Cat Café in Northern Kentucky Celebrates Its 200th Cat Adoption

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The history of cat cafés dates back to the late 90s when the first one ever was opened in Taiwan in 1998. The idea became popular around the world, and in the US, the first permanent cat café opened its doors in 2014. Today, there are over 70 such establishments, and with people realizing the comfort that comes with having a cat around, cat cafés will be more widespread in the coming years. One cat café in Northern Kentucky celebrated its 200th cat adoption after being around for less than four months. Its opening was a long time coming, so let’s tell you more about how it achieved this great milestone.

It Began as a Promise in March 2020

In March 2020, Cincinnati Enquirer published that a new cat café was planning on gracing the residents of Covington, Kentucky with its presence. The owner, Chuck Patton, promised that the café would portray his imagination of Covington, which to him is a weird, unique and eclectic and place. More details revealed that the cat café would partner with Kenton County Animal Shelter. As a result, all cats at the café would be available for adoption using the same process as the one found at the Kenton County Animal Shelter. The owner said they would provide an application form and run a background check on anyone interested in cat adoption. Once you approved, they would give you cat food, carriers, and informational materials to enable you to know how to acclimatize the felines to their new home. Patton hushed the fear of poor hygiene when people were worried about cat hair in their food and drinks. He explained that he would install separate HVAC systems to prevent that from ever happening. Besides, the cats would be in a separate 1000-square-feet room and would not access the bar; the room was spacious since Patton planned on having a maximum of 25 cats during summer and 17 in winter.

Promise Delivered in November 2020

Well, that was a year ago, and Patton delivered his promise, although a bit late. He had anticipated they would open doors of the new cat café in the first week of June 2020, but according to WHAS, the official opening date was set for November 13, 2020, making it the first cat café in Northern Kentucky. It is situated at 25 West 8th Street, Covington, although Patton had said it would be located at 17 West, 8th Street near Braxton Brewery. Although they had to prohibit adoption during that first weekend, once things were up and running, people began applying. All one needs is a visitation fee of $15, and then you can take 50 minutes with the cats to know which one is best suitable for you. Even if you are not interested in adopting, you are still welcome to enjoy your favorite drink. The unique process has paid off, and on March 2, 2021, the cat café celebrated its 200th adoption.

It’s the Second Purrfect Day Cat Café

It has taken the Covington Purrfect Day Cat Café nearly four months to have 200 cats adopted. At that rate, it will be hard to beat the original Purrfect Day Cat Cafe in Louisville, which took a year to reach the 2000 mark. According to WRDB.com, the Louisville cat café was opened in August 2018, and by December 18, 2019, it had celebrated 2021 adoptions. However, it is never a competition when it comes to community service. When it was started, the owner hoped for at least 300 adoptions a year but hit the target in two months. Within weeks of opening, Patton had already seen a pattern that adult cats were preferred and were adopted within two weeks of arriving at the cat café. The Louisville cat café partners with the Kentucky Humane Society, which Patton found important to streamline the adoption process and ensure the cats were healthy. He still has time to interact with his customers because someone from the humane society visits the café every day to feed them. Just like the one in Covington, the cats are kept in a separate area away from the customers for hygienic purposes. The concept is still the same where customers pay a fee. However, they must make a reservation and fill out a waiver as detailed on smartwaiver.com.

How Purrfect Day Cat Café Was Started

The idea of opening the cat café came to Chuck Patton in three signs as he told StyleBlueprint. The first was when he was thinking about selling his business, Traffic Builders, but did not know what he would do next. However, fate came calling because when sitting in his office and staring out the window, Patton saw the grass move, and behold was an orphaned kitten. He and his wife, Tricia, ended up adopting it.

The second sign was during a vacation in Charleston, South Carolina. He and Tricia wanted to go into a café where he saw people drinking wine and laughing. Unfortunately, he could not get in; it was fully booked; thus, he had to wait for the next four and a half hours. Patton wondered how it would be booked for, yet he had observed that only 20 people were in the café. It was so busy and had run out of homeless cats for people to adopt that it was looking for some in other counties. The third sign was prompted by his son, who dared him to read a book about a former navy SEAL who became a humanitarian warrior.

It then dawned on him that opening a cat café was his next step because there was a gap in the market. He told Louisville Insight that he was aiming for a modern So-Ho look that blended well with a Kentucky theme of local tea, coffee and beer served from bourbon-barrel bars. He also wanted it to be less than a cat adoption service and more of a family and social experience ranging from date nights to a girls’ night out. Consequently, the Purrfect Day Cat Café was born.