Tree House Humane Society

I adopted the most amazing and handsome cat in the world from Tree House 11 years ago. Man how time flies! Before going to the shelter I read about them online and decided Tree House seemed like an awesome place with cats roaming freely around and not having to stay in cages all day long.
When I arrived, they were very friendly and toured us around the building. Lumpy was sleeping on a cat tree minding his own business and it was love at first sight for me! This adorable little guy has been the best thing to ever enter my life and I am so thankful Tree House connected me with him.
Since adopting him, I’ve gone back a couple of times to drop off donations. Check out what they need because there list is huge! You’d be surprised what you may have laying around collecting dust (towels, bins, flashlights and of course the usual food & toys) that they could use at Tree House. See their entire wishlist here:
Tree House does great things for the cats of the city! They also host really cool events throughout the year like the Internet Cat Video Festival. Sign up for their email list to stay up to date on events.
They should be moving to their new facility any day now… which is bigger & better so they can shelter more adoptable little furballs.
Donate your time! Donate your money! Donate your items! And if you’re looking for a furry companion, consider Tree House!

I visited with the cats but haven’t decided on adoption yet. The cat rooms are spotless and comfortable for the feline residents. I was impressed by how clean it was. The volunteers were very nice, and clearly devoted to the animals. I think the real customers here are the cats– unfortunately cats can’t write Unilocal reviews!

this place is awesome! after going to some shelters, my husband and I decided to visit Tree House. it was the only place someone actually sat us down and asked us to fill out paperwork before seeing the cats — which I took as an incredible professionalism. even more impressive is that after filling everything out, someone came to us and went through all the information again. we then proceeded to see the cats and we found our little Lina (former PeePooey) on the first room less then a minute inside. we did visit the rest of the cats and I was impressed with the organization and cleanliness of the shelter.
after spending some time with Lina, she was taken to their on-​site vet to get a quick check-​up, and we proceeded to sign the adoption papers. more information was given to us, including an one time use adoption box, a full guide on how to care for cats, a list of close-​by 24h animal hospitals, and a list of veterinarians. we also got a bag of litter, an used litter box, L-​Lysine, and the dry food cats eat at the shelter.
I can’t even put into words how good Tree House staff is at their jobs. after a week we also got a follow-​up e-​mail and all our questions were promptly answered.
if you looking for a new companion, please check this place out. you’ll be helping a great organization and I’m proud I did!

After our cat unexpectedly died a few weeks ago, My husband and I felt ready to adopt another cat. We also have a two-​year-​old so we needed a cat that was comfortable with a young child. We found a gem of a cat named Thomas who is so relaxed and sweet with us and our son. The people at the Tree House are very sweet and helpful. They made it their personal mission to make sure that we selected the best cat for our family. I highly recommend them and their center.

This review is way overdue. I’ve adopted 2 cats from tree house. The first adoption was an older cat and was flawless. She was a sweetheart and after 7 years with us we had to put her to sleep. How sad!
So after a few months we decided to go back to tree house to get a new companion. We chose an adorable 2 year old they just rescued.
The first month went well, as she adjusted to her new home. Then it started. Within a few days she went from a sweetheart to a crazed obsessed maniac. Constant obsessive rubbing against anything, but the hardest to endure was her vocalizing all night. Not simple meowing, she was howling all night. I resorted to earplugs which were of little help. After some online research, I came to believe that she was not fully spade, she had a ovarian remnant and was in heat!!!
Desperate for help I reached out to tree house. They assured me she was spade. Her behavior was a result of something WE were doing. They were condescending and dismissive. «Are you playing with her enough?» «Have you changed her diet?» «You know it was kind of warm last week, maybe she was just too warm.» ARE YOU KIDDING ME? Their attitude was she’s your cat now, it’s you problem now. They were of no help whatsoever.
I finally got ovarian remnant surgery for her. She’s all healed and is now a new girl. Calm, even keeled, just a sweetheart, no thanks to tree house. So beware, if you have a problem with a cat from them, it’s your problem. BEWARE!

We adopted our cat Zooey (formerly known as Madame Xanadue) from the Bucktown Treehouse location in December 2014. We were looking for an older, milder cat, but Zooey (a hyper one year old) chose us once I arrived. The staff were extremely helpful throughout the adoption process, especially Olga, who communicated with me via email at length before my first visit. Zooey was scheduled to go to an adoption event the day after I met her, but they offered to leave her at the shelter so that she wasn’t adopted before my boyfriend could meet her. Obviously, he fell in love with her and we brought her home that day. As a first time cat mom, I was very nervous about being responsible for a living thing, but the staff at Treehouse really put me at ease. Zooey has been such a blessing to us, and we cannot thank Treehouse enough for bringing her into our lives.

I adopted a cat (my first ever!) from Tree House in November. I went into the process with a lot of questions & a vague idea of what I was looking for. Chelsea was the adoption counselor who helped me out & she was amazing. She took time to get to know me first & then took me on a tour of Tree House to meet all of the cats. It was a great experience & by the time we were done, they were about ready to close. Chelsea was willing to stay late if I wanted to pursue adoption that night. I, however, wanted to sleep on my decision. By the next day, I couldn’t wait to return. There was one cat in particular who I fell in love with. Chelsea was there to help me on that day, too, and the process was very smooth. They sent me home with a starter kit (food, litter, toys, etc) and some great advice for acclimating the cat to his new environment. Now, it has been 3 months & I can’t imagine not having Clover in my life. In the past few months, Tree House has reached out to make sure everything was going well & if I needed any help or advice. I have recommended them to several people & I hope that many more people help these cats find their forever homes!

I am having a hard time making a review for this one due to the fact that I know that these people have good intentions getting cats homes. I also know by the way that the interact with these cats that they absolutely with out a doubt love and care for the well being of these kitties.
I lost my cat to cancer recently, and was looking to adopt a sibling pair of kittens. I went in, did the application, and the ladies there were extremely friendly. It is apparent how overloaded they are with all these stray kitties/​people. The phone is literally ringing off the hook.
I picked out two kitties who were sisters, and the lady who took us to the kitten room knew lots of information about them, and could tell me their history by their chips which was great. Our kitties were taken to the clinic downstairs for one last ear cleaning and exam before the went home with us.
The ladies there gave us all the information on the kitties medications they received and that they had suffered upper respiratory infections (which is common). They sent us home with lysine (a supplement) to help them prevent kitty colds due to stress from coming into a new environment. They also gave us toys, and lots of info. They also told me I could bring them back for the next distemper shot and their rabies vaccinations.
I bring my little buddies home, and they are just the best cats. Who ever fostered them did a wonderful job. They used the litter boxes without fail. They had diarrhea the minute the came home before I even fed them. I assumed it was due to the stress of this transition period.
I started calling the clinic there on a Friday to schedule their shots. I left a message on Friday. Someone called me back Saturday and left me a message of when I could bring them in. I called back Monday, left a message of the times I could come in. Then I received no phone calls back. I called Tuesday 5 times. No answer. Finally someone picked up on Tuesday and said, «I’ll take your name and number and the vet will call you back.» No one called me back. I called Wednesday and was told again, «I’ll take your name and number and someone will call you back.» Now, at this point I’m ready to scream. They told me when to get their distemper shots by, and I can’t even schedule an appointment. I told them that I have been trying to get a hold of someone for 5 DAYS. They apologized, and surprise! Someone called me back within an hour.
I bring the kitties in and they get their rabies and distemper shots. I tell the clinic that they have loose stools. They told me to bring in a stool sample. Someone comes out of the clinic asking me questions about how I feed the cats. It was not in a mean way, but as if I didn’t know how to feed my cat. The lady informed me that my kitten had lost weight. I had followed the instructions of the shelter from day one using the food they gave me. I felt a little like I was being accused of not feeding my cats. I understand that they want to make sure but come on. The cats had diarrhea since they came home. Really?
I decide to wait on the stool sample, and put the kitties on a chicken and rice bland diet to reset their tummies. They love it. Still more diarrhea. Finally, I had enough and took them to my own vet to get checked over. I didn’t feel like playing phone tag for 5 days while the kitties health kept declining. And guess what! Surprise! They had worms. I was shocked because the papers stated that they had been dewormed. My vet informed me that most kitties need to under go at least 3 deworming treatments to fully get rid of the worms and their eggs. They had only received two.
I called to inform the clinic that my kittens had a confirmed case of roundworm, and there was little to no reaction. Not like, «Really?!» or «Oh that’s too bad, how are they?». If they had these symptoms at my house, they most likely had these symptoms at the shelter that went unnoticed. It’s pretty hard to miss cat diarrhea. I have to admit, this was frustrating to me since it could have been a simple fix.
On one hand, I love my kittens and the staff was really nice when I dealt with them. I know the are doing the world good for our furry friends. On the other hand, I have been losing my mind trying to figure out what is wrong with these little sweethearts so they feel better when it was something as simple as worms (which is common in kittens, I know.) which should have been fully treated before they were adopted out to a home. So in reality, I had to pay my own personal vet to get their issues resolved. (And of course I am happy to do it for my kitties).
But, I can’t stress enough how much I love my new kitties. They are the sweetest little things and so well behaved! I still intend to support the Tree House in anyway I can. I just think it needed to be said.

I have nothing but good to say about Tree House. First of all I’ve been voluntering for 4 years and I’ve made friends and great people there and secondly this place does so much for cats. From Rescuing them from hoarding situations, to pulling animals fro Shelters and doing TNR. I am sad that Tree House have negative reviews all because of the strict adoption policies, but hey Tree House don’t just adopt to anyone like other shelters do. They make sure these cats go to good Forever (I hope) homes. Besides Tree House isn’t just a Shelter, it’s a rescue.
Although I never adopted a cat from here, I know many people that had including my big sister who adopted her cat Vinnie Back in December of 2008. His tree house name was Lad, but he got adopted from the Bucktown location. Here he is an he a Hi to Olga!

UPDATE:
The programs director of Tree House reached out to me and informed me that no such policy on cat age restriction exists. He said they had gotten a lot of new employees and volunteers recently and will make sure that they are trained more thoroughly. My fiancé and I ended up adopting from Paws before I received that message, but I would be willing to try Tree House in the future. For that reason, I am increasing their rating by one star. If something similar happens to you at Tree House, just ask to speak to management.
Original Post:
My fiancé were very disappointed tonight. We visited Tree House in order to adopt a kitten – a decision we considered for some time. We are a responsible, 30 year old, engaged couple with steady jobs and our own condo. We have each owned cats our entire lives. We came with our IDs and phone bill.
When we arrived at Tree House we were greeted at the door and asked why we were there. After stating we would like to adopt a kitten, we were told they only adopt kittens in pairs. I said we cannot adopt a pair because we already have a cat and have limited space. She asked how old our cat was, and I said 8. I was told the cutoff is 5 and was given a list of other places to adopt and shown the door. They were not unfriendly, but the experience was disappointing. We wanted to adopt from this shelter and waited through the holiday weekend to do so. How it is better to not give a kitten a loving, steady home because our other cat is 8 instead of 5? That is a ridiculous policy that results in less cats getting a home. Again, the people were perfectly nice, but I went home empty handed. One less kitten in a forever home.

4 stars for the in-​person meeting. The volunteer Kady showed me all the cats and was very nice and patient while I met the cats.
0 stars for any customer service outside the place. After speaking with the «behavior counselors» and waiting for adjustment, I had to return the cat I adopted because it wasn’t a great match for many reasons. I did all the behavior counselor recommended, but it just wasn’t helping. So their Facebook page created a post lying about me, just short of defamation because they didn’t mention my name. I feel like if they were more truthful about why cats get returned, or tell their customers any issues it had in foster homes, maybe cats would find better fitting homes. The person who runs the Facebook page is very snarky and rude. I understand the condescending tone others have mentioned now. I suggest that volunteer be removed until s/​he learns better customer service skills. I’ve been to several shelters since Treehouse and they’ve been much more accommodating by letting me see the foster homes’ papers, and just telling the truth about cats without trying to sugar-​coat things. Unless you’re 100% certain about a cat, I’d go elsewhere.
Edit
I’ve reduced my review because the same «volunteer» (yeah, you are really doing them a great service) posted about someone else returning a cat. You really don’t need to make people feel any worse than they already do when returning a cat. I really hate the snarkiness/​pretentiousness of this place. Yeah, they seem happy and kind up front, but… I don’t know, something’s wrong with them. They’re not legitimately kind, and you’ll learn that after the first visit. I even donated supplies to them and guy just said «Oh cool» …
I’m happy to say I found a cat I love dearly from another shelter, Felines and Canines. I HIGHLY recommend that shelter over this one. You can really tell F&C loves doing what they do. It’s like night and day compared to this place.

After losing my best friend of 17 years the day after Christmas (RIP Obi), I spent a month decompressing, doing some research on their website, so I thought I’d stop by the Tree House on the off-​chance that maybe I’d find a new friend. I showed up at 5:00, mentioned I wanted to take a look at the cats, and we were off. Everyone I spoke to was professional and friendly (Chelsea was a peach!), and even though I waited a while after filling out paperwork, I was looking for a new member of the family, not a dishwasher, so I figured not rushing was a good thing. After walking throughout the house, and being encouraged not only meet, but interact with every cat that caught my eye, my new cats adopted me by jumping on me the minute I sat on the floor. At every turn, I felt welcomed, and if I hadn’t, I probably would have asked to speak with a different counselor instead of putting my sock back on my head and spewing my vitriol onto the internet. The Tree House gives a lifetime of care to the cats that most shelters and most adopters think are too sick, too old, or too much trouble to care for. Would it be great if they could pick up every stray in the city? Sure! We all do what we can with what we have, and I’m forever grateful to EVERYONE at the Tree House for giving me the chance to help, too. I’ve received follow-​up letters, e-​mails, and calls to make sure that everything’s going well, and been encouraged to stop in or call with any problems multiple times. I can;t think of enough good things that happened with my whole adoption, and Violet and Mr. Humpfries (Mr. Bo/​Ms. Jule Jangles) thank you guys, too!

Update: I visited the Bucktown location and had a similarly great experience if not a bit better, because I adopted an amazing kitty. Staff was just as thorough and informative as in the Uptown location.

So my first experience I went in with my ex because he «wanted a kitty» I was, and still sort of am, terrified of cats but whatever, I gave it a shot. So our first visit they didn’t have many kittens and because I’m afraid of cats we agreed not to get a cat as it’d be better to go as young as possible so we knew their behavior, they grow up with us, etc. So I called a few days later n they had more kittens so we went in and the adoption counselor was super nice n patient with my obvious fear n talked to me a lot about cats n such because I’m a dog person n knew nothing. Well there were 2 kittens in a cage that we decided to look at… and they were PERFECT, so I got the girl cat and my ex got the boy cat. That was in June of 2013. Well in August of 2014 my girl cat started to get sick… vet said she’d be fine after some treatment for a bladder infection, constipation, n depression… well after taking her to my dogs vet 3 weeks later because she wasn’t getting any better with the treatment I found out she in fact had severe cancer n was told putting her down was pretty much my only option as he didn’t feel she’d survive starting chemo or any sort of surgery
So then I had one boy kitten that was not used to being alone n had waay to much energy (I def understand why they adopt out kittens in pairs) so in November I went back to look for another kitten with a friend, still not totally over the cat fear. I’m registered for their emails since adopting n remembered reading about a visually impaired cat, as a visually impaired person I was interested, well I went in n they had TWO VI kitties: D well the one didn’t seem to want anything to do with me, but the younger one did. So I went and looked at all the cats because ultimately I was there to find a friend for my cat n just needed someone for him n his energy. Well after seeing all the cats I still really liked the little VI kitten, but he needed surgery n I just couldn’t do that at that time, financially, so I went home to think about possible other kittens. There was a cute girl kitten but I couldn’t bring myself to get another girl cat yet, then there were 2 brother kittens that looked n acted just like my cat… which I was sorta interested in but also sorta thought I’d lost my mind because my cat is NUTS n 3 of him would probs send me to the insane asylum. Well a few days later the adoption counselor I met with (gosh, I wish I remembered her name!!) called n said they would be willing to adopt out the VI kitty to me n pay for the surgery. So after he was healthy enough to go home I got to adopt him, he had his eye surgery about 2months after that and now him and my other cat are just fine, happy, and of course obnoxious
I’d definitely recommend this place and I’ll probs be back one day to get another girl kitty when the pain of losing my other one isn’t so fresh

Everyone was super sweet when I adopted my 2 kittens. When I started having major behavioral issues, though, some of the counselors who I spoke with were shaming and blaming in their language. They assumed that I wasn’t spending enough time with them (which they said.) Then they recommended games, which I asked questions about bc I didn’t know. «You don’t know what a puzzle game is?! *smirk*» Like… Are you effin kidding me?! Of course I don’t, a-​hole. I’m not a PhD in cat development. It was all about what I was doing wrong, and trying to make me feel dumb about it. One counselor was INCREDIBLY snarky with me when talking about food, and I shut her down. I said, «Are you seriously talking to me like this?! I don’t know this stuff!»
I’m at the point where I’m going to have to find one of the cats a new home, with someone I know. I can’t deal with them both, especially with the behavior issues. I’ve thought about telling the agency, but I’m not going to.
Also, in reading the comments below, I totally believe the rude statements that were made. These people have no concept of how to treat people.

THIS NOT A NO-​KILL SHELTER Read on please: Contacted on 2÷16÷15 seeking placement for my two cats; one 8yrs & other 5yrs. FIRST QUESTION WAS Did you adopt from us. ANSWER No SECOND QUESTION WAS How old are the cats ANSWER WAS 8yrs & 5yrs FINALLY TOLD There’s a waiting list for space i
n order to keep room for returning cats previously adopted out. TAKE TO ANTICIPATED-​CRUELTY SOCIETY THEY HAVE TO TAKE THEM. This even after I offered monetary lifetime care.

AMAZING SHELTER!!! AMAZING STAFF! TREE HOUSE IS KITTY PARADISE!
It’s very important to me that i support the right business when it comes to shelter animals. Tree House is a no-​cage, no-​kill shelter with an amazingly helpful and knowledgable staff. The professionals at Tree House make the effort to thoroughly know every cats personality and medical history. The environment of Tree House overflows with happiness and health.
There is an application and interview process to not only ensure that you are ready to adopt, but to make sure you adopt the right cat for you. Once accepted and familiar with the company, our adoption counselor, Susanna, spent hours with us walking us from room to room meeting and interacting with every cat. She effortlessly knew the history and personality of every single cat we were interested in. We were indecisive and overwhelmed with all the love, so she suggested we sleep on it. She was so kind and took notes for us and filed all of our paperwork to make for an easy adoption once we made up our minds.
Surely enough, i came back the next day with a decision and all of the work was done for me. I sat in the living room area socializing with many of the cats freely passing through while Tree House did all the dirty work. I was walked though the adoption policies one more time and given a (already proven to be helpful) packet on common cat behaviors and resources. They gave me a thorough medical history and preformed one last checkup before i was sent home with my kitty best friend.
I am beyond happy with my experience and even more so, the outcome. My dear kitty is already a huge part of my heart. I can not thank Tree House enough.

Tree House takes in the cats that most people might not think they’d want, or that other shelters might not consider adoptable… the seniors, the disabled, the funny looking, and the extremely shy. That alone makes them deserving of 5 stars. Seriously, stop by and ask to meet Sonoma, Jax, and Max. They are three of the sweetest, coolest cats you will ever meet, but they wouldn’t be alive if not for the generosity of Tree House and their donors.
Over the course of a few visits this last April, my family fell in love with a shy, awkward tabby named Grover (f/​k/​a Judo). He was brought in with head trauma that required jaw surgery and the removal of some teeth. He recovered just fine (though he favors Marlon Brando as The Godfather), and spent 10 months at Tree House, watching roommates come and go as he waited to be adopted. :(We almost adopted a more gregarious showman, but there was something about the way he’d stare with shy envy from his hidey hole that convinced us there was a superstar waiting to come out; he just needed some love and a home to call his own.
The staff were patient and knowledgeable about their feline residents (or willing to find out more information about the cats that hadn’t been there for very long). They take a genuine interest in what happens to each cat. There are too many jerks in this city that think of animals as disposable, so of course they have a stringent adoption process and are careful not to let every random wanker stroll in and leave with a cat. (Everyone swears they love animals and has the best of intentions, but…)
If something catastrophic ever happens to me (I die in a plane crash or am abducted by a Bigfoot terrorist cell), I can rest assured that Grover won’t end up at Animal Control. Tree House cats are part of their extended family for life!

I absolutely LOVE animals, and even though I’m severely allergic to cats, I still love them anyway! I denied my allergies and came here with a good friend of mine who was interested in adopting a cat. The Tree House is a cageless, no kill humane organization that specializes in rescue and rehabilitation of sick and injured stray cats — LOVE! They offer low-​cost spay/​neuter services, a foster program, advocate animal welfare, gives informational presentations to schools and communities, a pet food pantry that distributes free pet food to those in need, assisted therapy, grief seminars, as well as a wellness clinic on Mondays. There are tons of cats roaming around, and you can meet each one — I fell in love with each and every one of them — they were so precious! I remember Paw-​Paw and Kodie, who were so adorable, and their personalities were so sweet. The staff members are very friendly and answers all questions you may have. I highly recommend Tree House in finding a furry best friend to adopt!
+kitties that need forever homes *HEART HEART HEART*

My boyfriend and I had recently graduated from college and were looking for 2 cats to move in with us in our apartment. When we first arrived at Treehouse, we were originally dismayed to hear that they didn’t have any kittens. Still though, we decided to tour the house to adopt.
We filled out the application first, and then interviewed before being allowed to see the cats. We were taken through the senior and FIV rooms, and then to the adult cat rooms.
In the adult cat rooms, we were stoked to find that the cats were playful and well-​loved. We fell in love with a male and a female cat and decided to adopt both.
Overall, a fantastic experience. The staff is very friendly — I don’t know where these bad reviews come from :(everyone was incredibly helpful and kind. We made out with two absolutely amazing creatures. ¹⁰⁄₁₀ would adopt here again