They’re springing up in unexpected places with popular results. From Los Angeles to New York and most recently Florida, Pop-up Cat Cafés, a novelty just a few years ago (2014 to be exact) are the latest branded pop-up trend that provide stress relief to cat lovers, potential adoptions and product education and brand awareness to sponsors. Win-win-win!
My own recent cat cafe experience happened at the VMX Cat Nap Café sponsored by Kindred Bio, makers of Mirataz, a transdermal ointment for topical use in cats available through a veterinarian. I was enticed to take a break from the sprawling aisles of the Orlando Convention Center exhibit hall to witness adults and children alike cuddle with some special needs kitties, and take in a few sweet strokes myself.
The bright white and purple accented spacious enclosure was a popular spot. The kittens also had their hour long breaks to chill. Comfy couches and floor pillows, cat trees and toys, plenty of food and water rounded out the cafe. Oh and the kitties! Kitties of all sizes graced our presence. Climbing, stretching, sleeping, lapping up a little food or water before their next adventure, these cats had it going on.
The Cafe was so popular that groups of ten people were allowed ten minutes each to give everyone in line a turn. Lucky me there was a relatively short line and I “popped in” to capture some precious moments. While I wasn’t able to adopt this time, I sure was tempted and went back to NYC to discuss the topic with our current resident cat Cocoa.
Meanwhile in Los Angeles, a colleague reported that The Cats on Glass Gallery presented by Fresh Step® Clean Paws™ has opened as an interactive pop-up that gives cat lovers a one-of-a-kind experience in an effort to help more shelter cats find forever homes. The Gallery opened its doors January 18 to a waiting crowd for a limited time in downtown Los Angeles (1147 South Hope Street) and will remain open through January 27th.
Each interactive exhibit within the Cats on Glass Gallery features adoptable cats and an element of glass to give cat lovers a chance to literally picture themselves with, and even adopt a cat. Fresh Step will be covering the fee typically associated with adoptions throughout the duration of the exhibit to help alleviate barriers to bringing a cat home.
The exhibit features the same larger than life cat display, pom-pom room, me-owm meditation center, adoption lounge and feature exhibit: live Cats on Glass Playhouse that attracted waiting crowds in New York with a few Hollywood additions, including adoptable cats from spcaLA and a cat-lebrity Walk of Fame.
Guests are encouraged to come, snap and share their cat love throughout the gallery, where an Instagram post will trigger a litter donation to shelter cats at spcaLA. Participants will receive an exclusive cat-themed gift in return. More details will be available inside the #CatsOnGlass Gallery at the InstaShop.
Lauren May, brand manager for Clorox Pet Products says, “There are pop-ups focused on candy, makeup and wine, so we thought ‘Why not cats? With nearly 300 million cat-related posts on Instagram, we know that people are posting about their feline friends and we wanted to tap into that conversation in a relevant way while bringing awareness to the many cats that don’t yet have forever homes. Hopefully people will find their feline match at the Cats on Glass Gallery.”
The grand opening featured Hannah Shaw and LA native cat-lebrity, Nala Cat, among VIP media and influencer guests. The Cats on Glass Gallery will be open through January 27, 2019 from 12 p.m. – 8 p.m. and is located at 1147 Hope Street (near 12th Street) in downtown Los Angeles. The Cats on Glass Gallery is a free event, however attendees are asked to consider a suggested $10 donation to spcaLA. Visit www.CatsOnGlassGallery.com.
The VMX Cat Cafe is over and you may not be in LA but you can still take an inside look at the new Cats on Glass Gallery through the special Facebook Live interactive video tour with Fresh Step and surprise guests – famous felines and cat-loving influencers – at Facebook.com/freshstep. You can also follow along on Instagram by following #CatsOnGlass @FreshStep.
Cats and Coffee, a.k.a. Cat Cafes, what’s not to like? I’m in. We’ll be reporting on more. If you know of more cat café pop-ups, send me a note at lgerminder@goodnewsforpets.com.