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CatFe Pop-up Cat Cafe at NKLA and The Future is Meow

If you love cats, sharing makes us purrrr :-)

 

CatFe Pop-up Cat Cafe at NKLA and the Future is Meow

by Layla Morgan Wilde

All images by Oscar Torres and used by permission.

The cat cafe craze and global phenomena continues to grow. The concept of enjoying a coffee while mingling with a temporary or possibly forever feline friend began in Asia in 1998 but cat cafes were slow to catch on in the U.S. until now. Inventive ways of dealing with health code restrictions (cats and food prep can’t mix) and cat lovers can get their java and kitty fix from coast to coast.

Catfe

The crazy for cats crowd lined up early and 100 lucky fans won tickets for the CatFe pop-up cat cafe event held on April 10 at NKLA, the state-of-the-art pet adoption center in L.A. NKLA is an initiative of Best Friends Animal Society and they are on a no kill mission to “Save Them All”. It’s the second CatFe pop-up and the brainchild of Carlos Wong who launched CatFe in October 2014. Cat lover Suren Seron was one of the patrons, fell in love with the idea and joined Carlos Wong in a partnership.

CatFe pop up at NKLA with owners Seron Suron and Carlos Wong with hostesses.
Photo credit: Oscar Torres. CatFe pop-up at NKLA with owners Suren Seron and Carlos Wong with hostesses.
Catfe pop up NKLA
Photo credit: Oscar Torres

 

The mission of CatFe is to create a new model of cat adoption, advocacy and entertainment with cat cafe locations across the country, but first they have to secure their first permanent location in L.A. During my recent interview with the owners, they claim they have their sights on a two-story 6000 sq.ft. space in central L.A. which would become the largest cat cafe in the U.S. Their vision is every cat lover’s fantasy: a Toyko-style destination for fun, fab food and beverages, adoptable cats from a rotating roster of shelters in a relaxed atmosphere. If this is the future, we want it meow!

Partnering with NKLA for the CatFe pop-up event was a win win with six cats adopted. I happily arranged for celeb kitties Tara The Hero Cat, Sunglass Cat and her new fur bro Sir Sorbet to make appearances.

Everyone's hero, Tara The Hero Cat
Photo credit: Oscar Torres. Everyone’s hero, Tara The Hero Cat

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sir Sorbet and Sunglass Cat
Photo credit: Oscar Torres. Sir Sorbet and Sunglass Cat
Sunglass cat- catwisdom 101
Photo credit: Oscar Torres. Sunglass Cat

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In keeping with the Toyko cat cafe style, cosplay outfitted hostesses greeted guests.

Guests arriving at CatFe event at NKLA
Photo credit: Oscar Torres. Guests arriving at CatFe event at NKLA

 

Curious, adoptable shelter cats checking out Sir Sorbet (held by owner Karen McGill) and her cat Sunglass Cat (held by Dalal Bruchmann).

Catfe NKLA-Karen McGill Sunglass cat
Photo credit: Oscar Torres. NKLA

 

Catfe L.A. NKLA. Cat Wisdom 101
Photo credit: Oscar Torres. Suren Seron, Roger Triantafilo with his cat Tara and Carlos Wong.

The one day event had everyone purring for more and hopefully within a few months, everyone, at least in L.A. will get their wish. Stay up to date with the latest Catfe news at the CatFe Facebook page and Sunglass Cat on Instagram. Say hi, to my hero, Tara on Facebook

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