In our upcoming edition of Action Line magazine, we dive into the world of cat cafes and yoga centers that are becoming a hit around the country. We were happy to find Meow Parlour, New York City’s first cat café, which also opened in December of 2014 and sit down for a chat with the cafe’s owners. Meow Parlour sells homemade pastries, macarons, Blue Bottle Coffee and Harney & Sons Tea out of a neighboring storefront called Meow Parlour Patisserie.
Visitors to Meow Parlour can order treats from the Patisserie with delivery to the Parlour for no additional charge. The space houses a dozen cats at a time provided by rescue group and partner KittyKind. To spend time with the cats, guests are charged $4 per half hour or $30 for five hours.
Co-founders Christina Ha and Emilie Legrand are proud that so far 45 cats have found homes through Meow Parlour.
“Many of the cats we’ve had at Meow Parlour would have had a more difficult time getting adopted in a more traditional shelter setting,” said Ha. “Like Cupcake, who had eye surgery and was a little less traditional looking—he found a home with a wonderful young girl who adores him. Or Ricky, who did poorly in cages. And cats whose age may have prevented people from considering a senior cat, like Fang.”
Ha and Legrand go out of their way to get cats who would benefit most from an environment out of a cage.
“We feel really proud that cats who may have been so shy that they were considered unadoptable are coming to our space, getting comfortable to the idea of meeting new people and finding forever homes with our guests,” Ha said.
Read the full article in our fall edition of Action Line magazine. You can have it delivered straight to your door on a quarterly basis by becoming a member with us today or get a virtual edition sent to your inbox by signing up for our e-mail newsletter.