The Green Street Rescue and its Le Cat Cafe are true labors of love. Everyone who contributes to the Nonprofit is an avid cat lover who has years of experience experience with rescue work, TNRM (Trap Neuter Rescue Manage), and helping at cat clinics. All are tired and true rescue volunteers. Their homes and hearts are open to help all felines in need.
The majority of contributors to the rescue were volunteers or managers of the Philadelphia Community Cats Council Nonprofit from 2005-2012, when they provided the low-cost clinics at ACCT and the PSPCA. The Green Street Rescue continues these efforts with two vet offices who support their work with stray and feral cats by offering low-cost clinic services on a daily basis.
About the cafe:
The Green Street Rescue was inundated with an endless supply of cats from the streets who needed homes. The rescue worked tirelessly with the internet, social media, adoption events, and even pet shops, but there were just too many cats and not enough homes. Le Cat Cafe offered a solution.
Cat cafes are the new adoption platform crossing the United States. Cat cafes started in 1989 in Taiwan before moving to Japan and then to the US several years ago, starting on the West Coast. Cats in cafes get more emotional and physical attention than cats in shelters. Although shelters do their best, their cats are too often stuck in small, cold cages. Cat cafes give people interested in adopting them a better idea of cats' personalities by providing a huge space for interaction, play, and snuggling. Additionally, cafes provide people who cannot adopt a place to get their cat fix without the responsibility, cost, and care of full pet ownership.
When it opened on March 9, 2016, The Green Street Rescue's Le Cat Cafe was the first cat cafe in Philadelphia. It's also the only cafe in the city which rescues its own cats and puts them up for adoption. Cats in the cafe receive comprehensive care from their first day of rescue, through all medical and vetting services, and time in foster care. Of course, this gives the cafe's contributors a full view of cats' personalities; they know what each cat likes and dislikes and know all the cats' stories, as well. The cat cafe is an ideal place to really get to know a cat before adopting.
Le Cat Cafe frequently has individuals rent out their space for special events like Yoga with cats, beer tastings, wine tastings, art classes with cats and wine, book readings, and Kitten Saturdays at the end of every month.
How to visit:
Le Cat Cafe takes reservations on their website, but also allows walk-ins. The prices are $12 for an hour, $8 for a half hour, and $5 for 15 minutes. Visit prices include free coffee, hot chocolate, tea, apple cider, and other refreshments.
The openness of Le Cat Cafe is unique among cat cafes. Many divide their cafes into two separate rooms: a drink and food room and a cat room. Le Cat Cafe features a single, long area where the cats can roam freely all day and night. This makes it feel more like a home - there have even been instances where cats have intentionally avoided potential adopters and hidden away in some of the faraway resting places at the cafe so that they wouldn’t have to leave!
The large open space also lets cats more fully show off their toy hunting skills, especially the younger, more energetic ones who may have an obsession with a specific toy. They can run full speed from one end of the cafe to the other. It’s a particularly great sight because the cafe has hardwood floors that are not conducive to stopping. The cats will skid across the floor as they try slowing down and then immediately sprint the other way in pursuit of the next toy.
How you can help:
The main way to help is by visiting and spreading awareness of Le Cat Cafe to as many people as possible - particularly to those that may be interested in adopting, but also to anyone who simply likes cats and wants to spend an hour relaxing and playing for a good cause.
Cash donations are helpful, but people are also encouraged to not simply walk by stray cats feeling sorry for them - help a cat in need when you see one! Any time you see a lone cat or even a colony of stray cats, think of the Green Street Rescue. The rescue can assist by loaning traps, instructing people about making shelters and feeding stations for winter months, getting low-cost vet care for a rescue, and providing marketing for cats that need fostering. Anyone can help by getting involved with the process. If this is too much to ask, cash and material donations like food and litter help a lot, too.
Le Cat Cafe's Hours:
Tuesday-Friday: 1-6 pm
Saturday: 11-7 (closed 3-4 for cat nap)
Sunday: 11-5
