Wow!

That’s all I have to say. The number of people who have come out to visit The Cat Cafe over the past few days has been amazing. I want to thank every one of you who made the trip, whether you just walked down the block or drove all the way in from Orange County.

While I’m grateful for the number of people coming, we are going to have to put in place a new policy in order to prevent the cats from getting overwhelmed. You’re coming to The Cat Cafe to enjoy some great coffee and play with some fun cats. If the cats are overwhelmed due to the number of people in the playpen, you can only do the first part.

To make sure this doesn’t happen, once the cat playpen has 20 people in it, we will not allow any additional people to enter the playpen. When the playpen is at full capacity, after 15 minutes, we will clear the room. Then we’ll give the cats five minutes to relax without any people in the room. After that we’ll allow another group of 20 people to enter and the cycle will begin again.

I know that while I’ve got some great coffee, it’s my supporting actor. The stars at The Cat Cafe are the cats. And in order to make sure that the stars do not get overwhelmed and end up retreating into their private space, this policy has to go in place.

Will this result in the waits I was seeking to avoid? Yes. And I do apologize for that. But one of the things that is critical to me is to make sure the cats are well taken care of and that they get adopted. That’s not going to happen if they’re overwhelmed from all the attention they’re getting, and that’s why this policy is going in place at The Cat Cafe.

If you have any questions, please email or call. Thank you for all of your support!

You’ve met the other four members of The Cat Cafe’s Fab Five: Wexler, Giselle, Butterball, and Janis. Now it’s time to meet the most mellow member of the Fab Five, Larson.

You may notice that there’s a resemblance between Wexler and Larson. That’s because they are brothers. They are not tightly bonded and can be adopted separately, but you can definitely tell that they like each other.

As with Wexler, Larson was transferred to the San Diego Humane Society from the Department of Animal Services. He’s not as big as his brother, and he’s a year younger. But he has the same curious nature as his bigger brother. It took a little longer for his playful side to show, but once it arrived, it was on full display.

Larson’s a mellow, happy go lucky cat. He’s an engaging guy, and once he gets to know you, this side of him shows up. In the few days that he’s been here, Larson has definitely demonstrated that he’s carefree, adaptive, and cheerful.

Nowhere does this show up more than when he’s playing with his big brother Wexler. The two of them love to play fight and wrestle. There’s a little bit of sibling rivalry going on with these two, as Larson tries to show his brother that he’s just as capable of doing cat things as Wexler is.

These two turn the carpet in cat playpen at The Cat Cafe into their own personal wrestling mat, and both two legged and four legged creatures enjoy the show. It’s as entertaining as any WWE match, and nobody gets hurt.

If you’d like to come on by to see a feline wrestling match between Larson and his brother, or if you’d like to meet the rest of The Cat Cafe’s Fab Five, please stop in between 7 AM and 3 PM.

 

You’ve met Wexler, Giselle and Butterball. Now it’s time to meet the fourth member of The Cat Cafe’s Fab Five, Janis.

Janis is a pretty black and white girl with distinctive green eyes that you can lose yourself in. She’s not a big girl, weighing less than half what Wexler does. But what she is lacking in size, she more than makes up for in her feisty attitude.

If Janis didn’t have this attitude, it’s likely she wouldn’t have made it. She was found as a stray and then brought to the shelter. It’s a very good thing that she was taken in by a caring person because behind that feisty attitude is a very sweet girl.

The feistiest member of The Cat Cafe’s Fab Five has been described a firecracker. She’s frisky, zealous, lively, and high spirited. Her fun antics will entertain you, and she is not afraid to tell you what she thinks.

This feisty and playful girl will make even the worst case of June Gloom seem like a bright and sunny day. She loves to play and talk once she gets to know you.

Janis is the youngest member of The Cat Cafe’s Fab Five but don’t let that fool you. She learned a lot when she had to survive on the streets as a stray cat, and she’s happy to display the things she learned to entertain you.

And she definitely subscribes to the philosophy “if I fits, I sits” as you can see from this picture.

Would you like to meet Janis or the rest of the Fab Five? Come on in and visit us here at The Cat Cafe and see if you think this feisty but playful girl is the right cat for you.

You’ve met two of The Cat Cafe’s Fab Five, Wexler and Giselle so far. Today, I want you to meet a truly sweet cat, Butterball.

Butterball is a relatively young guy who’s been through a lot. Before he was surrendered, he lived in a home with lots of fur siblings. The two legged residents of the house just didn’t have the time to take care of him, nor the space to keep him.

He was also living with a couple of big, rambunctious dogs. While he tolerated them, when he wanted to get away from them, he would go to a high spot where they couldn’t get to him.

Because of this, Butterball is a little shy. But once you get past that initial shyness, does his personality — or should I say purrsonality — ever shine. One of Butterball’s favorite spots in The Cat Cafe is in a crate that is in the cat playpen. He likes to climb up to the top shelf there, where there’s a cushion. And once he gets there and feels comfortable, he’s very happy.

I’ve had cats for a long time, but I’ve never seen a cat who makes air biscuits when you’re looking at him. That’s exactly what Butterball does when he gets comfortable. He’s very loving and affectionate, and does he ever have a purr motor.

Customers at The Cat Cafe all rave about Butterball. This sweet orange and white tabby is doing well with all of the other cats. I’m confident he’d fit right in with other cats. Dogs, on the other hand, would probably not be a good fit for him.

If I were to pick who was going to get adopted from The Cat Cafe first, I’d say it’s either going to be Butterball or Wexler. Come on in and see which one you think will be the first to go home with someone!

I previously introduced you to Wexler. Now I want to introduce you to another member of The Cat Cafe’s Fab Five, Giselle.

Her name’s very fitting. When you hear the name Giselle, many of you think of Mrs. Tom Brady, former Victoria’s Secret supermodel Giselle Bundchen. And when you see Giselle at The Cat Cafe, you can’t help but think of a supermodel.

She’s sleek, slender, and stunning. This pretty girl was a little reserved at first, but once she got used to The Cat Cafe’s cat playpen, she went looking for the spotlight.

And just like a supermodel, when it’s time to sleep, she pulls the equivalent of eye shades over her. Giselle decided to take a nap a few times today. She went into one of the holes in the cat trees, but in an adorable twist, she pulled the bed over her.

Giselle is starting to settle in, and it’s a lot of fun watching her explore her new space. It’s clear she’s going to enjoy it.

She was surrendered by her previous owner because there were dogs in the house who didn’t like her. Giselle’s owner decided that it would be better to give her a chance to get a home where this wasn’t an issue.

She’s not as outgoing as Wexler, and it takes a while for Giselle to warm up to you. But once she does, you’ll find she’s a very friendly and loving cat. Because of her more reserved personality, she’s not recommended for a home with young children.

If you’d like to meet The Cat Cafe’s feline supermodel, come on by and say hello to Giselle. It will take a while for her to warm up to you. But once she does, you’ll be very happy you met her.

The wait is finally over! No more guest cats. We’ve got our first cats in from the San Diego Humane Society. I’ll be introducing you to them over the next few days, unless they get adopted first. Wouldn’t that be cool?

I’m calling them the Fab Five, since they’re the first five cats here who are available for adoption. Today, I want to introduce you to the most friendly and playful of them thus far, Wexler.

Wexler is the biggest member of The Cat Cafe’s Fab Five, weighing about 17 pounds. And no, he is not overweight. He’s just a big guy. He and his brother Larson were transferred to the San Diego Humane Society from the Department of Animal Services.

He’s also the most outgoing of the group so far. The other cats have settled down in the cat retreat which is where they can go if they want to get away from customers and be alone for a while. They’re getting used to the space. Having them in the cat retreat is what I expected.

Not Wexler. The Cat Cafe’s cat playpen was not enough for him. He decided he wanted to be on staff, so he had to check out the office. He started to get up on the door handle and pull it down, so I had to lock it.

It’s only fitting, because he’s described as a curious cat. He’s also described as happy go lucky, cheerful, adaptable, and playful. That definitely fits him.

After Wexler learned that he can’t open a locked door, he decided to wander around the cat playpen a bit. He’s really settled in after only a couple of hours at The Cat Cafe. And soon after I took this picture, he decided to wander on over to sit by me to see what I was doing.

I already like this guy, but I have a feeling I won’t be able to get to know him too well. Something tells me that someone is going to fall in love with Wexler very quickly and they’ll want to give him a home of his own.

Come visit Wexler, or Sexy Wexy as I’ve already nicknamed him, and the rest of the Fab Five.

It’s taken a lot longer than I expected, but I’m glad to be able to say that The Cat Cafe is open!

Because of the holidays, we’ll be doing limited hours for a while. We’ll be open from 10 AM until 2 PM until January 4, 2015. Wow. Did I just type that? 2015?

We also do not have our full complement of cats in, so I’m bringing in guest cats. Two of the guest cats are mine. The one who is here the most is Bagheera the Diabetic Cat. He’s a polydactyl bengal, and he’s a big boy. He weighs in at 20 pounds which is more than he should weigh, but he’s not obese.

Bagheera was born in the spring of 2005, and he was adopted in May of that year. In the summer of 2012, Bagheera was diagnosed with diabetes. Since then, he’s had two insulin shots per day to control his blood sugar. But other than that, he’s just like any other cat.

Another cat you may see in The Cat Cafe is Jacey. Jacey is a silver bengal who is an amazing ambassador cat, but she doesn’t like the carrier. She sometimes outsmarts me and makes me give up on bringing her to The Cat Cafe. The funny thing is that as soon as she gets here, she loves it. But it’s that carrier she can’t stand.

One thing that you’ll be able to enjoy, even with guest cats, is our high quality coffee. We get our coffee from West Coast Roasters and our espresso comes from Cafe Virtuoso. Both of these companies are based in San Diego, so you get coffee that’s roasted in small batches from a locally based company.

Come on in, check out the facilities, and enjoy your drinks! As always, if you have questions, you can email or call. Thanks for all your support and we look forward to seeing you soon!

I know a lot of you are wondering what’s going on here at The Cat Cafe with the build out and when we will open. We are very close.

We had to deal with a delay when the city inspector didn’t make it to our facility last Thursday like we wanted. That meant that we couldn’t schedule the additional inspections as we would have liked. But we are still on a very fast track to opening.

On December 16, The Cat Cafe will have its final electrical inspection. This will consist of the electrical inspector coming in to make sure that our emergency exit signs are working properly. He’ll make sure they light up, and then he’ll kill the power to them. If the lights still continue to shine — and I just checked to make sure they do — we will pass.

Assuming that goes well, I’ll schedule the pre-final inspection for the next day. I’ve corrected the issues the inspector pointed out. I’ve put up both the handicapped decal for the front door and the triangular sign that shows where the restroom door is.

It’s kind of silly that I have to do this, because I’ve got a sign that shows where the restroom is about three feet away from where the door sign is. But The Cat Cafe can’t open unless it’s ADA compliant, so we’ll do it.

If there are no problems there, or if they are minor ones that can be corrected for the final inspection, the inspector will sign off and I’ll correct anything he brings up. Once that is done, the final inspection will be scheduled for December 18.

And then after that is completed, The Cat Cafe can get an occupancy permit and finally open for business.

Beyond what is required for the City, The Cat Cafe is working hard to make things good for the kitties! It was just fine by the City to leave a crawl space open. But we weren’t going to do that with kitties that could work their way in.

Since only the cats and employees will be able to access this room, I’m not going to spend much time painting or making it look nice. I don’t think the cats will mind for some reason. If they do complain, I’ll make sure to pretty it up.

Thank you for your interest in The Cat Cafe. As always, if you have any questions, please call or email.

I know that many of you are anxiously awaiting an update on what is going on with the build out of The Cat Cafe. I’m happy to share some good news with you.

See that? It’s not quite finished yet but it looks a lot different than when The Cat Cafe passed the drywall inspection about a week ago.

You can see that we finished the texturing of the ceiling, painted, and made it a much more welcoming place for both cats and people. We also installed new lighting, which was required by changes in the law. No longer is track lighting, which we had, an option for a commercial facility. The lights that went in use less energy and provide more lighting, which will make visitors and the resident cats here at The Cat Cafe happy.

Another milestone in the construction of The Cat Cafe was passed when the electrical inspector came by yesterday and signed off on the work that was done so that the four exit signs required by code can be installed. We’re working on completing that today.

We’ll put the doors required to separate the cats from the coffee in first thing in the morning tomorrow. And then it’s time to sweat out another visit from the inspector as we get our pre-final inspection done.

Assuming that goes well, The Cat Cafe will have its final inspection the next day. Anything that needs to be corrected in the pre-final inspection will be addressed by then.

And then, once that is passed, our long journey to being the first cat cafe in Southern California will be complete.

For those of you who can’t visit but would like to take a little piece of The Cat Cafe home, you can order a t-shirt. I’m selling those from now until the end of the year at $15, plus $5 shipping, within the United States.

As always, if you have any questions, please feel free to email or call. Thank you for all of your support and patience!

 

That is what is going on here at The Cat Cafe. We make progress, but during the process, we uncover something that needs to be fixed. I am constantly having to remind myself that two steps forward, one step back is still moving forward.

Here’s the latest on what happened. The building inspector came over to look at what we had done with the framing. He liked what we had done, and while he found one minor flaw, he said that it was something that could be corrected quickly so he wasn’t too concerned with it.

This issue has been addressed and we’re ready to bring the inspector back to look.

Then he started looking around and found some issues that needed to be fixed. First, he noted that there wasn’t enough clearance for the toilet to be ADA compliant. Not a problem, we said. We’ll fix that for you. But then we opened up the wall and found a mess. That resulted in us having to open do this to expose the problem and fix it.

Yet another challenge in getting The Cat Cafe open. Now a plumber has to come in to fix the pipes, and then we need to pour cement over it. Then after that, we need to put in a code compliant wall. That’s not really an issue, and the people working on the build out of The Cat Cafe can do it quickly and easily once the concrete dries. But we need to wait for it to dry.

Why do we need to make sure it’s a code compliant wall? Because The Cat Cafe will not open with walls made of wood like this.

You don’t have to be a construction expert to know that wood is not suitable for anything, much less holding up a wall.

I will get The Cat Cafe open, but I will do it the right way.

I appreciate all the kind words and thoughts, and your continued patience. I promise you that when we are open, it will all be worth it.

If you have any questions, please email or call.