Local Cafe Equal Parts Coffee and Cats

PURR-IFIC TIME WITH KITTENS, BOOKS, AND GAMES

To celebrate the national Prevention of Animal Cruelty Month, why not adopt a cat while ordering your morning coffee?

Denver Cat Company—one of the first permanent cat cafes to open in the US—stars a rotating cast of cats and kittens seeking forever-homes. The Highlands-based business fosters cats from three separate animal rescue groups; all proceeds generated from coffee and tea sales go toward buying the cats’ litter, food, and shockingly massive collection of toys.

The Cat Company greets visitors with friendly guidelines on interacting with cats. photo: Jeff Hawkins • CU Denver Sentry — The Cat Company greets visitors with friendly guidelines on interacting with cats.
photo: Jeff Hawkins • *CU Denver Sentry*

The cat cafe exists as much for the animals it houses as it does for overly excited feline enthusiasts. Social cats are better suited to an environment bustling with human interaction than they are for isolated time in a shelter. Even so, proper “catiquette” is dictated to visitors upon entering the cafe: Guests must be respectful of the animals’ occasional need for solitude. The company is a refuge, and the wellbeing of the cats is prioritized above all else.

The front room of the cafe is dedicated to displaying the works of local cat-loving artists. While navigating meandering cats and wayward toys, visitors can buy home decor or items for their own pets—collars, sweaters, and wine (catnip-infused juice) are all available to purchase.

Joules Craft (surname a pseudonym) is both an employee and one of the cafe’s featured artists. “It’s like I died and went to kitty heaven,” she said when asked about how she has arguably one of the best jobs the city has to offer.

Entertainment value aside, Denver Cat Company is a fulfilling business to work for. “100 percent of the cat adoption fees go to their health-services— their spay/neuter, vaccinations, and microchips,” Craft said. “Foster families first rescue the cats from places like high-kill shelters and bring them in here.”

The cafe charges a $5 entry fee for visitors who want to move beyond the shopping area, but that buys much more than one-on-one time with over a dozen cats—on top of contributing to the cost of fostering animals in need, the fee allows unlimited access to piles of board games and hundreds of books. The space is equally as crowded with bookshelves as it is with kitty condos and other climbing structures—and that’s saying something.

Monthly memberships are available to enable locals to maintain an affordably regular presence at the Company. Free Wi-Fi explained the number of students using the space to study alongside cats curled up in baskets, playing with feathers, and chasing each other up ladders.

The Company also hosts regular “Arts and Cats” events. Guests can paint a canvas independently at any time during business hours—all materials can be rented from the cafe—and classes more similar to wine-and-paint are offered weekly.

Denver Cat Company is proof that trends can hold meaningful substance. It’s more than worth keeping this cat cafe in mind the next time you want to buy some entertainment with your philanthropy.