CatCafé Lounge: LA’s First Nonprofit Cat Café

This past weekend I attended a sneak peek event at CatCafé Lounge, which is the first nonprofit cat café in Los Angeles! I had a fantastic time and think that the lounge is a great place for adoptable kitties to hang out while they wait for their forever homes.

CatCafe Lounge

CatCafé Lounge

Located on the second floor of the building, paw prints lead visitors and potential adopters up the stairs. You enter the café portion of the building, make your entry donation (remember, nonprofit!), get a free coffee or tea and can also order a baked good or snack if you want to. Then, you’re ushered into the separate lounge area and greeted by the cats!

curious cat at CatCafe Lounge
“Well, hello there! Did you bring me any treats?”

Kristi Labrenz Galvan, Founder and Executive Director of CatCafé Lounge, began her journey of opening the nonprofit cat café back in 2015. I asked Kristi why being a nonprofit was important to her when many cat cafés are not.

“I am not looking to make a profit from cats, my intention is to save lives in the LA community. I wanted potential guests to be assured that the money they spend at the cat café will go 100% back to our mission of saving lives.”

cat playing at CatCafe Lounge

NKLA Coalition Partner

The mission of CatCafé Lounge is to increase adoptions & reduce euthanizations while socializing cats. And because of that mission, CatCafé Lounge is an NKLA Coalition Partner.

“NKLA is an initiative led by Best Friends Animal Society, bringing together passionate individuals, city shelters and an entire coalition of animal welfare organizations to end the killing of pets in L.A. city shelters simply because they don’t have safe places to call home.” Source: nkla.org

gray and white cat at CatCafe Lounge

Adoptable Cats

The cats are pulled from Los Angeles shelters by CatCafé Lounge’s rescue partner SNPLA (the Spay Neuter Project of Los Angeles). Kristi says, “CatCafé Lounge would like to get to a point where we can pull from LA County shelters as well as help other rescues looking for a “foster” to house a large population of kitties.”

cat-08

Kristi goes on to say that “Our cat café focuses on the ‘undercat’ (underdog). The cats that other rescues may overlook because they are not front of cage or have minor medical issues that they don’t have the resources to mend.”

When I visited on Saturday, the cats were friendly and playful. But if they wanted a break from the visitors, they had a separate room to head to for some time out. There are also plenty of areas in the main lounge that are high up so they can monitor the goings-on from a distance.

Grand Opening

CatCafé Lounge opens to the general public on February 3, 2018 and their reservation system is now open. Feline aficionados (and those looking to adopt) in the Southern California area should definitely check out CatCafé Lounge! I had a wonderful time at the preview event and know that any cat lover would be happy to visit the cat café! As their motto states… Sip.Socialize.Adopt.

This cat found the sunpuddle on my lap.

Be sure to follow CatCafé Lounge on social media to keep up to date on their latest and greatest! Facebook | Instagram | Twitter

cat at CatCafe Lounge

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36 thoughts on “CatCafé Lounge: LA’s First Nonprofit Cat Café

  1. I’ve only been to one cat cafe in NYC before however love the clean contemporary design of this one. I also really like that this one is a non profit and focusing more on the cats welfare than profits. Kuddos.

  2. What a great initiative. I love that the cafe is a non-profit. Cat cafes are becoming increasingly popular, and knowing that the money goes back to helping cats in need definitely makes it stand out among the rest. I bet these cats love being at the cafe, and it’s so great that they are simultaneously being socialized and prepared for their forever homes.

  3. Ottawa now has one … and I’ve seen a hedgehog cafe too! I like these places that switch up how animals can be adopted. It’s less clinical. More relaxed for everyone – pet and people.

  4. I’ve now visited several Cat Cafe establishments, in New York and Dallas and elsewhere. I love the trend of showcasing adoptable cats in unique ways, and the great partnerships that develop for the benefit of all.

  5. A really grand idea whose time has come. Purrs of success!
    Thanks so much for the support when Mr Buttons had to go over the Bridge. It was very sudden and he was a big part of our family. We miss him terribly as do so many as he was our official greeter. He never met a stranger only new friends.
    Purrs dear friends
    Timmy, Dad Pete and Family

  6. This is a FABulous Post and I adore the idea of a non-prifit cat cafe! How wonderful is that. I adore the pictures too.

    Our local cat cafe Neko-Ngeru is not a non profit but they make no money from the adoption of the cats they host and it s, like this cafe, a real asset to its community. A cat adoption cafe allows people to ‘walk and chew gum’ at the same time. Coffee and cats what’s NOT to love!!

  7. How wonderful! I hope that lots of cats find their forever home because of their time at the cat cafe. What a great way to get people to consider adopting a cat. The fact that it is nonprofit makes it that much sweeter.

  8. What a cool place! We love how cat cafes are popping up all over. It’s a great way to showcase adoptable cats.

  9. Such a lovely idea! That ADOPT board looks fantastic. Nicely designed. I keep reading more and more about cat cafes opening, so I’m holding out hope that one may come to Tucson. We have dogs, who I love dearly, but when I visit my sister, I love playing with and petting her cat. Helping socialize adoptable catfaces would be so rewarding.

  10. How cool are those cat trees! Love the unique designs. And it’s a great idea to be a non profit – just imagine how awesome this will be to help prevent cats from being euthanized.

  11. This looks like a wonderful place. My dogs won’t allow me to have cats, but I could get my full of cats here! What a great way to show people how awesome these cats are, raise some money, and have a fun afternoon!

  12. I love that more cat cafes are opening and appreciate organizations like this, where money spent at the cat café will go 100% back to their incredible mission of saving lives! Everyone looks so happy. The ADOPT wall is a great idea.

  13. Thrilled to see a cat cafe in LA! Chicago recently opened it’s first too, with the same mission, but operates a bit differently. It’s interesting so see how these cafes find ways to operate within local laws. If you want check ours out at https://www.facebook.com/windykittycatcafe/. I’m still planning a visit maybe Feb. 14th would be a good time. Sandra and Dolly

  14. Such a beautiful idea and that too for non profit! We do have a cat cafe here in San Francisco too, I have to check it out!

  15. I love the idea of cat cafes. Everyone wins. People get their cat fixes. Cats get socialized. Both cats and humans find each other, and cats find homes. I visited the one in NYC when it first opened.
    You know what I would love? A story about how they’re all designed. Most of them have really cool catified spaces, and I would love to see what each of them has done.
    —Purrs (and wags) from Life with Dogs and Cats

  16. This Cat Cafe sounds like the cat’s pj’s. I have been to the London Cat Cafe but the cats were not adoptable. LA has the right idea for adoption of kitties. I think what is needed is more communication between cat cafes.

    Jean

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