Meow Lounge owner Anne Beal wishes to promote cat adoption and likewise offer a comfy neighborhood event space. Mikayla Patel / American Journal
At the freshly opened Meow Lounge in Westbrook, clients can have fun with cats, do their research with cats, check out to cats, watch videos with cats and adopt cats.
Customers can likewise shop, play parlor game, delight in snacks and simply otherwise delight in being surrounded by felines at the state’s very first cat coffee shop, says owner Anne Beal.
One-year-old Stormy likes a perch near a window at Meow Lounge. Mikayla Patel / American Journal
Beal began taking reservations for cat time at the lounge at 630 Main St. since July 1, and will commemorate her grand opening Saturday, July 8, and have a ribbon-cutting event at 3 p.m. Tuesday, July 11.
Visitors can schedule their time through the Meow Lounge website for $15 per grownup and $10 per kid for a 50-minute session. Longer sees and regular monthly passes are available, too.
Beal, who has actually been saving and promoting cats and other animals for thirty years, wished to open a cat coffee shop as “a nice way to offer space to the shelters here that are always over-full.”
“My main goal is helping the kitties as much as I can and bringing awareness,” she said.
Meow Lounge has 2 different locations – a reception area/gift shop that offers in your area made products and snacks, and the real cat lounge. Customers need to sign a waiver to go into the cat room, which has great deals of toys, beds, climbing up poles, cubbies and play space for cats. For individuals, there’s a little library, comfortable seating, parlor game and tables and chairs.
Anne Beal offers products made by regional artists, along with packaged pastries and snacks, in the present shop. Mikayla Patel / American Journal
The cat lounge assists both human visitors and the cats “feel more comfortable,” Beal said. “A lot of times shelters do have community cat rooms, but because you’re going to a shelter you might feel pressure to adopt.”
At Meow Lounge, visitors are not anticipated to adopt, however are simply motivated to hang out with the cats and enjoy their business, she said. If a natural bond in between an animal and a prospective owner establishes, a lot the much better.
The cats at the lounge will originate from the Animal Refuge League of Greater Portland, the Greater Androscoggin Humane Society in Lewiston, HART in Cumberland and other rescue companies. Each shelter will fill out on their lounge cats, and anybody wanting to adopt will use through the specific shelter.
The Meow Lounge cats have sufficient space to play and interact socially in addition to more remote areas for taking a snooze. Mikayla Patel / American Journal
“The minute we heard about it we jumped right on it,” said Katie Lisnik, executive director of the Greater Androscoggin Humane Society. “We’re excited that she’s open, and it’s exceeded our expectations.”
The Lewiston shelter values the chance Meow Lounge offers “to showcase” their cats in a more comprehensive geographical location, Lisnik said.
“Right now we’re incredibly full,” she said. “We’re seeing a big increase in owner surrenders and strays,” she said. “With the economy the way it is, we’re seeing a slowdown in adoptions.”
Beal’s setup permits potential adopters to see the cats in a peaceful and calm environment, Lisnik said.
“You can see their real personality and how they’re going to act in their home,” she said.
Androscoggin Humane Society employee will meet anybody thinking about embracing among its cats at the lounge. Lisnik said she hopes to ultimately send out staff to the coffee shop on choose days so that adoptions can be finished on the area.
Owner Anne Beal reveals bird videos to captivate the cats. Mikayla Patel / The Forecaster
Meow Lounge will likewise host neighborhood activities, Beal said, such as trivia contests, motion picture nights and tarot readings, along with cat reading hours where kids can check out to the cats in the lounge’s library location.
“I’m hoping to make it as much of a community space as possible,” she said.
She has been a Big Sister through Big Brothers, Big Sisters for several years and has actually been included with the Center for Grieving Children and wishes to hold complimentary going to time for members of those companies, too.
For more info on Meow Lounge, go to meowcatlounge.com.
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