With a door shutting behind you and another one opening to reveal a beautiful little lounge with dozens of feline friends awaiting. Welcome to the Cat Cafe. A fishy house with furry friends running around very indifferent to your existence. Upon walking in Deb, a pudgy, gray-haired white lady welcomes you to the Cat Cafe. A lovely lounge filled with comfy couches and, of course, cats of all variety. Everything you can sit on is covered in blankets to protect it from the cats but it also adds a great layer of comfort for anyone, cat or human, who sits on it.
A brunette, about 5'6 woman walked in with a little girl who appeared to be her daughter. The daughter instantly gets to chase the cats around trying to pick them up and play with them. The mother instantly tells the daughter that she needs to be patient. She needs to wait for the cats to come to her. Deb informs the lady that you aren't allowed to pick up the cats in the main room and that the basement is closed. The lady spends the rest of her hour either relaxing in a blanketed chair covered in cat hair, or keeping her daughter in check so that she doesn't hurt, or get hurt by one of the kittens. Deb, however, is having a lovely conversation with Sue.
Sue is one of the four founders of the cat cafe: Sue, Hannah, Dianna, and Michelle. They all met while working at animal rescue in their younger days. Sue had eventually left the rescue to pursue other things, but nonetheless, they all stayed in touch. In 2019, the four women had decided that the town of Bloomsburg needed a place where you could go relax, socialize with kittens, and maybe even adopt them. A place open to anyone and everyone who wants to go. A Cat Cafe.
Cats in Bloom is a nonprofit organization that involves itself in the community in multiple different ways. They have just about 45 volunteers who help keep the business running like a well-oiled machine. These volunteers are in the business before and after hours to do things like, feed the cats, clean the litter boxes (occasionally dumping and scrubbing them), clean up around the shop, give certain cats their medicine, and countless other priceless things to keep the business alive.
All of the cats that you see at Cats in Bloom are foster cats. Meaning that the volunteers who work there take cats into their homes and raise them before they make it to the cat cafe. So many cats are in these foster homes because the business can only hold about 50 cats at its main location.
Before a cat can be admitted to Cats in Bloom it must be fully vetted (spayed or neutered, vaccinated, microchipped, and test negative for FIV and FELV which are aids and leukemia). Some cats who test positive for FIV may still be admitted to Cats in bloom depending on age and how friendly they are.
By the time most cats make it to cats in bloom they're very friendly and comfortable with other pets as well. Most of the foster homes that they're raised in have many other cats and dogs too! Since the cats already know what its like to be with other pets, getting them accustomed to a new environment only take a few short days. The cats are introduced slowly, and once they're in they find a spot and just hover there.
Cats in bloom receives multiple donations. Some from people who pass away and leave donations to them in their will. but others that come from their Amazon and Chewy wish lists which can both be found at https://www.catsinbloom.org/donate. Every donation counts, and goes toward feeding a cat without a permanent home.
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