ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — You can now have a side of meow with your cup of coffee. The first cat cafe in the Tampa Bay area just opened up in St. Pete.
When Amanda Jones moved from Seattle to St. Pete three years ago, she noticed right away something the local cafes were lacking... cats.
“I got a tasty drink, I got a little snack, and I’m just hanging out with cats and it’s awesome and that’s the dream,” said Jones.
In June, Amanda opened up the Sunshine Kitty Catfe in downtown.
“This space was carefully created to be a therapeutic, relaxing experience with cats,” said Jones.
Every cat you see in the catfe comes from the Friends of Strays Animal Shelter. They’ve already found 15 felines loving homes.
“The primary reason we exist is to help cats get adopted and help them find their perfect forever homes,” said Jones.
Lindsay Free has quickly become a loyal customer. She said when you're here, it's not only OK to be a crazy cat lady, it's encouraged.
“To have a place to come out that’s not your home and just kind of feel at peace and see people that are like-minded and play with cats, laugh at them, it's fantastic,” said Free.
Due to the pandemic, the catfe is only taking reservations at this time and they are delaying the sale of food and drinks. However, they still plan to provide the purrfect escape, when we need it most.
“A place where you can come and put those worries and stresses aside for about an hour and just hang out with some cats and at the same time we are doing it safely,” said Jones.
For more information go to, www.sunshinekittycatfe.com
