With the permit application submitted to the City of Vancouver, we had several weeks of waiting on our hands . . . and decided to fill that with a little more field research right here on the West Coast. Cat cafes have been popping up like crazy over the past year, and we say, the more the meowier! So we plotted a trip to head down the coast to see what our fellow cat lovers are up to across the border.
Purringtons (Portland, OR)
Purringtons Cat Lounge was the purrfect first stop for our trip! We were greeted by owners Kristen and Sergio, who gave us the grand tour and royal treatment. With vintage furnishings, a spacey Aladdin Sane-inspired mural, and meowmosas on the menu, this is the spot for all the hip cats in town. I felt honoured that Curly Sue chose my lap to sit on — she must have sensed that the tuxedo cat is my spirit animal. I stayed frozen in place for the rest of our visit because it doesn't get much better than having a cat decide that you are worthy of being their seat.
The Dancing Cat (San Jose, CA)
The Dancing Cat is a non-profit, community-focused pop-up cat cafe in the heart of Silicon Valley. The interior was colourfully catified with the help of local artists, and the cafe's presence has transformed the energy of the neighbourhood by attracting throngs of cat lovers to a space that used to be a liquor store. The cafe was closed the day of our visit, but co-founders Anne and Mary were so kind to meet up with us on their day off to show us their lovely space. We learned first-hand about ‘tortitude’ from a vivacious tortie named Jackie, and were delighted to discover that this very particular lady has since been adopted.
Cat Town Cafe (Oakland, CA)
Started by a non-profit cat rescue, Cat Town Cafe was the first cat cafe to open in the US, and has had an incredible adoption rate that has worked out to about a cat a day since opening in October 2014. They will be expanding this fall into the space next door to make room for even more cat-astic activities. Their cartoonish custom cat towers are mini versions of the Oakland skyline, and serve as favourite napping spots for the resident felines. Props to co-founder Adam for the backstage tour, sharing in our journey and teaching us how to navigate the Bart!
Kittea (San Francisco, CA)
We were in luck to arrive at Kittea in the first few days of their soft opening, and received a warm welcome from founder Courtney. Cats were enthusiastically exploring the new space, and there were even some fresh kitten arrivals during our visit! The kittens were especially fascinated when encountering full-grown cats of similar colouring, like this ginger kitten below, caught sussing out a tail-shaped version of himself.
The Cat Cafe (San Diego, CA)
We traveled all the way down to San Diego to make it to The Cat Cafe, the final cat cafe of our trip, and it was worth it to meet Yoda, a super friendly, super chill giant black furball. We met some other patrons who were also traveling and missing their kitties back home, and had stopped in to stock up on cat cuddles. Thanks to owner Tony for answering our many questions!
CATcon la
Our trip culminated in a weekend visit to CatCon LA, the first ever conference for cat lovers. We had no idea what to expect, and found ourselves swept up in a sea of frenzied feline enthusiasts — about 10,000 of them! We breathed the same air as Li'l Bub, met some adoptable kitties and robot kitties and fawned over aisle after aisle of arts and crafts inspired by the might Cat. We were delighted to connect with some of our favourite merchandisers, whose products we'll be bringing into the Catfe shop — and our LA cat hosts Sapphie and Matzah were delighted by all the catnip samples we brought home!
