Coffee with a side of cat cuddles? You’ve found the purr-fect place! For owner Vivian Deng, there was only one paw-sibility when she and her husband started their own business. Now at Alberta’s first permanent cat café, you can relax in the cat lounge with a catpurrcino and then grab a mew-mento to commemorate the visit. Welcome to the Cat Café…
1) What’s the best part about running this type of business?
The absolute best part is that we get to see cats who have been strays or surrendered be chosen by loving families and moved into their forever homes. It’s also exciting to see our guests always leave with smiles on their faces.
2) Which other local businesses have you partnered with?
We’re partnered with SAFE Team, a local non-profit organization that provides our adoptable cats, and we essentially function as a foster home. Our espresso beans are from ACE Coffee Roasters, a well-known local roastery, and we bring in local baked goodies from Hazeldean Bakery and Sucre M. For our meowchandise, Purr Ogies for Cats & Bow Wow Biscuits creates food-themed cat toys infused with a special catnip blend.
3) What are the most popular items in the store?
The most popular are our mugs and the cat backpacks—or rather, backpacks for your cats. These bags are hard to come by, but they’re a way to bring your cats to experience the great outdoors in a sheltered backpack. We also particularly love our cat-themed plates—they’re the perfect addition to any cat lover’s home!
4) Cats are well known for their cat-titude. How can guests maximize their cuddling time?
The best way is to visit first thing in the morning when the cats are well rested and ready for attention. We even sell treats they’ll come running for (though these are regulated so they don’t have too many in one day). But cats often sleep 12 to 15 hours a day and aren’t always going to be active and playful, so we ask that customers respect their lifestyle by giving them gentle pets during these sleepier times.
