Kitty Brew Café has mission to rescue cats and create a community

Kitty Brew has the Purrfect mixture. Tasty cafe beverages and adoptable kitties. How could it get any better? Coming soon to Southwest Ohio.

Kitty Brew Café has a mission to rescue cats and create a community (image by Caroline Beckman)

They say that coffee and cats are two of the things that have a firm hold on people’s hearts all over the world. And what could be more delightful than a cat café, which combines the two?

Since the trend for cat cafés started sweeping the nation and then the world, many people have ended up adopting a cat after spending a delightful day playing with them over a coffee. The Kitty Brew Café in Mason, owned by Jenni Barrett, brought this trend to the Cincinnati area in 2017.

A mother and animal lover with many pets of her own, Barrett needed to change her path in life.

“To say I was unhappy with my career choice was an understatement,” she said.

An episode of (Shark Tank) showed her that this was possible, as did her work in rescuing cats. This is often the case with business owners, the road to opening Kitty Brew Café was long and paved with rejection.

Barrett described it as “living in actual hell”, mainly because she had no earthly clue what she was doing. She is a first-generation college graduate with little support and this was an entirely different career path than she initially saw herself doing.

Read more The Most Common Cats In Japan Became As Popular Business Icon

After 18 months, Southwest Ohio’s first cat café finally opened on April 9, 2017.

The concept of a cat café is for customers to be able to drink coffee and eat food in the company of cats. The café will have a range of cat-themed coffee drinks and food as well as cat-related memorabilia that can be purchased. Customers can also spend $11, spend an hour in a separate space while cats run, play, and sleep around them.

Kitty Brew offers the option to adopt cats, where customers fill out an application which is then sent to the rescue the cat came from. If approved, the customer may take their new furry friend home within 24 hours.

Kitty Brew has also done events in the past such as movie nights and various parties, but there haven’t been any events recently.

Kitty Brew rescues cats of all ages from Animal Friends Humane Society, Paws Cause, Hart of Cincinnati, and His Hand Extended Sanctuary. The partnerships with these rescues save the cats’ lives and make life easier for those working at the rescues by freeing up space at their facilities.

Read more The Cat Day Is The Reason Why Japanese People Love Cats Too Much

As of the publication of this article, there were 24 cats in the house, although that number changes all the time. The length of time cats stay at Kitty Brew can be as short as a few minutes or as long as several months.

Kitty Brew Café’s de facto mascot, Will Feral, was a large, orange feral cat known for roaming the grounds. After Will needed dental treatment, he fell in love with two volunteers and is now living his best indoor life. Will has his own Facebook page, Will ‘Not So’ Feral #2148, where fans can keep up with his exploits.

In spite of all the difficulties, Barrett enjoys owning a business and always encountering new people and aiding them in finding their new best friends. There is no daily routine and she still does not know what she is doing. When inquired about her objectives for Kitty Brew, Barrett replies that she just wants to keep making their small contribution to this planet a little more cheerful.

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