VISTA – (NEWS 8 ) – The purrrfect cat lounge, Cat & Craft, has cat lovers and rescuers purring with excitement.
Cat & Craft opened in Vista at 3211 Business Park Drive on January 12, and has been booked with reservations ever since in hopes of adopting foster cats.
“I immediately had to check it out and I made reservations right away,” said guest Diana Castellanos. “I love coffee, I love cafes period and cats are my favorite thing in the world.”
Cat lovers and owners Andrew and Caroline Vaught moved from Atlanta and opened Cat & Craft to help more cats find furever homes and serve artisanal coffee. There is a separate HVAC system and window separates the cafe and cat lounge.
“We really wanted to create a space that would appeal to a larger group of people than just cat lovers because if I can get animals lovers come in get a cup of coffee and see the cats maybe they'll realize they are a cat lover,” said Caroline.
Reservations are not required but are recommended. The cat cafe has been booked with people wanting to hang out with kitty cats for $12 per hour.
Derrick Smith is not allowed to have cats at his Oceanside home, so he says Cat & Craft helps as his pawsitive fix. “It's nice to interact with the cats than most shelters.”
Cat & Craft is partnering with Love Your Feral Felines (LYFF), a cat rescue non-profit, to help the cats find furrever homes. “Here they are able to build that confidence up throughout the day and really show who they are,” said Melissa Dunaj, Senior Director, LYFF.
LYFF says it saved the lives of 800 cats last year, and Cat & Craft’s goal is to have 500 cats adopted this year.
“If I can get a larger amount of people in this space to see the cats that's how we trust we can increase their adoption number,” said Caroline.
All of the foster cats are fully vaccinated, spayed/neutered and microchipped. All the adoption fees go directly to LYFF.