My wife and I have received two cats through the years from Second Hand Purrs. Emily, and Chester. The staff and volunteers have always been very friendly and supportive of what we were looking for, and what would be best for us, and just as importantly, what would be the best for the cat. Yes Second Hand Purrs has high standards for adopters, and for good reason. The cats deserve the best. Recently we took in a family of cats. It was exceedingly cold and we wanted to protect them from the elements. We contacted Second Hand Purrs because we knew of their care, concern, and knowledge of what to do. My wife and I nurtured the kittens for several months until they were ready for more care. Second Hand Purrs was able to support us in getting the kittens the medical care they needed and provide them with excellent foster care as well. We went to a place that we knew would give these cats their best life. Second Hand Purrs is very caring, conscientious, and knowledgeable about what is best for the cats. These cats are wonderful creatures and deserve to have their best lives and Second Hand Purrs is there to provide that for them. We are exceedingly pleased with Second Hand Purrs. read more

Very nice organization to deal with when looking for a new kitten/cat. All animals at Second Hand Purrs are given a veterinary exam before arriving at the shelter and the following procedures are included in the adoption fee: -Tested for Feline Leukemia and FIV -Distemper Booster -Rabies Booster (if 6 months or older) -Fecal Testing -Deworming preventative (Initial doses with a follow-up) -Flea bath -Ear mite treatment, if needed -Spayed or neutered (if 6 months of age or older) The adoption fee is $80 for one cat/kitten or two cats/kittens for $130 & do not adopt to anyone under the age of 21. Upon adoption approval, all cats and kittens within a 50 mile radius will be delivered to their new homes. (Which is VERY nice if you already have a cat at home...someone else bringing the new kitty in can really help with attitudes). The staff really know alot about each individual cat there- (know if best not to be around children, other cats, if need to stay in a pair, etc.) You can tell they really care for them. I have adopted two from there now and the fosters do a fantastic job socializing them. I can handle them in any position, trim their nails without a fight and never get hissed or nipped at. They are both friendly with company too. The shelter is very clean also and never smells like there is even one cat inside (even though there are about 50!! ) read more

Second Hand Purrs Cat Shelter - My Fiona (l) & Charlie (r) from SHP's - Animal Shelters Near Me - Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Absolutely love this cat shelter. Friendly and volunteer friendly. It's local to us and they do a lot of events and fundraisers. No fee to pay to see the cats or play. All based on volunteers and donations. Kid friendly. Adoption fees are low, kitten's are on the higher side but that's normal. We have adopted two cats with no problems. I know the first time we adopted they did a home tour before letting us adopted our first cat. Oh before adopting a cat here, if you have other animals to make sure they are up to date on vaccines otherwise it will delay the adoption process. Unfortunately we did have to surrender one of the cats due to changes in our human family expanding and one of cat was stressed out and kept peeing on everything, we went to the vet and did all the lab work before surrendering and the owners, were very understanding. Our favorite place to go with our kids to see cats. They are only open two days a week. I believe it was Thursday and Saturdays. read more

Second Hand Purrs Cat Shelter - Animal Shelters Near Me - Milwaukee, Wisconsin

See all

Either you're a dog person or a cat person...I'm a dog person but am really impressed with the good that Second Hand Purrs does. My sister adopted a cat from them. The process was quite thorough - she made several visits to the shelter to get to know her cat, they delivered him to her place (so they could check it out) and followed up with her afterward. They really do want to find each animal a "forever home". The cat my sister adopted was older (7 years) and came from a bad situation, and they warned her that he was, well...mean. Fast forward six months and that cat is the sweetest, cuddliest, most loving cat ever. Big ups to Second Hand Purrs for giving my sisters cat a chance. And big ups to all those who adopt and give an animal a good home! read more

This place is truly wonderful! My family and I have adopted 2 kitties from here and each one has been a perfect, sweet, little bundle of absolute love and joy! Thank you for rescuing all the kitties that you do! Had it not been for your shelter and loving work done there we would not know these precious boys! Thank you again so much! If you're searching for a kitty please don't count this place out! read more

As everyone else said, the people that work and volunteer here are very passionate and knowledgeable about the cats. You can tell that they care deeply and want to give each one a home. Yeah, they only have open houses twice a week for a couple hours but get yourself in here during that time and you will not be disappointed. They have tiny kittens to older cats. The quantity of the cats isn't huge but there's enough to find a perfect match. read more

The people at Second Hand Purrs are so passionate about what they do that I admire them. They take in cats without judgement. love them and get them ready to be adopted by good people. If you're not sure about a cat, they will tell you. If a cat's personality is more suitable to adults instead of kids, or the kitty loves kids, they will tell you straight out so the match isn't a mistake. They want the kitties and their owners to be a happy match and they know how to make it happen for you. If you are not sure about whether you are ready to be a cat owner, volunteer for a shift one day a week. The kitties need you and the staff will love the help. This is a great place where magic happens. Stop by and check them out. "Time spent with cats is never wasted.", Sigmund Freud read more

I may be a bit biased in my review since I volunteer there, but from working there I know this place is truly a no-kill shelter. Euthanasia is the absolute last resort for ailing cats! The cats are well taken care of and do get a chance to leave their cages and wander around the place, when volunteers are there. The kittens get to play and run around in the kitten room. Some cats come from bad backgrounds before coming to the shelter, so they might appear stand-offish or unfriendly, but they all deserve a loving family. read more

Writing this review actually hurts my heart because the animals this shelter houses may suffer because you are reading about our experience, but a change at this shelter is needed immediately! First - The cats they have are wonderful Second - The volunteers are generally happy, love the animals, and great to work with Now - the PROBLEM... Nancy! I am not sure what her exact role is here, but if she is not the owner, she needs to go and if she is the owner, she needs to realize the damage she is doing to the animals and adopters. We lost our cat of 17 years and had a young cat of 8 months (at the time) who needed a companion, so when the healing of the loss was bandaged, we looked at websites and fell in love with a kitten at this shelter. Upon our first visit, we were met with great staff who helped us look around, play with the cats and come to our decision. We filled out the paperwork and away we went. Two weeks passed and we had not heard anything, so we stopped back and discovered our application was approved, but they were holding our kitten because she was still on an antibiotic regimen and eye drops for an eye issue. We were told 21 days of treatment were being done and she still had 2 weeks to go. No problem, we would wait and made sure to stop back every Thursday and Saturday to bond and play with her in the meantime. At the end of the medications, we stopped in again and she looked good and the volunteers were excited that she would be placed with us that week. I mentioned we had questions that we had sent via email and voicemail numerous times with NO response. The volunteers said that happens a lot, but they would tell Nancy personally to call us - we left, feeling good. No calls that week about her placement and no email or calls from Nancy, but I left another round of each on multiple occassions. So, we stopped in again and guess what? Our kitten had an eye issue again and the other kittens in her cage showed infections as well. Inquiring with the volunteers, they only said she was back on drops, but knew nothing else. So, we called Nancy AGAIN and emailed AGAIN with NO RESPONSE! I work at a Veterinary Clinic and called from there with one of our best Vets to try and get information sent so we could be informed what was wrong with our kitten and what we could do to help, in anyway possible. NO RESPONSE... A trend from Nancy. So, with a cat at home that needed a partner and not hearing anything from Nancy, we decided to adopt one of the kittens brought into our clinic for adoption, so I went back today to talk with Secondhand Purrs to let them know. The volunteers were happy to see me and anxious to let me play with our kitten, but I said no and on looking in her cage, I noticed her eye was horrible - way worse than it had been the past few weeks when she was on drops. Nancy was there and upon telling her of my disappointment in not getting a call, she actually shrugged and then said, "well, I haven't had a chance to get them to the vet". I wanted to scream because this is ABSOLUTELY UNACCEPTABLE in care for animals and I was asking in my head about why they lied to me. I only said that we made our decision to go elsewhere and we came personally to let them know as well as to say goodbye. Nancy just said "Fine" in a gruff manner and walked away. I left almost in tears and I truly fear that the animals here are suffering under her care. PLEASE fix this problem as no-kill shelters like yours are valuable, but you are doing a disservice to the animals and the clients. I have seen hold tickets on the same cats over the past six weeks and wonder how many others are waiting for a "call". read more

Sucks I have to put a bad comment on here but I had a terrible experience. Not happy at all. I put in an application for a cat I fell in love with and they sent me an email telling me there voiding my application because they have a family member of theirs that have better qualifications for the cat I put in an app for? mind you they sent me this after a week later I put in my app. they also told me to go on craigslist to get a cat. Very unprofessional. read more

I adopted my cat from Second Hand Purrs. He was a stray that someone brought in because he was injured. His tail was broken way up at the top near his butt. Possibly someone picked him up and threw him by it, as his lower canine was also knocked out. Anyway, this shelter took him in and paid to have his tail amputated and get him healthy again. He required some special food because he suffered from constipation due to the nerve damage from his amputation. All of this was very expensive!! Second Hand Purrs goes the "extra Mile" to care for their cats no matter what the cost. They are all wonderful, compassionate people who donate their time not only taking care of the cats but organizing fund raisers to keep the shelter going. No one at this shelter gets paid for what they do. I will always be grateful to them for taking care of my Petey! He is an adorable, friendly, sweetheart and extremely handsome......even without a tail! read more