Cat caf controversy highlights challenges of doing business with cats

Having a coffee with a cat close by was once a privilege only cat-owners could enjoy.

But today, catcafs are offering that opportunity to all: order a hot beverageand enjoyit in the midst of adoptable cats in a cafe setting. There are currently 255 catcafsin 37 countries and 143 cities, according to Coffee With Cats, awebsite that tracks catcafs.

But a recent controversy in Toronto's only cat caf, the TOT Caf on College Street, has highlighted how difficult it is to run a business with felines.

• Cat cafs in Canada offer lattes and furry felines

'Different standards'

Brandy Exner, a former employee of TOT Cat Cafin downtown Toronto, said she found herself coming into the cafeven on her days off to feed the cats. She quit earlier this month saying she couldn't keep up with the around-the-clock care the cats needed.

"This job has been the most stressful job in my entire life," she wrote in a public Facebook post.

She accused thecafowners of not being interested in caring for the animals that are the basis of their business. "They constantly forget to feed them, or give them water, or properly monitor their health," she said.

Kenneth Chai, the owner of TOT Cat Caf, said that he and Exner had "different standards" for cat care. He said the cats are fed twice a day and their water bowl never goes dry.

"There's a lot of beautiful things happening in the caf," said Chai. "We did nothing wrong. We prioritize the cats."

Exner said she wants to see the cat cafshut down, and is filling out a complaint with the OSPCA.

Already, rumours of cat mistreatment have flashedacross social media, which Chai said is hurting his business.

Adding fuel to the controversy, the cats that populate Chai's cafhave been taken back by the Toronto Humane Society.

The Humane Society supplied the cafwith shelter cats hopingthe animals would get more exposure and be adopted by customers.

Barbara Steinhoff, the executive director at the Humane Society, said problems arose not over the treatment of the cats but the for-profit activities of the caf. Chai was instituting a minimum purchase for anyone wishing to interact with the cats a barrier the non-profit Humane Society did not approve of.

Supply and demand

Keeping a steady stream of cats in a cat cafhas been an ongoing issue for severalowners.

In Vancouver, a cat cafcalled Catf had its grand opening in December2015, only to close temporarily less than a month later.

"Due to the overwhelming success of adoptions in our first few weeks, we have run out of cats!" read a sign on that caf's social media feeds. The cafhad to wait until the next "shipment" of cats, hand-picked by the BC SPCA, arrived.

In Toronto, Chai had a unique but ultimately problematic way to keep the supply consistent. He would only adopt out cats when he was sure the Humane Society would replace them.

It was that practice combined with the purchase requirement to see shelter cats that caused the Humane Society to sever its relationship with TOT.

So after Toronto's only cat cafwas left cat-less when the Humane Society removed all of its cats, Chai had to find another supplier. He said he's partnering with another cat rescue group in the city. There are currently only two cats in the caf, but Chai would not say where they came from.

A nationwide fad

The concept ofcat cafs began in Taipei, Taiwan, in 1998. Pairing cats with cafculture became popular throughout Asia in the early 2000s, landing in Tokyo in 2005, and flourishing there.

Cat cafare so advanced in Japan that there is legislation specifically governing cat caf. Some Japanese cafs have introduced other animals, like goats, to differentiate themselves in a saturated market.

The first cat cafin Canada, Le Caf des Chats, opened in Montreal in August2014. Since then, cat cafshave been a fad across Canada. In Chelsea, Que., there's even a caffilled with only Siberian cats. The Siberian Cat Cafbills itself as the world's first hypo-allergenic cat cafe.

Pet Me Meow still billsitself as Toronto's first cat caf, even though it isn't.

It announced its intention to open in 2013, and began raising money via crowd-funding online. Through a slew of media coverage and social network hype, organizers raised almost $13,000.

But it never opened. People who donated have barraged organizers for their money back, to no avail. A Pet Me Meow website remainslive and includes a promotional video and a call for donations.

It's one of at least two cat cafs in Toronto that announced their opening, raised money from the public, but never opened.

Cats and commerce

The business of serving coffee and cat companionship is a perilous one.

"You see cafsopen and close all the time," said the Humane Society's Steinhoff. "Add cats into that and it can be a difficult situation."

Sanitary conditions for the cats and the customers arean ongoing concern. On one occasion, a cat contracted an upper respiratory infection at the TOT Cat Cafand had to be removed. After that, Humane Society staff visited the cafto retrain employees on cleaning communal cat spaces.

Provincial healthregulations stipulate the cats and the food and beverage must be in separate rooms.

In addition to all of the unpredictability of cat care, cafowners like Chai then have to worry about running a business.

"We pay our own way," said Chai, who noted many passersbybelieve his College Street locationis part of a charity or city-sponsored venture.

He said the cafcomes up short sometimes and needs cat-lovers to buy something in addition to visiting the felines.

"We need the sales," he said.