Pop-up cat café opens in Fort Lauderdale to help furry animals find a home

A pop-up Cat Café opened up to help animals find a home at the Blanco Y Blanco arts center in Fort Lauderdale on Saturday, but the amount of money raised was not announced.

The event was sponsored by Abandoned Pet Rescue, a no-kill animal shelter.

Donations for cat food and other supplies were accepted. The cats and kittens were brought in from the shelter, which was next door, so that attendees could interact and play with them.

Annette King, the founder of the Cat Cafe and coordinator of the event, was there to answer questions.

“Our goal is to bring awareness to the shelter and get cats adopted, since they have 250 cats that need homes,” King said. “We take applications here and give people tours of the shelter, since we can only bring a few here.”

The event on Saturday focused on cats, but the shelter has dogs as well.

All of the animals are neutered, spayed, microchipped, checked for feline AIDS/leukemia, and vaccinated, according to King. The fee is $60 for kittens under a year old and $50 for cats over a year. A special for $75 is offered if guests wants to take home two cats.

Angeline Martinez, an FIU alumnus, was selling hand-painted cat pictures and said she would donate the proceeds. Martinez has three cats of her own, two of which were found outside.

“Let’s be fair, every animal needs a home, even the animals at Pet Supermarket, but these are the ones that have been abandoned and gone through a lot and all they have is love,” Martinez said.

Graden Brown, an attendee at the event, was playing with the kittens and said he wanted to support the cause.

“I found this event online and wanted to come support. I love seeing the cats and I feel like interacting with them is a great idea because you get to know their personality. I’m excited to do the shelter tour and see the other cats and dogs as well,” Brown said.

The pop-up cat café will be available twice a year during the months of May and June. The   Abandoned Pet Rescue shelter is always available for anyone seeking to adopt cats and dogs.

 

 

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Born in Kenya, Sayona came to Florida when she was 5 years old. Her major is broadcast media, and she hopes to become an anchor one day.