Salem Friends of Felines

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.

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.

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!!!

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!

Very nice little thrift store which supports a great cause. They do a lot of great work in the community in support of cats.

This place consistently has plentiful cute cats, knowledgable staff, and affordable second hand stuff. It is very clean and organized.

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.

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.

awesome place… full of cats needing a good home. no pressure to buy… as you can spend all the time you want being with the adoptable cats. the place also has two big rooms of secondhand and new stuff you can buy to support the place. excellent excellent place to purchase a new cat! this is where i’ll go the next time we need a kitty. this place is very easy to find, just north of downtown off commercial. all the parking spots in from of the store are usually open.

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 décor 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! :)

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. :)

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!