their online hours do not reflect their true hours of operation, and it feels impossible to get ahold of someone on the phone. I don't want to drive all the way to Keizer and waste my gas to find the adoption center not even open (which has happened at least 4x so far). read more

All the animals appeared to be well-cared for with an attendant on duty in the area. My husband and I visited there because we wanted to replace a cat in our stable who had been with us for 14 years. We are animal lovers. It was important to us that the candidate would be a good hunter but also friendly and comfortable with people. We found a good candidate there and were prepared to make a large donation to the facility. However, the adoption paperwork was tedious and offensive to us. As a result, we departed dismayed and disappointed: read more

What's better than shopping for a cause? Petting kitties while you shop! While small, this shop has regular donations and a rotating inventory. Prices are low and they have specials on certain tag colors. While parking is slim, it's worth the trip to help rescue cats. If you're looking to adopt, they can help to connect you with a new fur baby who would love to go home with you! read more

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A good place to shop and they do help place cats in homes. However the communication about adopting and volunteering leaves a lot to be desired, as a rule you won't hear back from them and will have to follow up repeatedly. It would seem they either don't need any more adopters, foster homes or volunteers (doesn't seem so likel?y) or they DO need more staff versed in doing communications &/or communications training for their existing staff. read more

We got 2 adult neutered, chipped males from Friends of Felines. They are wonderful pets. Highly recommend F of Felines! :-)

Two days ago, one of our cats fell out of a second story window after getting into a bedroom we typically have closed due to the window not having a screen. We called all over the area to find a vet that would be able to amputate after going to an emergency clinic to be evaluated and finding out that saving it likely wasn't going to be an option. We had reached out to SFF to get a quote, to see if they could even do the surgery, but while awaiting a response (they had to check to see if they would be able to), I had to go with a different clinic as he was not doing well and was in a lot of pain and we couldn't wait. After his procedure was done (he is in the veterinary hospital right now, healing and waiting to be picked up tomorrow morning), SFF Director, Chelsea Marks (so sorry if I spelled it wrong!) contacted me this evening to ask if the procedure still needed to be done. When I informed her that I had to quickly go a different route, she asked if it had been over what we could afford and I honestly answered her that, yes, it had been. We were extremely surprised when she told us to let the other clinic know tomorrow upon pickup that SFF has an emergency fund and would be contributing $500 toward his surgery as well as assisting with any future sutures and follow-ups he may need. We have taken him and his twin brother to SFF in March 2023 for neutering and vaccines and they did phenomenally and the prices were very low and within our budget. I cannot recommend them enough; this has turned an absolutely horrendous event in ours and our cat's life into something so much less terrifying to deal with. I absolutely recommend anyone utilize them. read more

We cannot say enough great things about Salem Friends of Felines. We ended up in an unfortunate situation with a poor kitty that was dumped and showed up at our home. We would have loved to have kept the kitty, but it wasn't possible with our other kitties. The staff and facility at Salem Friends of Felines are top notch. I cannot express how passionate and caring all the staff was. They went above and beyond to help with a kitty that needed professional help. One thing I cannot stress enough is to please donate if you can. When they ask if there is anything you can do, it is to help them help all the kitties. Thank you to all at Salem Friends of Felines and all you do! read more

This place is excellent the lady on the phone was very helpful and gave me some good references. The rep that helped me was Melissa and she had great energy. Thank you Melissa for help guiding me in the right direction. read more

I love SFoF! We shop at the thrift store to help support them, we have adopted from them, and also utilized their spay and neuter services. We've even gone in just to pet kitties when we were in the area. :) read more

SFOF is such an amazing and well needed resource for feline fur babies. They have been so flexible and helpful in coordinating several fixing of stray kitties. read more

They are LITERALLY life savers here. My Siamese swallowed a bunch of elastic hair bands that were bunched in his intestines and needed emergency surgery to remove. I'm a disabled veteran and they were able to work around my limited fixed income so I wouldn't have to euthanize him. They even stayed late over 4 hours after they closed to save his life. They are non profit and need donations of any kind. If you want to be philanthropic this year, please consider donating to them. My cat wouldn't be alive today if it weren't for Salem Friends of Felines. THANK YOU GUYS SO MUCH FOR SAVING LEFTY's LIFE. He and my kids are eternally grateful. read more

I went into their thrift store for the first time. Actually, I wanted to look at kitties, but the adjacent adoption center is by appointment only. The store wasn't bad; most of the stock is suitable for women only, and the book selection, though small, was very high quality. It's in a part of Keizer I like, with many other businesses that I regularly patronize. One can get a lot done in a compact area. read more

Great thrift store! They have a good mix of items for a smaller space and the prices are right. I also love supporting kitty cats, so that is a plus and you can snuggle them next door! read more

Shout out to the Friends of Felines CEO Chelsea, Dr Sap and all the team there who selflessly give of themselves with care and love! Your help and support and efforts are so greatly appreciated! Everyone please help to support FOF's efforts, as they labor in love to the care and placement (adoption) of cats and kittens. Can't say enough to express what a valuable asset this organization is to the community! read more

I work for a IDD 24hour care home and we discovered a stray mama and babies in the back yard. Salem Friends of Felines has been amazing working with me on getting Mama and babies caught, and fixed. I hope to say the kittens are young enough to tame and find homes for them. The people I support love that the kitties are getting help. read more

Some of the rudest animal people I've ever met. I called and made an appointment to look at their cats over a week ago, on the phone and in my application I was very specific that I was looking for a companion for my elderly dog and I would be driving here from Portland. With the quarantine I had to make a specific appointment, which I was more than happy to do as I'm a frontline hospital worker and was happy they were making efforts to keep the public safe. The day of my appointment I drove an hour to visit their cats, when I got here the only cats they had were special needs and per them none would be good with a dog. The cats they had had online bios mentioning they were good with dogs and fully healthy, but when I got there now they have FiV, don't like dogs, or take daily medication. When I expressed my frustration of having driven an hour for them to say they had nothing, despite them having full warning of what I was looking for, they just shrugged their shoulders and smirked. In fact the minute I came into the door they kept giving me smirks and raised eyebrows. I'm here to help you, people! I'm trying to adopt your cats so they don't spend their days in cages!! If you're going to run a shelter during a pandemic you should work to keep travel to your location purely essential. Which means, if you know someone is looking for a companion for a dog, and you don't have it, call them and tell them. Lotta good appointments do to minimize contact if they're all worthless. Also make sure your cat bios are very specific with full health information. read more

I adopted my very first two kitties from here about 5 1/2 years ago and the lady who helped me was really sweet about it. The cats are well cared for, and came fixed with microchips. Any person I've encountered working here has always been super nice. If I'm ever looking into adopting another, I would never hesitate to come here or recommend them to other people. read more

We stopped by excited to bring a cat into our family. We picked a cat that seemed to be perfect for us & spent a lot of time hugging & bonding with Tigress while we waited for the staff. The total process took almost 2 hours just for them to tell us we wouldn't be a good fit. She was extremely vague of why not & had no follow up questions after the very short survey we took. We know we would've been the perfect match, but were just told no for no real reason. It's hard not to take that too personal off a very biased opinion. Not sure what your mission is at your establishment. #Heartbroken read more

This is the only no-kill cat shelter in Salem. The staff is very friendly and helpful. The shelter provides the extremely valuable service of making sure cats find loving homes and educating people about spaying/neutering cats. The kitties live in a veritable kitty heaven and many have been able to find loving homes because of this place. They have a thrift shop on the premises which raises money for the shelter and they are always taking donations of goods for the thrift shop or money. They also accept volunteers (see the website). Cats are priced from $90 (for kittens) $75 (for adults), or $65 (for seniors). All cats available have tested negative for feline AIDS and leukemia, have been micro-chipped, have been spayed/neutered, and are current on their shots. I love supporting a local no-kill shelter and would encourage anyone needing a cat to make this their first stop in town! read more

the most important thing before you adopt a cat here is make sure that it was not a feral cat. my cat Katmandu came from there and she is a great cat. I did have to return one cat because of its feral nature. there was no problem with that. very supportive staff, and you can get special deals on vaccines. read more

I'm a cat lover and I'm always looking around to see if I can take in just one more cat. (not yet, not yet) I visited this place with my boyfriend. We immediately liked this place. It just seems like a great safe haven for cats. They are not crowded and alone in each cage. There are at least 2 to each cage with papers hanging with their names & information. Then, if you go into the room next to the front desk, there are 3 cat rooms. It's filled with scratching posts, cat trees and even some cloth-covered shelves for the cats to relax on, and dont forget the best part, the cats themselves! Right out of the rooms, there is a wall with all the cats' names & their info plus their personalities. This place does give you a good vibe that the workers really care about the cats. The place is also a thrift store. Filled with clothes, knick knacks and stuff. They use the money for the cats. It's a great place and the cats placed in there are lucky. :) read more

PROS: Four stars for the thrift shop and five for the shelter. Love their mission, loved visiting with the cats and the shelter staffers were nice. The cats were clean, comfortable and at $25 for adults that day there were sooo many that I wanted to take home with me. The thrift shop is clean and tidy (especially the clothing room). The selection of clothing is decent considering they don't have a big space, but the housewares and decor are my thing and there's not as much in that area. The prices are good as well on all items. CONS: Street parking is wild on this busy main drag--use the side street and be careful out there in the wilds of Salem. The young lady manning the thrift side the day we visited couldn't have been less interested but she's a teen and she'd probably rather be over at the mall with her besties than cashing out used goods in a cat shelter. Living in Portland, we wouldn't make the drive again just for this shop but if we're passing through we would stop again...even if just to visit the cats! :) read more

Wonderful No-Kill cat shelter close to downtown Salem. The place is impeccably clean, the cats are happy, the goods are cheap, the staff is nice & helpful, and the adoption prices are VERY reasonable!! $25 for an adult cat that has been fixed, vaccinated, and most importantly, in need of a loving home. You can visit with the kitties too!! I found it very therapeutic to go inside the cat visiting area and just sit and talk too and pet the felines. They were more than happy to receive the attention. You can also come here and get free exam vouchers at a local vet, and Spay/Neuter vouchers for $5! (You still have to pay the $25 for the spay/neuter). If you park in the back, make sure you do NOT park in the pawnbrokers parking spots. Apparently he is a fuddy duddy and has anyone that parks in his spots that is going to SFOF and not HIS shop, towed. (I was going to go into the pawn shop and take a peek at stuff but after this incident I decided that there was NO WAY I'd ever give my business to someone with this kind of attitude!!) Fortunately the Old Spaghetti Factory is right next door and they do not mind at all if you park in their lot. read more

Thrifting and kitties all in one place? You really cannot beat that. Overall, I really love SFOF. Their policies are very admirable. I wouldn't call them a "no-kill" shelter, as sometimes the only humane thing to do for a kitty in suffering is to euthanize it, but this is only in the most severe cases when there is literally no other choice. Unlike many other animal shelters, they never put a cat down for lack of room, behavioral problems, or health issues (both mild and severe) that can be treated. Their foster families are wonderful people who open their homes to kitties in need of a place to grow, heal, or wait for their chance at finding their forever home. Also, Unlike most animal shelters that are so eager to move their animals in order to make room for new ones that they tend to gloss over many red flags of adoptive families, SFOF does everything in their power to make sure a potential adopter is suited for pet ownership, especially with regards to making sure a cat will be kept indoors unless otherwise specified and making sure they will not go through the torturous "declawing" operation that will leave the cat all but crippled for the rest of its life. As for the thrift store, the prices are extremely reasonable. I bought two beautiful vases for $0.75, a pair of gently used cozy boots for $2.00, and a gorgeous 32/pc china set for a whopping $8.00! I even found a beautiful antique kimono in there recently. Now that's something you don't find every day! All in all, this place is amazing. Great place to volunteer at, as well. read more

****BEWARE***** if there was a way to leave less than one star I would have. I saw a pair of cats I was interested in adopting on their website. Knowing that I was not going to be able to go in until the weekend I sent a friend of mine with a letter about myself and my family including our current pets and a hold fee. The person my friend dealt with was very kind explain that she would make an exception given my circumstances and allowed them to be placed on hold. Today, I drove down to Salem from my house about an hour away to visit with the cats and see if they would be a good fit. When I arrived we sat down with a young girl who reviewed the letter I already sent in with the hold fee as well as the application I filled out. After reviewing the application and the letter she said we would be approved to adopt the cats. As soon as she said that one of her co-workers walked up and said oh no they cannot be in a house with dogs. Nothing on the online information which led me to put a hold deposit on them to believe that dogs would be a problem because it was not part of their profile. When I asked for my hold deposit back I was told by a very uncompassionate worker Jackie it was not refundable. I think spoke with the Assistant manager Tina who did not take any responsibility for the situation and only made excuses. She explained we are now updating their profile. Well, if it had been accurate in the first place we would not be standing here having this conversation as I understand if they are not a good fit for my family they are not a good fit and nothing would have transpired. If I had somehow made an error or not been truthful or transparent I get that I should forfeit my hold fee. However, I went through a lot of time and some expense and invested in a situation that was hopeless even though I did everything I was supposed to. The girl approved my application. However, they forgot some of the details and then refused to give my money back. I understand it's a rescue I understand it's a non-profit and if I choose to give my money willingly understanding what I'm getting into that's on me. But, them allowing me to put the hold knowing my circumstance knowing that I have dogs indicating it would be okay for me to adopt these cats choosing to approve my application and then at the last second say no is completely unfair. It seems like they're extorting donations by deception. I have a cat who recently passed away and it was time for our family to get another. I have already been through much and to go through this situation just further deepened my sadness. Based on my only interaction with his organization today I will never do business with them or do anything that benefits them because I cannot in good conscience say that they are an upright honest and worthy organization. read more

Working in animal care is a tough job, as is volunteering. You see a lot of heart wrenching and heart filling things. Salem Friends is a wonderful compliment to the animal care community in Salem. They work with local shelters to offer assistance to special needs animals, and they are always looking for ways to help. They have dedicated staff and volunteers and their animals are well cared for through their care and the care of their skilled foster families. I work for a shelter, and am so pleased to work alongside these folks. I love the Salem Friends of Feline thrift shop too. Who doesn't love finding little deals and knowing it benefits a charity! read more

A very nice place to adopt a cat. They lost one star because my son, for whom the cat was a gift, did not get the cat he selected and placed a deposit on. I called the day of pick up (post neuter) and a very frantic and apologetic woman informed me that the cat he selected was taken by someone else! My son, though disappointed, accepted the other cat they had available and she has turned out to be a nice addition to our home. read more

This little store had a lot of very cool items all priced really well we walked out of there with a few different items and we're very happy

I'm a fan of the overall work they do for cats. It is a wonderful mission that they SAVE lives and take in kitties. Each time I've been in the workers have NOT been friendly or helpful. The don not even smile. Are you kidding me? Put your pom poms in the air for the kitties. I donated 5 boxes of new items because I believed in their mission. The girls at the front did not even walk out to help me bring in the boxes and just told me to leave them in front of the shop door. They didn't even say thank you. They did ask if I needed a receipt. Please be more friendly. It really helps people have a pleasant trip to your store and your smile can save a cats life! read more

I had a very sad experience with this shelter recently, and my biggest concern is for the cat involved. They are not doing their due diligence to get this cat the help it needs, but are trying to adopt it out again without medical help or treatment. After previous adoption failures, the kitty in question has been brought back at least twice, and found as a stray at least once, but they are not disclosing all of this in the description on their website. They are hiding important information that the next adopter needs to know, in order to prevent yet another unsuccessful placement of this otherwise wonderful cat. They said if they do disclose this info, the cat will seem unadoptable to others, their wording was "damaged goods". The truth of the matter is, this kitty IS unadoptable at this time without medical help, and will endlessly be returned or abandoned to the streets. Observance in a foster home is necessary in order to appropriately assess the situation, and/ or the vet who visits this shelter to examine returned cats should speak with the former adopter for more complete information. They will tell you again and again that cats may act very differently in a home setting than at the shelter, and this was especially true when I brought the kitty home, and kept it for about 5 weeks. However, no one is interested in knowing the details of what I observed and experienced. BEWARE if considering a cat from this shelter! Ask many questions. If you post a negative comment here, please consider also filing a complaint with the Oregon State Licensing Bureau. With all the negative comments on this site, the shelter still has not changed their behavior or the way they operate their business. Why is that?? read more

This place is within walking distance from my place and I found treasures in quality name brand women's clothing. Additionally, I saw the cats needing adoption were well taken care of. read more

Can t say enough good things about these kind people working and volunteering here . Please leave an online donation if you can . They took in two stray sick kitties from us that we had found in my daughters apartment parking lot . They were already full to the max . Thank you animal angels ! read more

I can't say enough great things about the folks that run this place. The director is simply amazing and works 24/7 to make sure every cat and kitten is given the best life possible. I can't imagine what Salem would do without this group of people, we as a community should be thanking them on a daily basis for all that they do with the cats in our area!!! read more