Montana’s Very First Cat Cafe Opens in Bozeman

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If you ever needed any more reason to visit The Market in Bozeman, now you’ve got one. The shopping and dining hub has recently become home to Montana’s first-ever cat cafe. If you’ve ever fancied some feline company during your mid-morning coffee break, then this Montana cat cafe is going to go down a treat.

Welcome to the Cat Show Cafe

The Cat Show Cafe combines cats with coffee in a first-ever for Montana. The cafe is run by Josh Pecukonis and Josh Marks, two men whose passion for coffee is matched only by their love for cats. Working in partnership with Heart of the Valley Animal Shelter, Marks and Pecukonis are hoping that the cafe will encourage people to meet, greet, and take home a rescue cat. “We’re just crazy cat people,” Pecukonis admits, before adding that the intention behind the cafe is to highlight the shelter’s good work and give people an extra opportunity to spend time with some of its most deserving, long-time residents. The ultimate hope is that some of the cafe’s customers will fall so in love with the cats, they’ll end up offering them a forever home.

After buying a hot beverage and snack from the Foxtrot Cafe downstairs, cat lovers can head upstairs to the cozy lounge for some cat-time. If they become particularly entranced with one of the residents, they have the chance to adopt their favored feline by reaching out to the Heart of the Valley Animal Shelter. In a bid to help the neediest cats, Marks and Pecukonis decided to focus on the shelter’s older residents who find it harder to find a forever home. “We are focusing on older cats who are harder to adopt,” Pecukonis tells kpax.com. The cafe will home a maximum of three-four cats at any one time, giving customers the perfect opportunity to get to know and learn a little more about each cat in turn.

The Mission

As per the cafe’s website, Marks and Pecukonis had three central goals in mind when it came to opening their cafe.

• Number 1 – to work in partnership with Heart of the Valley, an animal rescue center based in Bozeman that shelters lost, abandoned, and surrendered pets, as well as offering pet adoption and education. The cafe essentially acts as a foster home for some of the shelter’s harder-to-adopt cats, giving them an opportunity to shine in front of potential adopters in a comfortable, home-like environment.
• Number 2 – to raise funds. The cafe works on a non-profit basis. 100% of its income goes directly toward supporting and caring for the cats in its care.
• Number 3 – to create a fun, interactive space. As bozemanskissfm.com says, Bozeman is a dog town. But that’s not to say it doesn’t harbor some cat-fanciers in its midst. By creating a comfortable space for people to interact and relax, Marks and Pecukonis are hoping the cafe will serve as a meeting place for the town’s cat lovers, giving like-minded people the opportunity to meet, mingle and make new friends.

COVID, Cats, and Coffee

Even cat cafes aren’t immune to social distancing. As well as limiting the number of cats to between 3 – 4 (apparently, the 2-meter rule isn’t just for people), Marks and Pecukonis will be enforcing strict social distancing and safety precautions to ensure the safety of both their customers and cats. Handwashing is required before and after each interaction with the cats, and customers are asked to respect the 2-meter rule.

Where Is it?

The Cat Show Cat Cafe is located at The Market Building, 730 Boardwalk Avenue Suite 11, Bozeman, MT 59718. Where you arrive at The Market, walk up the stairs at the Garden Barn to find the cafe.

Hours and Pricing

The cafe is open Monday thru Saturday, 9 am to 5 pm, and Sunday. 11 am to 4 pm. Reservations are needed in advance and can be made via the company website. A day pass is available for a very reasonable price of just $7.

If you plan on becoming a regular, you might want to take advantage of one of the subscription packages on offer. The subscriptions offer unlimited access to the Cat Show Cat Cafe but do remember that reservations are still required for entry. The packages on offer include:

• Two Single-Day Passes: $14
• One Month Unlimited Access: $30
• Two Months Unlimited Access: $60
• Three Months Unlimited Access: $90

100% of the subscription fees goes directly towards looking after the cats and maintaining their living quarters.

What’s on the Menu?

The Cat Show Cat Cafe is a cafe in name only. Although it provides very comfortable seating and even designated working spaces, you’ll have to grab your coffee and snacks from Foxtrot downstairs before heading upstairs for some kitty company. Considering the menu on offer at Foxtrot, that shouldn’t be too much of a problem. With a focus on fresh, local ingredients, the cafe offers an excellent breakfast, lunch, and dessert menu that’s going to satisfy any cravings you have.

Breakfast highlights include ‘Sweet Waffle’ made with honey, whipped cream, and berries (a bargain at just $9); ‘Biscuits & Gravy’ with biscuits, fried eggs, braised pork shoulder, and gravy; ‘Pork and Egg Toast’ made from braised pork, dijon-maple gravy, scrambled eggs, cheese, and salsa verde; and for the veggies, ‘Veggie Scramble’ made from fresh scrambled eggs and garden vegetables, all doused with some very moreish homemade pesto.

Visit at lunchtime and you can pick from a fabulous range of sandwiches served with rosemary & sea salt chips (the ‘Two-Step’ sandwich’s combination of crisp bacon, moist turkey, jalapenos, homemade garlic mayonnaise, swiss cheese, tomatoes, and lettuce is to-die-for, while the ‘Jitterbug’s’ combo of roast beef, horseradish, tomatoes, tangy cheese, and cabbage slaw is equally delicious) along with some exemplary salads (including a very fine ‘Royal Blush’ salad of arugula, fresh tomato, and mozzarella dressed in lemon, pesto, creme fraiche, balsamic, and extra virgin olive oil and a refreshingly light ‘Grilled Chicken’ salad made from fresh chicken breast, chopped feta, lettuce, cranberries, tomatoes, sliced avocado, crunchy pumpkin seeds, and a citrusy dressing). The coffee is just as delicious as the food. To guarantee the best taste, it’s roasted in micro- batches on-site every day from coffee beans sourced from select producers in Guatemala.