It is turning into that part of the semester where I am away from home for too long. What I mean by that is that I miss my own pets. It has been about two months since I last saw my three furballs. Thoughts such as, “Do they know I still exist?” and “Are they doing okay without me?” have plagued my mind. Although I know that they are thriving with my family back in Kansas City, that does not mean that the two-dachshund-one-lab sized hole in my heart is healed. In order to bring aid to my pet-deprived self, my friends and I decided to visit the Cheshire Grin Cat Café located in the Cherokee district in St. Louis.
Cat Cafés are becoming more common in bigger cities—but is this just an upcoming trend for people’s enjoyment or does it benefit the cats as well? As it turns out, both of these assumptions are true.
As stated on the café’s website: “While rescues are rescuing and T.N.R.-ing (trap-neuter-return) cats from the streets, we realized that the shelter environment isn’t the best for them to express their true personalities. Many sheltered cats tend to show signs of being stressed and scared instead of friendly and approachable.”
The idea of a “Cat Café” is to bring out the best personalities in these rescued cats, which most likely raises the adoption rates in these establishments and ultimately gets more cats off the streets and into the loving homes they deserve!
To ensure we were able to make a visit, we made reservations a week in advance as the establishment only allows 15 customers in at a time. There was a primary charge of $5 to reserve a spot, which is understandable because of the demand and the money goes towards the upkeep of the cats being housed in the space.
When we arrived at the café for our 11 a.m. reservation, we were pleasantly surprised by the interior design. The two-story coffee shop had a separate entrance to see the cats, so if you didn’t have a reservation you could still order a coffee. My favorite design feature of the building was the transparent ceiling above the coffee area which allowed for natural light to flood the room as well as a chance to see cats running around and playing with toys on the floor above. After hearing a little introduction from the friendly employees about how all sales from the shop go towards the residing cats and distinguishing which cats are more likely to bite by their pink collar, it was time to enter the sanctuary.
There were cats everywhere! A couple of cats were in cages because they had to get used to the new environment. It was so wholesome to pet the cats that slinked their way across the room and would occasionally rub themselves against my leg. I got a huge serotonin boost watching “Magic,” a two-year-old black cat, go crazy attempting to fight a stuffed mouse toy. There were multiple tables and seats on the second floor to sit with your drink or pastry and watch the cats be cats. The hour we reserved went by way too fast in my opinion, but I will definitely go back! I recommend this place for anyone who needs to de-stress or just misses their animals like me! All of the proceeds go to a great cause and this establishment serves as a reminder to adopt, not shop.