Although the initial creator of La Gattara Cat Cafe downtown has actually bid adios, the not-for-profit is going strong and has strategies to broaden its services to help cats and cat owners in the neighborhood.
Missy Pruitt, who established La Gattara in Tempe in 2017, published on the coffee shop’s Facebook page on March 11, “I will be stepping away from La Gattara and creating a new life that I’m pretty excited about.”
Business partner Carrie Pawpins continues to run the not-for-profit coffee shop and feline rescue, which moved and resumed at its present area at 147 East Garfield Street in January 2022.
Upon getting in, there’s a room with a coffee and tea bar and a little shop, and to the left is a big, open playroom that holds about 25 cats at any provided time. They’re separated by a vestibule with doors on each side to avoid escapees.
“All the basic structural stuff is going to be staying the same,” she says. “I’m going to be in charge of a lot more of the paperwork stuff, which is great because that’s what my forte is. For the most part, the public won’t see any changes to anything.”
And she’s preparing for La Gattara’s yearly Whiskers & Wine Fundraising Gala from 7 to 10 p.m. on Saturday, April 29, at the coffee shop. It’ll consist of a raffle, quiet auction, dessert bar, and a Champagne toast. Tickets are $75 and sponsorships are available.
Pruitt went back to concentrate on self-care, Pawpins says. “The biggest thing — and anybody who’s in rescue will tell you this — is it’s exhausting,” she says. “It’s daunting. It’s dawn-till-dusk work.”
But on April 1, Pruitt returned to participate in the retirement celebration for Charle Chaplin, among the homeowner cats, and wound up embracing him.
“He is one of the coolest cats,” Pawpins says. “He would sit in everybody’s lap when he was here. He was the ultimate emotional support cat. But recently he was giving us signs he wasn’t happy.” So he’s living his golden years with Pruitt.
Moving forward, Pawpins hopes La Gattara can start doing TNR (that represents trap,neuter, release) in the area with help from Brookview Animal Wellness in Gilbert and using microchip and potentially vaccine centers in the coming quarter.
The not-for-profit likewise will continue its objective of discovering houses for all of the furry good friends that come through. So far, more than 1,025 cats have actually been embraced.
“More than half of the cats have the ear tip,” Pawpins says, describing the clipped idea that represents they’ve been TNRed. “They come from an outdoor colony where it was realized, ‘Hey this cat’s really friendly and they can be adopted out.’”
Many other cats are given up by owners who are moving and can’t discover housing that enables cats, or originate from houses where they were embraced without the authorization of other relative or roomies.
Part of the obstacle of the coffee shop, Pawpins confesses, is “making sure we have cats that actually do well in the environment. There are some who prefer to be only cats.”
She generates healthy cats that fit well into the group, and she puts a red collar on the lively ones that tend to get overstimulated in order to alert clients to be mindful.
Once cats get to La Gattara, they live communally and can run along racks on the walls, snuggle up in a basket, or connect with clients. It costs $18 for an hour (bookings are extremely advised, as capability is restricted), and kids under 15 should be accompanied by grownups.
The coffee shop likewise offers daily, monthly, and annual passes and hosts unique occasions like paint night, drag bingo, and yoga with cats, which can be booked online. Regular lounge hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Thursday and Sunday and 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
Pawpins says no one needs to feel bad if they wish to just be available in and have fun with the cats without embracing: “You know even if you don’t take them home, they’re living a great life and getting socialization.”
Plus, it’s important for their spending plan: “Our lounge fees make up the bulk of the money we have coming in to care for the cats,” Pawpins notes. They likewise get a part of charges from the surrounding parking area and count on donors.
Most of La Gattara’s food, litter, toys, and cleansing materials are contributed, however treatment can be expensive. One ill cat can add a veterinarian costs in the numerous dollars.
Anyone who wishes to adopt a cat needs to complete an application and go through an interview. “We talk about their lifestyle, making sure the cat’s going to fit,” Pawpins notes. Adopters should sign an agreement that mandates they won’t let the cat outside, declaw it, update the microchip if they move, and more.
The cost to adopt is $100, or $125 for cats under a years of age. All are made sterile or neutered, evaluated for feline health problems like FIV and FELV, microchipped, and immunized.
One Monday early morning, Heather Banayat of Glendale reached the coffee shop to fulfill the cats. “Who doesn’t love coffee and kitties?” she asks. “Sounds like a great day.”
As she asked about embracing Lemon Squeezey, a striped ginger shorthair with an easygoing character, she says, “We are looking for a buddy for the kitty we just adopted. We’d like to have two.”
Other cats up for adoption on La Gattara’s website consist of Taylor Swift and her partner, Joe Alwyn (unlike their names, they’re still lovebirds); Pumpkin, Jasmine, Virginia, and a lot more. Pawpins says some featured names, however for others, “we just kind of look at them.”
In addition to adoptive households and visitors, Pawpins said La Gattara can constantly utilize more volunteers, who assist with whatever from feeding, litter box task, hairball patrol, and deep cleansing to carrying cats to medical visits.
“It’s not always the glamorous jobs we need help with,” she says, “but you get paid back in lots of kitty love.”
At Gattara Cat Cafe
147 East Garfield Street
lagattara.org