Pawsific NorthWest Cat Café: cats and coffee, what’s not to love?

This week, Trish went to check out the Pawsific NorthWest Cat Cafe, located in Olympia at 3415 Pacific Ave, in the same complex as the Ross Store.

This is Thurston County's first and only Cat Cafe. It provides ethically sourced, adoptable kittens and cats from local rescues and shelters.

When I walked into the Cat Cafe, the first thing I noticed was the delicious smell of coffee, along with the comfortable furniture and tables where you could sit, relax, and look at cats/kittens through a window.

The cat room, where people can hang out with and get to know the adoptable cats at the Pawsific NorthWest Cat Cafe, located in Olympia at 3415 …

The purrfect hangout

I will tell you a little about the procedure at the Cat Cafe. You can come in anytime to have coffee, drinks, and snacks and relax, but if you would like to interact with cats or possibly adopt, you need to make a reservation (can’t have too many people at the same time in Cat Room). The cost is $15, $5 of which gives you a credit toward a coffee drink. The other $10 is for supplies, food, litter, toys & cats care. When you have a reservation, each visit starts at the top of the hour and lasts for 50 minutes in the Cat Room.

The cat room has plenty of seating and cushions on the floor if you want to get down to pet the kitties & cats. However, Tiffany, the owner, told me that the cats love to sit in the cushioned seating. There are toys, cat trees, and even steps that are attached to walls for cats to walk around. They look pretty darn happy in their surroundings. I was amazed at how friendly and receptive the cats were. Food and water were available in 3 places. The cat trees were all specially made and have coverings that can be removed and washed weekly. The surfaces are cleaned and sanitized every hour and when you walk in, they supply booties for your shoes. There is a quiet room for the cats, which they can access through a cat door. This is where the litter boxes are located.

Pawsific NorthWest Cat Cafe sign, the cafe is located in Olympia at 3415 Pacific Ave.

From fostering two, to ten, to finding homes for many

Now, let me tell you a little about Tiffany and her husband who own the Cat Cafe. Tiffany was an ER nurse for 20 years and her husband is in IT. Tiffany, after her career, especially during COVID, just wanted to have some kitty love and fostered two cats but ended up coming home with 4. Within two weeks, they had ten fosters. That is where they got involved with Red Rose Animal Rescue. She never realized how much of a need there was for rescues and adoption centers for cats and dogs. The problem she said was, that there was no place to get to interact with the cats before you adopt so many that are in cages are returned because it is not what they wanted.

So, Tiffany and her husband, who had just done a major renovation on their home, had an unused apartment in their basement, so they turned it into a cat room where people could make a reservation and come interact and adopt a cat. This worked out but it took a lot of time to arrange and do checks for prospective adopters.

One day, a person was in the adoption area and said this looks like a Cat Cafe and Tiffany said what? Well, after that, she thought about it and decided to do some research, and it was exactly what was needed.

I forgot to mention they also have seven children, and realized they needed a separate location as it was getting cramped with cats and large family, so they got a loan, took six months to find a location and once it was secured, they gutted the location, drew up their own plans and began to build. It took them 15 months to get from planning to opening. They officially opened on May 9th, 2024.

They source their cats/kittens from local rescues that believe in the Adopt-Don't-Shop mantra. All cats are fixed, microchipped, vaccinated and dewormed before adoption.

They work with four rescues, with another one in the works, and the fees charged go directly back to the rescue where the cats came from. When Tiffany and her husband first started fostering, they knew the rescues were mostly volunteer and didn’t have resources to supply food and supplies, so she would work an extra shift or two as an ER nurse to pay for what was needed for the cats.

They also found that there had to be a way to get the word out besides Pet Finder for adoption events and available cats so Tiffany’s husband developed software and knowing these rescues couldn’t afford software programs, designed them for applications, adoption events and so much more and he gave them to the rescues for no cost.

When they first started fostering, probably about 400 cats/kittens were adopted and since opening their business, 75 cats have found their forever homes.

When I visited, there were about 10 to 12 cats enjoying life. I met several cats, and I can’t remember all their names, but there was Alice, who was 15-years old. old tabby, Serrano-male 15 wks. orange tabby, Howie–male, nine mo. all black, Missy, one yr. old tortoiseshell, Callie-one yr. Old Calico and more, but a few kittens also. I wish I could have taken them all, lol. (Not sure how my two dogs would like that, but their neighbor cats are friends of theirs).

Adoptable cats at the Pawsific NorthWest Cat Cafe, located in Olympia at 3415 Pacific Ave.

What’s the fix?

Right now, a cat one-year-old or older is going for adoption at a very reasonable cost of $100. This includes being fixed, vaccinations, microchipping, and deworming.

I didn’t know this, but a 3–4-month-old kitten can become pregnant. That is why it is so important to get a cat fixed before that point. You have no idea how many cat colonies, strays and kittens live in the woods. These rescues go into homeless camps and give veterinarian care, take feral cats and have them fixed and return them after healing to their colonies. Kittens are taken from the strays and feral cats so they can have a chance at a good life and mostly to stop the cycle of unwanted pregnancies. Most kittens are adopted soon, sometimes within a week.

Along with getting to interact with cats, there are paintings, jewelry and other articles for sale from local artists. The Cat Cafe takes a small commission for people to bring their wares in for sale.

The Cat Cafe also has an area for small children to play while mom/dad enjoys a cup of coffee. Children under six are not allowed in the cat room, but there is a window in the play area where they can watch the cats.

There were three baristas working in cafe area, one is Tiffany’s daughter-in-law. Some of the kids help, and one daughter helps manage the business, so Tiffany can take a day off occasionally.

In conclusion, I didn’t know what to expect when I walked into the Cat Cafe, but I was so impressed with absolutely everything that I will definitely be going back to visit. I have a couple of cat-loving grandkids (adults) and friends who would love this place.

Tiffany and her husband and family are truly amazing, caring, and loving people who have sacrificed (I don’t think they would call it a sacrifice) to make the lives of cats/kittens happy, content, and very loved. If I was rating the Pawsific NorthWest Cat Cafe, I would give it a 5*+

If any rescues, or anyone to do with animals, would like to be interviewed for an article in our column, please contact us at pets@theJOLTnews.com

If anyone has an idea about pets or animals they would like to see in our column, let us know.

Paws for Thoughts: “I had been told that the training procedure with cats was difficult. It’s not. Mine had me trained in two days.” - Bill Dana