It’s All About The Cats At A Cat Café

by Kevin Burton

   This is a fun story, filled with cute kitties, but with a serious bummer at the end.

   On the first part of our June vacation, we came across Papa’s Cat Café in Columbia, Missouri.  It was easily the most interesting tourist attraction we read about it mid-Missouri.

   I thought this cat café business had to be unique but there are similar businesses in other US cities and in other countries.   

   The concept is, you pay to spend time, 30 or 60 minutes, in a room with several adoptable cats. You can buy coffee and small baked items if you want, but it’s all about the cats. You can get to know them in person and at Papa’s you can read their biographies on the wall.  

   Papa is the nickname of Ryan Kennedy, the business owner, because his favorite author in Ernest Hemmingway. Here is more from the Papa’s Cat Café website:

   “I’m Ryan Kennedy, and I’m Papa.  Since my daughter could speak, she’s called me Papa.  Papa is also the nickname of my favorite author, Ernest Hemingway, who also happened to love cats. His Key West estate is still home to over 50 cats, most of whom are polydactyl (extra-toed) Hemingway cats.  So ‘Papa’s Cat Café’ seemed like a perfect name and motif for our cat café,” the website reads.

   “My love of cats goes way back.  I grew up with cats.  We lived out in the country, and our house was always crawling with them.  Our family somehow lucked out with some really long-lived cats.  One of my cats, Shaq, lived to be 16, and his mom, Muffin, whom I tried to name “Biscuit,” lived to be almost that old.  They were like family members.  They taught me responsibility and patience; and I was very excited, after going almost a decade without a cat, to adopt Hardy and have the chance to share that experience with my daughter.”

   “Our first experience with cat cafés came in 2016 when we visited one in Seoul, South Korea. My family and I could have spent all day there.  I couldn’t help thinking that Columbia would be a perfect town for a cat café, with its student population and thriving, eclectic downtown.  We’ve watched Columbia grow to be quite the bustling city, but it was still lacking a cat café!”

   “And we’re excited to bring this idea to the great town of Columbia.  We consider ourselves Columbia natives—I’ve lived 20 minutes away my entire life, my wife (MacKenzie) is a Hickman grad, and we both graduated from Mizzou’s College of Education as teachers.  We wanted to bring something new and different to the people here, something that could help folks who can’t own cats for whatever reason, and something that could help our homeless cat population.  If you can do something that can help people and animals, you should do it!”

   At Papa’s we spoke to Andrew, who gave his title as “Cat Wrangler.”  He was serving as a kind of house parent and referee.

   “I started coming here for two years before I started working here. I was an instant regular,” Andrew said.

  Andrew said the standard shelter environment is pretty depressing. But at Papa’s the cats had toys and furniture to jump and climb on. Even the chairs in the room sat on little cat feet. 

   The main area was a 30-by-30 room with 28 cats in near constant motion.  Smaller adjoining rooms had food stations a quiet area and a litter box. These were accessible by pet doors. 

   This is a kitty playground. If it has been a while since you’ve been on a playground, you need to remember that it’s not all fun and games. There was a large black cat being very aggressive, screaming, spitting and menacing the others. But for the most part the cats existed in playful, curious peace.

   I got coffee for our visit but that was a mistake as it just distracted from my interaction with the cats.  Several stopped by to say hello, to sniff and to play.

   You don’t have to be looking to adopt to enjoy a cat café. It’s a good experience for college students who can’t have a cat at school and who miss their pets at home.  It’s also just a good place for anyone to lift their spirits.

    They had a special needs cat named Jupiter. He was unsteady on his feet but happily playing amidst the general feline chaos. Andrew explained that he had cerebellar hypoplasia, a neurological condition in which the cerebellum is smaller than usual or not completely developed. Cats with this condition are commonly called “wobble cats.”

   Andrew said the adoption fee is $100 for one, $150 for two cats. Andrew said some cats took a year or more to be adopted but most moved to their forever home in a month to six weeks.

   The serious bummer is that Papa’s is closed now. At the time of our visit they were in their last days. The landlord did not renew the lease and Kennedy said they were not moving, but closing.

   I didn’t have the heart to grill the guy for more details.  He was visibly deflated.  He was running the cash register, but looked as if he could use a session in with the cats.

   I (over)paid $27 to buy a Papa’s Cat Café t-shirt, as it turns out, the last one ever sold.

   But happily, the concept lives on. Last week I read on Facebook that a cat café is opening in Wichita. So for local readers, here’s a tip from me: skip the coffee and just check out the cats.