LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – It’s now official: Los Angeles will finally have its very first, permanent cat cafe.
If you love hanging out with cats as much as we think you do do (impossible), then you’ll be very excited to learn that D.C.-based cat cafe Crumbs & Whiskers is coming to Los Angeles. They’ve secured 7924 Melrose Avenue, which is located just west of Fairfax, as the location, and plan to open sometime in the fall of this year.
Animals cafes are particularly popular in many other parts of the world. They allow guests to buy a coffee or latte and then stick around to socialize with cats, dogs, rabbits or even owls. Los Angeles already has a Dog Cafe and there have been some past efforts to get a cat cafe up and running for a while now. We’ve even seen a few pop-ups. Well now, it’s finally happening.
Crumbs & Whiskers founder and Cat Lady In Chief Kanchan Singh said to LAist that she was inspired to start her own cat cafe in the U.S. while on a trip to Thailand about two years ago.
“The short version is, I was traveling in Thailand and had met these people on the road who saw that I was sharing every meal with stray dogs and cats,” Signh says. “They picked up that I really loved animals, and so on my last day in Thailand, which was also my 24th birthday, they decided to take me to a cat cafe. I didn’t know what it was, and I went in there, and I remember thinking, ‘This is amazing, why have I never heard of this before?’ I told [my friends] that I was going to go home, quit my job, and start a cat cafe. And then I actually did it.”
Just about one year later, Singh opened in Crumbs & Whiskers in D.C. Signh plans to move to Los Angeles to help the West Coast outpost to get off the ground.
If you’ve visited the Dog Cafe, then you know that you enter the cafe side, purchase your beverage, and then enter a completely separate area to play with the dogs and puppies. This is because the L.A. Health Department requires all of the animals not be in the same room where food is prepared.
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At Crumbs & Whiskers, they will be partnering with a nearby cafe. Guests will be able to order from a menu, and then a runner will go retrieve the items and bring them back to the cat cafe. Singh says they’re not quite sure yet who that partner will be, but to expect typical coffee shop fare including coffee, lattes, “cattucinos,” chai, teas and some sweets. They won’t serve any savory dishes at all as the cats would be inclined to steal a bite, however, they will sell a limited amount of cat treats to guests who wish some help gathering up a group of furry friends.
Singh says to expect 15-20 cats at the cafe at any particular time. The cats will come from local shelters and of course, will all be available for adoption. While the house cats will be about nine months old or better, as that’s when Singh says a cat’s immune system is fully developed, they will occasionally host kitten parties. Those are precisely what they sound like: a bunch of adoptable kittens, as well as cupcakes and other treats. If all goes well, Singh hopes to launch L.A.’s Crumbs & Whiskers with just such a party.
Though pricing may vary throughout L.A., the D.C. cafe sells 75 minutes of cat time for $15, so expect that prices here to be somewhat similar. And as for the decor and demeanor of the cafe, Singh says try to imagine cat lady chic, “like your really cool girlfriend who is really into cat’s apartment.”
If you can’t wait that long to get your kitty fix, CatCon LA is June 25 and 26, and will feature meet and greets featuring Catwoman actress Julie Newmar and celebrity felines Lil Bub, Pudge and Nala Cat, as well as loads and loads of adoptable cats and cat merchandise, an escape room, a Kat Von D Beauty Bar and a Caticure salon, among other various activities.
