We Love Cats: Pussy on Display at ATL's First Cat Cafe

Features

May 3

Featured

It should come as no surprise that we here at WUSSY are cat people. In fact, we love cats. We love kittens. We love Kittens Inspired by Kittens. No shade to our canine friends, but there is nothing cuter than a sassy puss sitting in a basket or playing with a ball of yarn.

In the 2011 viral video sensation, “Can’t Hug Every Cat”, young Debbie is moved to tears by her own love for cats and her desire to hug all of them. Her obsession with cats is simultaneously a source of joy and pain. The line, “I think about how many don’t have a home. And how I should have them..” resonates deeply with us here in Atlanta, where stray cats unfortunately are often captured and sent to kill-shelters. Keeping stray cats out of kill-shelters and getting them into loving homes is so imporant, and that’s where Java Cats Cafe comes in.

ICYMI, Java Cats is a new Grant Park coffee shop connected to a small cat palace, featuring up to twenty adoptable critters at a time. The shop partners with PAWS Atlanta, a local no-kill animal shelter, to temporarily host the felines until they are adopted. You can make reservations to hang out with the kitties at $10 a pop on the company website.

Since the business opened, Java Cats has helped secure over twenty adoptions.

“I am trying to take all of it in after such a long year of permitting and struggling to get this off the ground,” said owner Hadyn Hilton, when asked about the early success of Java Cats. “I am beyond blessed to feel this much support and love from the community.”

If you aren’t looking to adopt a new friend right now, you can always come in for the caffeine and watch the cats behind glass. In addition to a full coffee menu, Java Cats also offers some local grub. Gathering Industries, an Atlanta non-profit, provides pre-packaged food for the cafe.

Hilton, only 25 years old, credits much of the success to her 12 year-old Tabby, Cream. “I grew up taking care of injured and abandoned animals with my family, so animals have always played a huge role in my life,” she told us. “Cats offer so much companionship and I couldn't imagine my life without them.”

Atlanta can often be a tough market to crack, so it’s encouraging to see young ATLiens pursuing their dreams. We asked Hilton what she would recommend to other millenials trying to start a business and her answer was one of hope.

“I would say, don't give up. If it's worth it to you, it's worth fighting for and anything worth fighting for is never easy. I ran into many discouraging hurdles throughout this past year and it would have been so much easier to have said "never mind." The reward, satisfaction, and pure joy of pursuing my dream of Java Cats was unlike anything I have experienced!”

Java Cats Cafe is located at 415 Memorial Dr. SE, Suite C, Atlanta, GA 30312

Featured