Cat Chillin’ Zone
Cat Chillin’ Zone in Martinez, California, is a nonprofit with a storefront where cats live onsite among cozy couches and cat trees.Guests can relax in comfy seating in the colorfully decorated zone while the cats keep them company. Additionally, guests can hang out and read a book, read from the zone’s free community library, use toys to play with cats, or just sit and enjoy the space.
The zone also provides guests with an opportunity to get to know the cats before potentially adopting them.
It rescues senior cats (7-plus years old) from shelters around the Bay Area and provides shelter, food, and playful interaction.
“I believe that every cat deserves a safe and loving home, and I’m always here to lend a helping paw to fellow cat lovers,” said Cat Chillin’ Zone founder and CEO Leona Hartmann Patterson. “Whether you need advice on cat behavior, tips on proper nutrition, or simply want to share heartwarming cat stories, feel free to reach out. Let’s celebrate the magic of cats together!”
She told The Epoch Times that the zone can host private parties. She said that this year, it hosted a party of 20 7-year-old boys who behaved very well among the cats, as well as a celebration party for a group of young girls who raised money for the zone at their school.
“I don’t have children and wanted to give back and leave something good in this world. The idea is seeing smiling faces, hearing the kids giggle as they play with our cats, and every day the feeling that we have saved a life!” Patterson said.
Other events held by the zone have been “Backgammon with Cats” and a pasta dinner featuring Alan Skversky, Wolfgang Puck’s executive chef.
She said the zone’s mission is to save as many senior cats as possible from euthanasia and provide them with comfortable, loving homes.
Operating with the help of volunteers, the Cat Chillin’ Zone won second place in the category of best nonprofit of Martinez and was listed as “Best of the East Bay.”
The zone is open Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Walk-in visits are welcome.
Itty Bitty Kitty Cafe
The Itty Bitty Kitty Cafe in San Jose, California, is a nonprofit that rescues orphaned kittens from high-kill shelters and the community in Santa Clara County and fosters them.Guests can book a visit to the cafe to play with the adoptable kittens in one of the colorful playrooms with cozy couches, fun cat artwork decking the walls, and cat toys to use for interaction.
“I love all animals! But kittens are at the highest risk of euthanasia at shelters, so that’s why we founded the kitten rescue in 2002. Cats are amazing creatures, and I enjoy sharing my home with six of them, as well as our three dogs,” said Laurie Melo, owner of the Itty Bitty Kitty Cafe.
She said the kittens live in foster homes offsite from the cafe and are only there one day a weekend for six hours, alternating the kittens so no kitten needs to be there more than six hours a week.
The cafe’s website features the adoptable kittens currently available along with success stories.
Melo said that up to five people can rent a private room, although they prefer four. She added that people can book both of their kitten playrooms at the same time for birthday parties or large families because there is a see-through half door between the rooms.
The cafe is open Saturdays and Sundays from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m.; reservations are recommended. Guests must be 5 years or older, and a 50-minute visit costs $15 for ages 12 and up or $10 for ages 5–11.
If you have found a kitten or a litter of kittens, instructions on the cafe’s website can help. The website notes that if kittens younger than 2 months or weighing less than two pounds are taken to a shelter, they may be euthanized. The cafe therefore recommends that people provide care for found kittens until they reach 2 months and two pounds before taking them to the shelter.
The Dancing Cat
The Dancing Cat is a nonprofit organization with a cat adoption lounge in which the cats live onsite, located near downtown San Jose, California.
The lounge’s mission is to find homes for at-risk adult cats from the San Jose Animal Care Center by giving those cats an open, cage-free environment in which they can mingle with people and other cats.
“My friend Mary [the co-founder] and I wanted to see if opening a charming, living room-like space would lead to finding wonderful homes for these cats that we care for,” said co-founder and president Ann Chasson.
She said the organization is run almost entirely by volunteers and exists due to guests and the generosity of its partners.
The Dancing Cat is a place where cats roam in a comfortable, safe environment; and for those looking to adopt, it provides an opportunity to meet the resident cats and see their personalities in an environment outside a shelter. In a shelter, cats may be scared and not ready to engage with people.
Visitors who might not be able to adopt due to allergies or living situations might simply want to enjoy the company of cats in a relaxed space.
The Dancing Cat also seeks to cultivate community by engaging, educating, inspiring, and raising awareness for the lives of cats in Silicon Valley.
“Cats are amazing. They have all kinds of different temperaments. I love the snuggly and lower-energy ones,” said Chasson.
She said the lounge has been in business for nearly 10 years and has found homes for more than 1,600 cats during that time.
“We’re very happy to be part of the community here in downtown San Jose,” said Chasson.
Cat Town
Cat Town in Oakland, California is an adoption center first and foremost but considers itself a cat cafe. Guests can pay a small fee at the door to come in and hang out with cats that live on-site.Its cafe partner is Souvenir Coffee, which serves espresso drinks, coffee, tea, and other beverages as well as pastries, bagels, oatmeal, and parfaits.
(Courtesy of Adam Myatt)
Cat Town’s cats live on the cafe premises until they get adopted, and they spend as long as they need in its care with more cats always coming in to meet and adopt. It also has cats that reside in foster homes across the East Bay and are available to be met in those homes for adoption.
“Working at Cat Town, I’ve met silly cats, feisty cats, playful cats, snuggly cats, and everything in between. I’ve seen cats transform from wary of people to eager for affection. Seeing those transformations makes me want to get to know each cat on their own terms,” said Quinn White, development and deputy director of Cat Town. “I really like that you can’t sleepwalk your way into friendship with a cat—you need to be intentional, and to me, that mindfulness makes those relationships meaningful. Once you get to know them, you quickly learn that every cat has something special about themselves that only they can share.”
White said that Cat Town’s founder, Ann Dunn, while volunteering at Oakland Animal Services in 2011, noticed that the shelter’s lack of resources left many cats without options.
“Ann watched rescue organizations pass over the cats who were stressed by life in a cage, emotionally shut-down, sick, or elderly—seeing that the cats who needed the most help weren’t receiving support,” White said.
She said Cat Town was founded as a small foster organization in which these cats could feel safe, show their true selves, and find the adopters they deserved; and fostering is still at the core of Cat Town’s mission.
White said Cat Town’s work has helped improve outcomes for Oakland’s shelter cats by more than 70 percent since it began in 2011.
She said that there aren’t many places that focus on helping cats that simply don’t fare well in a shelter setting, and if adopters were to meet them in a shelter setting, they might not adopt them due to how they behave while they feel so afraid.
She said adopters can meet cats at their very best at Cat Town, and it’s easier for them to see what makes each cat special.
Cat Town is funded primarily by individual donors who share its belief that these cats have lives worth living.
The cafe offers private parties in which the entire space can be rented out. Guests can also reserve the entire adoption center on an hourly basis.
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