KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Employees reached Whiskers Cat Cafe and Coffeehouse Thursday early morning to discover the shop’s front door entirely shattered.
The suspects likewise took the register with numerous dollars within.
“It’s a typical day, and then you get a phone call and then you’re kind of completely shaken,” said cafe owner Audrey Boese. “Of course, your brain kind of goes to worst case scenario, thinking, ‘Oh my gosh, what has happened?’ It felt … very overwhelming and scary.”
While the preliminary shock of the occurrence has actually worn away, Boese is still left getting the pieces.
“I’ve always had a passion for animals, I mean since I was young,” Boese said. “Essentially we provide a space for adoptable cats, all from KC Pet Project, until they find their forever homes, and then we have a coffee house. So people come in, get coffee, hang out with cats and just enjoy.”
Boese was eliminated to learn no cats were hurt throughout the theft as the coffee bar keeps around 20 felines at all times.
Last year, Whiskers helped with 422 cat adoptions, per KC Pet Project. Tori Fugate with the shelter says there is constantly an increase of kittens throughout the spring and summer season, so a short-lived time out on the collaboration is a psychological and physical pressure.
“We may have to look at not sending cats for a week or two, but I would say that we will keep on with the process of getting cats adopted through that location,” Fugate said.
Boese is hoping monitoring video from the shop will help discover the burglars.
But in the meantime, Whiskers stays open for business.
“The kind words and the support is even more overwhelming than the scary instance,” she said.
Anyone who wants to help economically can contribute to the coffee shop’s Venmo account.
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