Photo: Emma Friedman/WBZ NewsRadio
BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — Cats at A Sanctuary Cafe are getting acclimated to their new forever home.
The new cat cafe in Beacon Hill has been slowly introducing seven rescue cats to the new space. The cat cafe is the only one in Boston and the first to have a fully functioning cafe.
After months of delays, the cafe and micro-bookstore opened to the public last week, though the cats need a few more days to get used to the new home.
Tiger, Bug, Billy and the rest of the feline friends live at the café full-time.
“For us to be able to provide a lifelong home for them where they know each other really well, they know the space really well,” said Brittany Baker, founder of A Sanctuary Cafe. “We just think that’s [going to] provide the very best life for them.”
Since this is the cats forever home, Baker said it’s important to get them adjusted to the space before people can go in and join them.
There is a full-time staff devoted to caring for the cats.
Baker said keeping them happy is her top priority and that the benefit of having the cats live and grow up there is that they can build connections with the customers over time.
The cats continue to explore the area each day. Once they feel comfortable, people will be allowed into the space to join them.
There have already been people stopping by the window looking for young Elenor and Tiger.
“We’re hoping that just anybody passing by on a typical day can go ‘oh look, that’s Billy in his usual corner,’ or ‘oh, Bug is on top of the window again,’” said Baker.
The cafe is separated in two parts: the cafe/ bookstore and the cats. There is a split HVAC system and a pressure system that makes sure the air in the cafe/bookstore does not contain any of the cat hair allergens.
Baker said if a hair tried to escape the double door separating the two, the high-tech pressure system would essentially pull the hair back in. That means people with cat allergies can still comfortably stay in the cafe area without fear of an allergy attack.
While the cafe and bookstore are open, guests cannot visit the cats just yet. Once the cats are ready, guests will be able to head through to door and spend time in their lounge area while they sip on a coffee and read a book.
The cafe/bookstore side will be open moving forward on Wednesday through Sunday.
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