10 Questions with:Catnip Cat Cafe'
Need a feline fix? The Catnip Cafe is the perfect place to spend a few hours mingling with adoptable cats - you might even find your new best friend!
We asked café owner Freeda Steele 10 questions—take a look at what she had to say below!
Catnip Cat Cafe is located at 1611 Colley Avenue in Norfolk.
For readers who haven't visited yet, what is Catnip Cat Cafe and what can they expect when they walk through the door? We typically have over 20 adoptable cats at the cat café. They come from local cat rescue groups and live at the cat café until they are adopted.
We’re set up to be as close as possible to a normal home, they’re cage-free and have plenty of space to play, nap, climb and hang out with people. Most people come to visit, which is great as this helps the kitties to get further socialization and become more adoptable.
If people are interested in adopting, it’s a great way to get to know them and see their purrsonalities in a more relaxed setting.
We offer 30-min or 60-min reservations, $11 and $15 respectively. We also offer complimentary drinks during the visit (self-serve coffee, teas, hot chocolate, apple cider).
During kitten season, we have Kittenpalooza a couple times a month. This is a separate reservation and room where there are a bunch of adoptable kittens. We also offer other special events like paint nights, Pilates with the kitties, etc.
We sell fun cat-themed merchandise as well. Visiting our cat café, you will find that it is clean, smells nice and has a homey feeling to it and people consistently compliment us on how refreshing it is to visit the kitties and have such a nice environment that isn’t “shelter-like” – nothing against shelters at all! We’re just “fancier”.
In 9 years, we have had over 2,100 cats get adopted!!
What inspired you to open a cat cafe in Hampton Roads?
I had seen a TV show about cat cafes in Japan and thought it was meowvelous! At that time, there were no cat cafés in the U.S., and I thought about how I would do it, etc. and started writing down my ideas.
Eventually, cat cafes spread throughout the world, and I was able to see what they were doing and was happy that others were doing what I was thinking as far as having the cats be adoptable!
In Japan, it’s generally a coffee shop with resident cats, not really about adopting them. I, as well as other cat café owners, recognized that cats could be helped in a totally different way than the usual shelters and rescue groups. I love cats, and I wanted to help our local community, as well as be my own boss.
What's the funniest thing you've seen one of the cats do?
Gosh, there are probably too many. Cats are extremely capable creatures, and we have had to rework many things over the years because they find a way to do what they want!
My husband and I have joked many times that we could leave a pack of cigarettes and a lighter out, and they would find a way to start smoking. We’ve had cats hide in the most awkward places and positions and scare us to death, causing us to tear through the place looking for them.
We’ve seen them jump from the floor to the top of a high wall to get away from the vacuum monster, get so crazy during play time that we can’t believe how high they can jump, or how fast they can run from one end to the other and back again. We’ve had to replace door handles/levers because they could open the door – round knobs are a must!
Is there an adoption story you'll never forget?
We’ve had a lot but it’s almost always the ones where the cat is shy/awkward/misunderstood to many people, but the right person comes in and they fall in love with each other and understand where the cat is and respect that.
I’ll be biased in saying that my favorite story is the one where I adopted one of these special kitties from the cat café. Frankie was a senior cat who had a mostly unknown past and although a beautiful cat, she was very much a cat who had firm boundaries and did not like people just coming over to pet her.
She was a “I need to get to know you first and then maybe I’ll let you pet me” type. Many people don’t understand that, and they take it personally and say the cat is mean. Frankie and I ultimately formed a very close relationship, and she ended up being there for a year before I adopted her.
It became clear that no one was going to adopt her but also that she only had eyes for me – if she wasn’t physically following me everywhere, her eyes were following me. She loved it when I brushed her, she’d stand on her arthritic hind legs to get treats and waddle behind me because I became her person.
She eventually needed to be on thyroid meds and although I was not looking to add to my personal cats (had 5 at the time), I knew that she should be with me at home and not at the cat café. My husband agreed and I adopted her. It made all of us happy. We had her for about 4 years and her health was always deteriorating, she went fully blind, she basically lived in our bedroom and was always happy to eat and just be on the bed with us.
She passed away last year, and it was one of the most traumatic things I’ve ever gone through because she passed away while we were out and I still feel awful that I wasn’t with her to cross over the rainbow bridge.
I have always determined the “right time” for my cats and been there with them. We were devastated and I just couldn’t deal with the fact that I wasn’t there for her passing so that she could be comforted and held and loved. She knew that we loved her though and we would do it all over again with her if we had the opportunity. She was kind of a hot mess, but we truly loved her and dealt with all the ups and downs of her health issues and all that comes with having senior kitties. They deserve it!
If the cats could talk, what would they say is the best thing about being at Catnip Cat Cafe?
Plenty of love, catnip, snacks and finding their happily ever afters!
Which cat currently at the cafe has the biggest personality?
Probably Maisie! She is sweet, sassy, and full of energy. She doesn’t hesitate to do whatever she wants to do, whether it’s sitting in a lap, harassing another cat or playing like it’s the Kitty Olympics and she’s going for gold!
If someone is thinking about adopting a cat, what advice would you give them?
First, it must be a lifetime commitment. The cats deserve to be part of the family and most that come in have already been let down by humans in some way in the past. We’re always looking for the best fit for the cats and for the lifestyle of adopters.
Feed good quality food, keep kitties indoors where it’s safer and healthier, and keep up with vet visits. Love your kitty like it’s your child!
How can local pet lovers support your mission?
The best way to support our mission is to come visit us! Yes, we have an admission fee but that’s how we pay rent, staff, buy supplies, keep a nice roof over the kitties’ heads. We have all the normal business expenses – we’re not funded by local taxes like shelters are (and they are sadly underfunded in general).
People also donate to us at our location, whether it’s money or cat items. We’re on Facebook and Instagram so people can like and share our posts. Every little bit helps!
Which cat is secretly running the place?
That’s a secret and we can’t tell you!
If you could convince every pet lover in Hampton Roads to do one thing this year to help cats, what would it be?
BE SURE TO SPAY/NEUTER YOUR PETS!! There are so many ways people can help. Big or small, we can all contribute something.
People can adopt, volunteer with local shelters and rescue groups, donate money or buy items from their wish lists. Volunteering can be fostering cats/kittens, transporting to vet visits, learn how to trap cats for TNR, doing laundry, helping to clean cat sheltering rooms, even offering your expertise in a certain area (social media, fixing things, etc.)
Every shelter and rescue group can only take in as many cats as they have space for; otherwise, they have to turn people and cats away because they just don’t have enough resources, whether monetarily or people to care for the cats.
It’s especially tough during kitten season, which is basically Spring through Fall. So many cats needing help but then a giant onslaught of kittens being born. It’s a vicious and sad cycle.
Cats unfortunately are prolific breeders and it’s a horrible existence for both male and female cats to constantly be driven by hormones to mate, on top of trying to find food, shelter and mom cats to be nursing and protecting their litters. We all can do better!
BONUS QUESTIONS
If the cats could leave Google reviews of your customers, what would they say?
Hahaha, they would probably say something about what a great variety of people there are that love cats. And maybe also that humans need rescuing, too!
If the cats were in charge of the Café, what's the first thing they'd change?
NO MORE VACUUM MONSTER!!
Make plans to visit the Catnip Cat Café and support their mission of helping cats. You can make reservations on their website.
🐾 A few fun facts about Catnip Cat Café.
