straight up our parents had no business owning pets and should not be allowed to have them. Looking back, we should have walked away after being treated so disrespectfully. He has never met my parents and knows nothing about them. No one should be required to sacrifice their home and/or their human children for a pet.

Shortly after I left the humane society I received a frustrating call from a woman, Kathy. She was concerned that I had said that my landlords wanted the cat de-clawed. I told her that I had just had this conversation with her manager and I was surprised he had said nothing to her about it. She stated that she hadn't asked him about it at all. She made herself look foolish and the humane society look disorganized. I do not think that is how they want their organization represented. She then hung up on me.

The next day I received a phone call while I was out doing errands with my sister. I had said that my current cat was last seen at a Banfield clinic. This is true. When I adopted my current cat she received services at a Banfield clinic in a different state. I received a call saying that a call had been made to Banfield in Champaign, IL to confirm that our cat was being seen there. I did NOT adopt my other cat from them so I do not see what business they had calling to see that she has a vet. That is none of their business.

When my daughter was born they did not even call her pediatrician to make sure she was being seen. They called ME once. A cat is not a human, so you shouldn't be making a bigger deal over a cat than a HUMAN child. That's ridiculous and makes you look paranoid. This lady also hung up on me.

The one thing I don't understand is that if I was approved, why did I continue to receive harassive phone calls? When I adopted my last 2 cats (from different humane societies) no one showed so much paranoia and did not call me once. My parents have adopted cats from humane societies and they have never had to go through this either. In other states humane societies give you a 30 day trial with the pet. I am VERY disappointed in how my sister and I were treated by their staff and in my overall experience at their humane society.

If you don't want to give someone a kitten/cat because they need to have it de-clawed you need to put that in writing and make a rule. Bullying people to make them do what you want is going to drive people away from your humane society. In other states you do not need to be approved for a pet. You fill out your information, pay, and bring him/her home. I have never seen this process before I came to the Champaign humane society, and I have been to many different humane societies. I bet many more of your animals would be adopted if you didn't do this. I've loved every cat I've ever owned and Carmello lost a chance to live in a good home with another great kitty.

Diva23
Champaign, Illinois
U.S.A.