ONE YEAR LATER, COVINGTON CAFÉ HAS FOUND PURR-FECT HOMES FOR 650+ CATS

A year into operating – amid the Covid pandemic no less – Purrfect Day Café has made more than 650 cat adoptions.

This record puts the Covington location in the top 10 of about 120 similar cat cafes in the U.S., owner Chuck Patton told RCN.

“This takes into account several Covid shutdowns, state mandates, bridge shutdowns, and supply chain issues,” said Patton. “We are optimistic about the future but there is a ways to go as so many shelters and services have been suspended for the same reasons.”

Purrfect Day Café (25 West 8th Street, Covington) celebrated its success and one-year anniversary on Saturday. It was decorated with ballons with lots of “Happy Meowr” specials throughout the day.

“We want to do this to say, ‘thank you’ to the community,” Patton said. “We work hard, but in reality, we’re only as strong as the community behind us. And we are very blessed.”

Patton opened his second Purrfect Day Café in Covington last year. His first location in Louisville has also had significant success in business and adoptions. In fact, it was at the Louisville location that the idea for the Covington location was sparked.

In collaboration with the Kenton County Animal Shelter, the cat cafe introduces cats in need of a home to prospective adoptive pet parents. It also serves coffee and food, and allows for visitors to enjoy beverages and snacks while playing with kitties.

“Kenton County Animal Services Director Beckey Reiter had come into our Louisville location and asked us how we would feel about opening a location in Kenton County,” Patton said. “I was born and raised in Northern Kentucky, so this idea really appealed to me.”

Purrfect Day Café is the only place in Covington where you can mix and mingle with adoptable cats and kittens while sipping your favorite coffee or cocktail.

“We appreciate everyone’s support too,” Patton said. “Even if you don’t adopt, you’re coming in showing support and learning about our mission and spending time with the cats.”

Patton said there’s really nothing else quite like a cat café.

“You come into this space that’s about 1,000-square-feet with about 15 to 25 cats or kittens,” Patton said. “It’s a great experience. You get to detox from your day; relax with a kitten in your lap. You need that for your mental health and emotional well-being.”

Purrfect Day Café partners with Kenton County Animal Services (KCAS), which provides animal control and animal shelter services to Kenton County. KCAS finds cats and kittens from local and regional animal shelters and preps them for adoption, like veterinarian services. The cats live in the café until they are adopted. These animals are well socialized with people and other cats, Patton said.

The collaboration of the café and local and regional shelters adds increased visibility for shelter cats in a healthier, less stressful environment, Patton said.

Patton said the partnerships are even changing people’s views of cats. Often, in areas that have heavy stray cat populations, he said, cats are viewed as a nuisance. Working together, the Café and KCAS are helping to decrease those populations and therefore change those views.

According to Patton, cats are wonderful creatures.

“The number-one lesson I have learned throughout this, is that cats don’t care what you look like, what you do for a living, what you drive,” he said. “They care that you love them. And if you do, they love you in return.”

Patton said that he hopes to be able to expand in the future, but with the ongoing pandemic has no solid plans just yet.