Two feline residents of Vancouver’s cat cafe. (Catfe Facebook page)
VANCOUVER, CANADA – It turns out that coffee and cats are just the purrfect combination in Vancouver.
Just over the course of five months after opening its doors in a downtown mall, the city’s cat café – or Catfe – is celebrating a serious adoption milestone.
The coffee house, which allows patrons to mingle with homeless kitties from the BC SPCA, just recently celebrated its 100th adoption.
“We are so grateful to the BC SPCA for their role in helping us reach this milestone, providing mentorship and trusting us with all their wonderful kitties,” a message on its Facebook page reads, along with a picture of Ellie-May, the latest cat to find a forever home.
Operating on a reservation system, the café serves food and also drinks on one side, while the other is a lounge where cat lovers can interact with felines awaiting adoption.
The milestone isn’t too surprising. The café was an almost instant hit when it opened its doors just before Christmas 2015.
With steady adoptions and a long period of bad weather that stopped cats from being transferred in from shelters in northern B.C., the Catfé had to temporarily shut down because of “catlessness” in January.
At any given time there are between 8 to 12 cats who are awaiting adoption in the café, each one specially chosen based on their temperament and willingness to mingle – shier kitties don’t do well in the social environment.
The space is purposefully designed to allow cats to express their natural behaviors, including jumping, pouncing, scratching and hiding.
Former SPCA volunteer and cat lover Michelle Furbacher started the café, which is modeled to similar eateries in the U.S. and Europe.
The very first official cat café was opened in Taiwan in 1998.
