No cat left behind

New cat cafe works to find felines homes

By K. MAUSER The Breeze

A fter six years of hard work, it’s finally here: The Aristocat Cafe is open for business.

The Aristocat Cafe, which opened April 13, is the first of its kind in Harrisonburg — a location that combines both tea and cats into a cohesive “cat cafe.” The cafe is set up so the cats stay in one room separate from the food and drink, but it’s surrounded by glass walls so the cats can be viewed by those outside of the cat room, an optimal option for people who are allergic to cats.

Ten cats currently roam the floors of the cat room, each of which are up for adoption. One cat has already been adopted within the first week of being open, Melisa Miller, president of the Humane Society of Shenandoah County (HSSC), said.

“I think we’re more of a modern cat cafe concept where we are a tea house first,” Amanda Atwell, founder of the Aristocat Cafe, said.

Atwell said she first had the idea to start her own cat cafe in 2017 when she and her husband were visiting Quebec and stumbled across one. At that point, Atwell said she didn’t know cat cafes existed, but said they began working toward creating their own soon after.

Since she was 16, Atwell said she’s been fostering cats and has had about 60 come through her home altogether. She said she’d always wanted to combine her culinary skills with her love for cats, but she’d never known how until she came across a cat cafe.

About a year ago, Miller said she received a call from Atwell asking for cats for her cafe. “We thought that this would be great because, locally, there are not enough adopters,” Miller said. “We were happy to hear from her.”

Miller said the HSSC places about 500-600 animals a year to various adopters, the majority of these animals being cats. She said even though the HSSC tries hard not to turn people away, it can’t take all of the cats into its foster and placement program, Homeward Bound.

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“If you break that down, we average taking in about 50 animals a month,” Miller said. “That would be how many that we need to find homes for.”

With Atwell’s help, Miller said the HSSC will be able to take in more animals and “save more lives.” Atwell said anyone who’s interested in adopting can apply through the humane society which will coordinate getting the pet to them. She also said she doesn’t have any involvement in the adoption process, and the Humane Society benefits entirely from it.

“We’re their home until they find a home,” Atwell said.

Kathleen Morris, who visited the cafe Friday with her daughter Caitlin Morris, said she’s liked her experience with the cafe so far.

“We’re having fun and we just like cats and we also love tea,” Kathleen said. “You marry the two together, what could go wrong?”

Aristocat Cafe offers an extensive collection of 74 types of tea, as well as coffee from Merge Coffee, Atwell said.

“I bake everything in house that is served, or we try to source as much of it locally as we can,” Atwell said.

Atwell also said the Harrisonburg community doesn’t have a tea shop with the assortment of teas that Aristocat Cafe offers. She said all of the tea the cafe serves is looseleaf and single-origin, and they even blend some things in house.

According to the cafe’s website, its tagline is, “Fostering cats and community over a cup of tea.” Atwell said this tagline represents its “great mission.”

Miller said the Aristocat Cafe is a foster home for the HSSC rather than an adoption site. She said the HSSC still has to complete the adoptions, but that it’s grateful for the large number of cats Atwell houses.

“Saving more animals and having more room in our foster homes is the goal,” Miller said. “There always seems to be more cats than there are adoptive homes.”

Miller said the influx of cats around Harrisonburg is due to the lack of stray cats that are spay-neutered. She said adopters need to spay-neuter their cats in order to help lessen the population of stray cats in the area. Miller also said a cat can get pregnant at only four months old and can commonly have three or four litters a year.

“Please spay-neuter your pet,” she said, “Please adopt, don’t shop.”

Miller said the HSSC provides all the food, litter, vet care and resources to anyone who volunteers to foster these cats, including Atwell.

“Amanda being able to take in 12-15 cats at a time, and probably more when we switch over to kittens, will really help us out with being able to take more in and to save more lives,” Miller said.

Kathleen said she was aware of the “good service” the Aristocat Cafe is doing to the cats it takes in.

“They’re taking care of them, they’re socializing them, they’re working with the Shenandoah Humane Society to find homes for them,” Kathleen said. “And they provide the maintenance, the upkeep, for the cats themselves. And also, you can get tea.”

Kathleen said herself and her daughter would “absolutely” recommend the Aristocat Cafe to friends. Caitlin said the cafe’s a relaxing environment.

“We’re just the place for everybody,” Atwell said. “The cats are here because ot’s good for them, and people are here because it’s good fr them. You should care because we care.”

CONTACT K. Mauser at mauserkk@dukes.jmu.edu. For more on the culture, arts and lifestyle of the JMU and Harrisonburg communities, follow the culture desk on Twitter and Instagram @Breeze_Culture.