As someone who has been adopting rescue cats for over 50 years I've yet to encounter an organization on a par with, or as caring as Felines and Friends, and lest I forget, a huge endorsement for Maggie with whom we worked on acquiring our two yo tabby, Tommy (henceforth to be known as Puccini). Let's start with their website: the most comprehensive cat personality descriptions and information on shots, spaying, and likes and dislikes (gets along with...). They also feature multiple images of most animals. As an organization that relies on donations to fund their operation they are willing to take on animals other shelters cannot find homes for, and they are willing to keep them for the lifetime of the animals. As someone up in years I was surprised and thrilled that their adoption agreement stipulates that if the owners manage to depart this life without having made provisions for the cat's future, They Want The Animal Returned to Them! not in 50 years of pets have I ever encountered this level of care and concern. we met Tommy at the local Petco after visiting their main facility in the residential hills of Santa Fe, and hen we chose to meet the other cats at Petco and fell for one of them, Maggie agreed to meet us there after the weekend and do the paperwork. this is an exemplary organization that deserves your trust, and adopt or not, donations. read more

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I have fostered several cats through Felines and Friends and have been extremely impressed with the way they care for their cats. Many times I have brought a foster cat to their "furever" homes and thought "wow, this cat will be living better than I am!" They take great care in their screening process to make sure each cat is placed with a home that suits their personality and requirements. I have never once felt like one of the cats I fostered was going to anything other than the perfect home for their individual personality. Their care and concern shines through everything they do. As a foster, I appreciate their excellent communication and the way they will line up vet appointments as needed. I have been to their facility many times and it is always sparkling clean and cared for by kind and friendly folks. They really support their foster folks, and take the absolute best care of their cats. I can't imagine this is an easy endeavour but they never cut corners and truly care for not only the cats, but the fosters, and the furever families. read more

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I didn't know about this amazing cat shelter until recently. I wasn't sure how to start my search for my new companion. Maggie Goeller was my adoption manager, and she answered every phone call and text I sent. Felines and Friends vets every cat that is surrendered to them, and shares any known medical issues with the potential adopter. I never felt rushed. We are fortunate to have this compassionate organization in Santa Fe. read more

I love Felines and Friends! I have been fostering with them for a few months now and really enjoy helping kittens socialize and grow so they find wonderful homes. I am fully supported and able to love on these babies until they are adopted. read more

Felines & Friends are fantastic! We met our future baby while visiting a cat cafe, keeping in mind we had visited many before and had maintained our streak of not adding to our home cat count of 2. Buddy (now Oso) was super friendly and kept coming up in conversation after our trip to Santa Fe. We finally relented and applied to adopt Oso via Felines & Friends. The process was easy but thorough and before we knew it, we were driving back down to Santa Fe from Colorado to pick up our new addition. The volunteers there couldn't be nicer and we were confident that we had his records to share with our vet. Oso is loving his best life with us in Colorado! Thanks to friends and felines for our new baby! read more

Felines & Friends New Mexico - Animal Shelters Near Me - Santa Fe, New Mexico

I am so grateful felines and friends exist. I had the pleasure of visiting their Santa Fe location to meet many cars available for adoption. I ended up adopting one of their cats from Petco, Elvira and renamed her Luna. She is such a spark in my life. She has grown so much into her personality and is such an amazing addition to my family. Felines & Friends is a volunteer based organization, and they take such amazing care of these cats. Each person I have met that works for F&F has been so caring and passionate about what they do. I am so grateful they are around, and that I was able to adopt such a beautiful cat from them. read more

Felines & Friends New Mexico - March 2023 - Animal Shelters Near Me - Santa Fe, New Mexico

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I went in today, to meet some of their younger cats, as a companion to the kitten I rescued two weeks ago. Despite my cat having a clean bill of health from multiple vets, the two elderly white ladies in the adoption center decided that she was "probably diseased" and that their cats shouldn't be "exposed" to her. They refused to listen to any information about bloodwork, and I was told that it would be better for her to grow up alone (even with the associated mental health and behavioral issues) than to risk another cat catching something she's already tested negative for. I understand that f&f wants to place animals well. But as a lifetime cat owner and trained care provider, I have genuine concerns about the staff's ability to tell the difference between someone who is a bad owner, and someone who simply has tattoos. EDIT: To be *perfectly* clear, I did not misunderstand anything about the conversation I had with the employees here. I offered to bring in the cat's records, and attempted several times to inform them that she has been tested for a range of things (including FeLV & FIV) and all tests were negative. I attempted to explain that she was not feral or a stray, and appears to have been dumped shortly before I found her. I was interrupted or talked over every time, and outright dismissed when I stated she was healthy. When the employees stated "Your cat is too young to be with other cats." I clarified "You're saying she's too young to have company???" and the answer was an emphatic "Yes! She shouldn't be around cats until she's grown up." No part of this interaction was me misunderstanding the ladies. And regardless of the makeup of the rest of f&f's volunteer force, nobody there that day had tattoos or piercings. Only judgmental attitudes and a refusal to listen. read more

I adopted Frankie from Felines and Friends in 2023 and later volunteered at the shelter. My experience was exceptional: the cats are well taken care of, the volunteers are friendly and truly care about the cats, and the facilities are clean and welcoming. I am forever grateful to Felines and Friends for rescuing both my cat and the countless other cats I saw transformed during their time at the shelter. If you want to adopt a cat in northern NM or are looking for a fun and rewarding volunteering opportunity, I highly recommend Felines and Friends! read more

Felines & Friends New Mexico - Frankie, adopted in 2023 - Animal Shelters Near Me - Santa Fe, New Mexico

When my 13-year old cat, Miles, let me know that he wanted a sibling, Felines and Friends was there for him. Their thoughtful questions about Miles' disposition and routine led to a great match with 2-year old, Dede. I wouldn't haven't thought to pair them up but they are now inseparable. The 3 of us thank everyone at Felines and Friends! read more

Felines & Friends New Mexico - Miles finds great friend for life, Dede. - Animal Shelters Near Me - Santa Fe, New Mexico

I was grieving over the death of my 16 year old Manx. I turned to Felines and Friends in spite of some negative feedback from friends. The person to whom I was assigned was very unhelpful. Further, and much worse, she was unjustifiably intrusive. For example, she wanted to know the shelter name of my daughter's 12 year old 30 pound dog so she could determine her approximate DNA! She knew that daughter does not live with me and only visits at times. My experience was awful at a time when I was very vulnerable. I wrote that my handler wanted to know my daughter's dog's APPROXIMATE DNA, not that she ASKED for the dog's DNA. Quite different, don't you think? Pretty stunning since a cat may occasionally at most see the dog...... read more

I highly recommend Felines and Friends. It's a wonderful organization. The people there deeply care about the cats they're saving, and will go far out of their way to help them. There are so many unwanted cats and kittens in New Mexico, and F&F works to give them a second -- or third, or fourth -- chance. When we volunteered to foster an elderly cat for a few months, a volunteer came to our house to ensure that he was happy and being well taken care of. When we had a "foster fail" situation -- we decided to adopt him instead of giving him back -- the same volunteer came to our house multiple times to help us through the process. She was gentle and caring and our grumpy cat was perfectly happy to let her touch and work with him. They paid to get his bloodwork done to ensure we were adopting a healthy cat (or knew about it if we weren't). They went out of their way to ensure that the process went smoothly and our boy was in a good situation. If you have room in your heart and your home for a feline friend, whether to foster or to adopt, I highly recommend working with Felines and Friends. You'll be glad you did. read more

I can't say enough nice about this organization! Sloan Cunningham, who is a rescuer for Felines and friends,came to our neighborhood to help with a stray. She was so caring and gentle with the cat and effectively retrieved it and it's safe and taken care of by this wonderful organization. Five stars for her too! read more

BEWARE OF "FELINE AND FRENDS." SHE STOLE MY TWO KITTIES. I asked Bobbi Heller of Feline and Friends to foster my two kitties when I was in a crisis. I never signed any release form. She is now refusing to return my two loved kitties! Evil!! Evil!! Evil!! BEWARE BEWARE BEWARE read more

This was a truly heartbreaking experience for us. We had a cat for two weeks and at the end of the two weeks they demanded him back because he was living in my art studio where my other 9 year old cat has lived happily for the last 5 years. The application ask for a home address and that's what I gave, and answered all the questions on the application truthfully but was treated like I was deceptive when I told them he was living at my art studio ( which is where I am most of the time). We fell in love with this special cat, and were notified on a Friday night that they were taking him back and that two volunteers would be at my studio at 9 am the next morning to take him back to the shelter. They threatened legal action to the full extent of the law if I did not comply. Read their contract carefully. They have control and ownership of the cat for two weeks. Hope this never happens to you. We would have loved and cared for this cat for the rest of his life. read more

I was very sad to lose my best friend, my 17 year old cat. After a week went by I knew I needed new kitty friends already and I began my search on petfinder.com. I filled out an online application at 11pm and by 9am the next morning I got a friendly call from F&F's Barbara who interviewed me and had a great recommendation for the perfect kitty to meet that day. The volunteer, Carol, was lovely enough to stay at her shift at Petco until I could get off work and meet this personality-plus cat. Being prequalified (I had no idea I was) I was ready to take my new friend home. I didn't realize that Felines & Friends couldn't accept a credit card payment but they happily took a Petco gift card for the adoption amount. I got 2 wonderful young kitties that day: a super-lovey black girl cat and a shy but sweet muted tortoise shell girl and I've been happy ever since! Thank you to the wonderful staff and volunteers at Felines & Friends! You've got a customer and donor for life! They even texted me to follow up on how the adoption and transition to the girls' new forever home was going and offered help if I needed. A note on the adoption price: it may seem high for adoption (you'll often find less at the shelter) but these cats are all well cared for with full backstories and medical histories and much of the time great expense has been paid getting these kitties into adoption-shape. One of my kitties had a rare blood parasite that took at least $1k to resolve and melee her adoption-ready. I'm so glad Felines & Friends has the love, time, and passion it takes to fill this need. They will definitely have the new love of your life so don't wait any longer: fill out an application and meet your new best friend! read more

This review is posted from San Diego. Even though I haven't been to the facility, I heard about it from a friend I had a long time ago. Sadly, after I learned she had passed away, I read that she wanted flowers or remembrances of her to be passed on to this sanctuary instead. In honor of Karrin, I donate what I can every month automatically through PayPal. I hope to go out there and see the facility soon. I love the little kitties and and am in awe of folks whose hearts are big enough to take care of them when they're in need. read more

We adopted a beautiful, gentle and playful 3-month-old cat from Felines and Friends in early September. He is healthy, fun, and loves to purr. The volunteers were informative and obviously cared very much about the wellbeing of the cats in their care. These cats are not left in cages all day but fostered in homes, which makes a huge difference. Not only were all his vaccines already taken care of and an appointment made for a prepaid neutering, but he came to our house fully socialized and knew how to use a scratching post and litter box. There's a few more hoops to go through when adopting a cat from this organization--reference check and a signed agreement--but it's for a reason: they really care about the animals in their care and it shows. read more

We love the three cats we adopted from Felines and Friends. Everyone that we met in the group was very helpful and had great insights about matching our lifestyle to the cats that we adopted. The very thorough review of our application also ensured that the cats available for adoption go to the best homes. Thanks from our entire family! read more

While we did not ultimately adopt the kitten we inquired about I was impressed by the process used to try and make sure their cats got into loving and responsible homes. In fact the only reason we didn't pursue the kitten from them is one became available at the local shelter returned for behavior issues. ( we have yet to see them after two weeks.) It was a choice between a kitten in a stable environment and one living in a cage with a rap sheet. I see that she's no longer on their site so I hope she went to a home where she will be treasured. read more

Well, my cat is adorable, but has some problems. She came with a nasty upper respiratory infection, diarrhea and severe gingivitis. I let the CEO know about the respiratory infection, but she did not respond. Shame on you, Barbara Shubert! The first two problems have been solved, but the gum condition is serious, and possibly untreatable. Top this with absolutely RUDE and IGNORANT volunteers on my first visit, and a contract of adhesion, and I suggest you look elsewhere to adopt. read more

Had a great experience with Feline & Friends. We found our kitten with F&F at an adoption center at a local PetCo. We were given the chance to meet her foster mother and get a thorough background on her. Cats can sometimes act so different in a shelter environment, its great to speak to the foster parents and learn what they're really like at home. Our little girl was born as a feral kitten, and F&F did a great job of socializing her. (I've encountered issues with other rescue orgs adopting out cats that have never been properly socialized). We've had our new kitty for a month now and couldn't be happier. If you're looking for a new family member, I highly recommend using F&F. read more

five years ago was my first experience with felines and friends and i adopted a hard to place cat. i was warned by a VERY POSTIVE volunteer coordinator that she was hard to place but that they would support me with lots of info on how to handle her. INDEED THEY DID!!! she proved out to be a very sweet and adorable girl. then about a year ago two more adorable fur child came to be mine, LOVE, LOVE LOVE the way the staff and volunteers have helped the kids adapt to their new home. they seemed to be to be loving and caring about their placed kids, wanting the best placement for both parties. i never had a rude or unprofessional experience with any of the people i have dealth with in this organization. i have read and heard in the animal community only positive things about the way they treat even the ferals that they trap and re-release after spaying/neutering them. i find THAT above and beyond what other rescue agencies in other states are doing. i commend FELINES AND FRIENDS for their efforts in proper placement of their adoptees and for the re-release program and would recommend them in a heartbeat to anyone who asked!! i also decided to do a bit of volunteering for them myself upon occasion, thus is how i know these things to be true. i'm sorry gail B had a bad experience, that is hard for me to grasp from this most professional organization. i don't throw my services around lightly for i am disabled, but this one i would, simply for their dedication to the cause. read more