Guelph’s My Kitty Café will have some tiny visitors on Saturday.
Purrfect Companions of Norfolk County is bringing about a dozen kitties to the unique cat-centric café and variety store. Cappuccino will be served, but in this case it’s called cat-purr-cino, of course.
Purrfect Companions is one of many groups dedicated to addressing the stray cat and kitten problem in Ontario, finding good homes for lost, neglected or abandoned felines.
The group’s adoption program involves a painstaking effort to ensure the kittens are in the best possible health, according to the group’s website. The animals are tested for feline leukemia virus (FeLV) and feline immunodeficiency Virus (FIV). They’re vaccinated, spayed or neutered, when they reach the appropriate age, dewormed and flea treated.
On Saturday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., Purrfect Companions will bring about 15 “super tiny cute adorable fluffy baby kitties” to the 117 Wyndham Street shop in downtown Guelph for pre-selection and adoption.
“It’s an adoption day,” said My Kitty Café owner Min Kim. “Most of the kitties will be about two-months old. People will be able to visit, pre-select a kitty and make a deposit.”
Not all the baby cats will be available to take home on the same day, but some will. Some are still too young to be released to a new home. Purrfect Companions observes a 12-weeks of age or older rule before adoption can be finalized.
There will be plenty of opportunities to snuggle the kitties, and to interact with a few grown up cats at the event. My Kitty Café also has adult cats on hand from Purrfect Companion.
Kim said adoptions have been steady since the business opened six months ago. My Kitty Café opened last fall in the downtown. It is one of Ontario’s first such establishments. A regular café and variety shop in appearance, it has a back section that houses a cat shelter that looks more like a living room.
Café visitors can purchase a tea or coffee and then lounge in the back area with the cats. Kim said customers can select a cat for adoption, but often the cat selects its new owner.
In its first three months of operation, My Kitty Café had an agreement with the Guelph Humane Society, housing a satellite shelter for the agency’s cat adoption program.
Kim said about 50 cats were adopted out, but the humane society couldn’t keep up with the demand. An agreement was also made with Purrfect Companion, which currently needs to find homes for about 200 cats, Kim said.
