The Strathmore Municipal Library and the Happy Cat Sanctuary collaborated to present Strathmore’s second-ever Cat Cafe following the first event’s massive success.
The event provides a fun experience with cats, promotes adoption and raises funds for Happy Cat Sanctuary, a volunteer organization.
“We’re hoping to get more people to know that the Happy Cat’s here,” said Debbie Jensen, a long-time volunteer with the Happy Cat Sanctuary.
After the pandemic, the Happy Cat Sanctuary has been struggling to stay open due to a lack of volunteers and funding. They have also had to turn away many cats due to crowding.
Running from 11 .m. to 3 p.m., the cafe saw about 180 guests in attendance, nearly doubling the traffic of the first Cat Cafe.
Despite the high traffic, the Cafe had no successful adoptions this time around.
“This program has honestly been a tremendous success,” said Carmen Erison, assistant director of library services. “During the previous program, we adopted out about eight cats, and we raised a bunch of money for Happy Cat Sanctuary as well.”
Erison’s idea for the Strathmore Cat Cafe was inspired by support animals and mental health. She also saw that the Happy Cat Sanctuary needed help in her community.
After attending a library conference where a Cat Cafe was hosted, the Strathmore Municipal Library staff knew that was something they wanted to do.
“We approached Happy Cat and said, ‘Let’s do this,’ and they were very excited. Being able to give them the space for this is just perfect,” said Erison.
Hosting the Cat Cafe in the community created a unique opportunity for those unable to have pets, those looking to adopt and those looking for a free, fun activity.
“I just wanted to visit some cats,” said Katie Reimer, a visitor at the Cafe. “I’ve been also kind of contemplating maybe adopting at some point too.”
The Strathmore Happy Cat Sanctuary provides a variety of services for the rescue, rehabilitation, adoption, veterinarian care and the fostering of cats.
Happy Cat Sanctuary funds spaying and neutering, immunizations and microchipping/tattooing.
The shelter is only able to tackle all the veterinary expenses with the assistance of generous donors and is always in need of help from the community.
Due to the vast farm landscape, cats are often seen as a nuisance in the area and are abandoned or neglected.
“The cats have a bad name,” said Jensen. “But cats are lovable creatures. They’re just as faithful as a dog.”
After volunteering at the Cat Sanctuary for five years, Jensen has seen cats rescued with injuries ranging from frostbite to disease.
To help limit the fast reproduction of cats in need, Jensen and the Cat Sanctuary strongly recommend getting farm cats neutered or spayed.
“A mother cat on average will have four kittens,” said Jensen. “Female kittens come in heat as young as five months old. They’re pregnant for 65 days. So, in two months’ time, they’re having four kittens. And then in five months, their kittens are going to be having kittens.”
With the community feedback from the first event being extremely positive, the partners are planning to host the event bi-monthly.
The pair are also looking into other events such as bake sales, silent auctions and possibly expanding the animal range to include dogs and goats to attract a larger audience.
“We’re going to have another one in March.” said Erison.
Together, the Cat Cafes gathered donations, brought awareness and promoted the adoption of rescued cats, which helps the shelter better support the community and provide for the new cats in need.
