To maintain a Shelter for homeless and unwanted cats with the goal of placing all healthy cats into loving adoptive homes while providing sanctuary for cats that are terminally ill, considered unadoptable, or whose owners have arranged for their continued lifetime care. In a nurturing, rehabilitative environment, we ensure the health of all cats entrusted to our care, promote spaying and neutering, and resort to euthanasia only as a matter of compassion for cats whose terminal illness causes suffering.
About the Shelter
Friends of Cats is a no-kill shelter for cats located in El Cajon, California, and is incorporated as a tax exempt, non-profit organization under IRS rule 501(c)(3). We are dedicated to providing shelter and medical care to abandoned cats and those whose owners are unable to care for them. Once their health is assured, we try to find them good homes. We do not euthanize, except as a matter of compassion if a cat is fatally ill or suffering. From newborn kittens to older resident cats living out their lives, as well as an ever-changing population of adoptable cats, the Shelter houses approximately 300 cats at any given time.
Friends of Cats is supported solely through memberships, revenues from adoptions and relinquishments, donations, fund-raising activities, grants, and legacies.
Our History
Friends of Cats began in 1929 as the Animal Rescue League, an organization formed to rescue and find good homes for dogs and cats destined for euthanasia at the local pound. When rescue funds dwindled after the stock market crash, a remarkable woman named Maude Erwin took over care of 20 cats living at the League shelter. Fundraising efforts by her friends helped maintain Mrs. Erwin's shelter in Pacific Beach. But as the number of cats continued to grow, the shelter was forced to move to rustic and remote acreage in Chula Vista, where conditions at the time were primitive.
In 1954 a Board of Directors was formed, and the shelter became the Maude Erwin Foundation for Cats, Inc., receiving its charter the same year. Relocation became necessary again in 1966, to the present location on Olde Highway 80 in Flinn Springs, east of El Cajon. Construction of the current building was a stop-and-start endeavor due to financial issues, including the need for donated materials and endless hours of volunteer labor. But on August 14, 1968, the Maude Erwin Foundation was amended to become Friends of Cats, Inc.
Today, the original building contains our office, infirmary, and corrals for adoptable cats. A cluster of outbuildings for cats with FIV, FELV, shy cats, kittens, and those entrusted to us as Lifetime Care residents can be found throughout the property. We have made much progress, but we are still in great need of ongoing support to update the Shelter and continue providing the best care for our feline friends.
Hello from Nefertiti, our Shelter Mascot
My name is Nefertiti, and I am the Shelter Mascot here at Friends of Cats. I am a Tonkinese, which is a hybrid of the Burmese and the Siamese (but has no bearing at Friends of Cats since the shelter does not recognize breeds.) I am a non-adoptable shelter resident since I have a lifelong health issue called Chronic Sinusitis, which means that I sound funny when I breathe and purr. However, the medical staff here at Friends of Cats takes excellent care of my medical needs to keep me feeling good. Come visit the shelter anytime between the hours of 10am to 4pm, Tuesday through Sunday, to meet me and all of the other resident shelter cats as well as many adoptable kitties looking for good homes.
