Cat cafe to give cat lovers a chance to bond and adopt
CBC
Ever since Chantelle Gaudette heard about the concept of cat cafes, she was hooked.
"I knew that I always wanted to work with animals, I just didn't exactly know and what kind of platform so I heard about these and absolutely fell in love with the concept," said Gaudette, the owner of the Yay for Strays cat cafe on Ottawa Street.
For a fee of $7 for a half an hour or $10 for a full hour, cat lovers can hang out with and play with cats in a large room full of toys and colourful artwork at the back of the store.
The cats have to be sequestered from the front area where food is served due to health unit regulations.
The front part of the store carries cat related merchandise, coffee and desserts.
"I've always been in love with animals my entire life. I don't know how anyone can't be. I wouldn't want to be alive if they weren't here," said Gaudette.
The Windsor-Essex County Humane Society supplies the cats which are chosen based on their temperament and how they get along with other cats.
All of them — so far there are six — are up for adoption which is handled by the humane society.
"Our adoption policy is really trying to get cats into home, so we're not trying to keep people from getting cats. We know there's lots of places they can get cats, so we really try to help find a cat who's a good fit for that specific situation," said Melanie Coulter, executive director of the humane society.
"The cat cafe is a great opportunity for people to hear about adoption, have an opportunity to spend some time with cats if they don't have any of their own, and we're happy to add them to our list of off-site adoption locations," said Coulter.
The cat cafe is set to open on Feb. 24.
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