BARRE, Vt. — The proprietor of Vermont’s solely cat cafe saved all 57 of her resident cats from a historic flood in July — by bodily destroying her business.
Alexis Dexter, the proprietor of Kitty Korner Café in Barre, knew that water seeping into her business was inevitable when floods rolled by way of town, WPTZ-TV reported.
She wrestled with what to do with the 57 cats situated on the primary flooring.
“It was ‘get the cats, put them in a carrier, and put them up high,’ as many as you could and as quickly as you could,” Dexter instructed the tv station.
Dexter and her boyfriend, Logan Wells, moved the frightened felines into carriers and put them onto cabinets, however water continued to rise, Seven Days Vermont reported.
“By the time that was done, there was easily 4-6 inches of water on the ground, and it was coming through the cracks of the door,” Dexter instructed WPTZ. “A caveman mentality struck me, and I said, ‘I need to get this water somewhere else.’”
Dexter and her employees took hammers and screwdrivers and created holes within the flooring, sending 7 toes of water into the basement of the store, in keeping with the tv station.
“I just knew I had 57 different lives depending on me,” Dexter instructed WPTZ.
Once the floodwaters receded, the cats had been relocated to foster properties inside 4 hours, in keeping with the tv station.
But Dexter had different issues to take care of.
“We chipped up a piece of the floor that had black mold growing underneath it,” she instructed WCAX-TV in July.
A diesel gasoline tank additionally spilled within the basement, and Dexter was main renovations.
She remained optimistic.
“It’s not going to be pretty, but we’re cats, we land on our feet, right?” Dexter instructed the tv station.
Dexter began a GoFundMe marketing campaign for the cat shelter and raised greater than $23,000. She has been working with volunteers to rebuild the house and estimates that she has spent about $55,000 up to now, Seven Days Vermont reported.
And she nonetheless has a business to run. Cats require consideration.
“Unlike a normal business where when you’re closed, you’re not paying staff or paying for supplies, we still have cats to feed, clean, and take to the vet,” Dexter instructed WPTZ.
When she reopens the store, Dexter stated she’s going to convert the artifical holes created throughout the flood into drain holes.
“If someone says there is a flash flood warning, I’m going to pop open the little holes in the floor and I’m going to sit and wait,” Dexter instructed WPTZ.
