I am an AVID cat lover and I've had cats all my life. I've worked with a few animal rescues in the Kalamazoo area since moving here in 2014, and have been very involved from rescuing, bottle feeding, socializing and sponsoring the cats and kittens (and walking dogs!) before opening the cafe in 2017! I also have four cats of my own, Ferguson (Gus), Mama, Bodhi and Ray Ray, 2 bunnies named June and Damien, 2 guinea pigs, and 2 lovebirds!
I first visited a cat cafe on a trip to Australia in 2016, and fell in love with the concept (and ALL of the cats...). I returned home and decided that Kalamazoo would be the perfect location for a new cat cafe, and got to work! After a LOT of research, meetings and plans, and the support of the community and an amazing crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter, Kzoo Cat Cafe was born on July 17, 2017.
I've since been working hard to ensure that Kzoo Cat Cafe and Rescue is the best rescue space that it can be for cats to wait patiently for their forever home. We facilitated 927 successful adoptions in our first 5 years, and expanded in July 2018 and are now our very own, fully non-profit, cat rescue organization! I've attended many conferences, and participated in many webinars, to learn more about cat welfare, enrichment and shelter best practices. I am also Fear Free (Shelters) Certified as well as Pet CPR Certified through the Red Cross and Pet Tech CPR & First Aid. In 2020, I also earned my Certified Professional Petsitting certificate through Petsitters International (PSI) and have been petsitting professionally in Kalamazoo since 2020 with Creatures Pet Care. My aim is to make the cat cafe the best possible place for Kalamazoo kitties to wait for their forever home, to educate the community on kitty welfare and issues, and for people in the community to enjoy spending their time socializing with the kitties, and with each other.