The Alaska Cat Café-It’s The Cat’s Meow

Years ago while on vacation with her family, Tahlya Rice walked into a niche café in Hawaii, a cat café, to be precise, and that visit would change the trajectory of her life.

According to her mother Tara Rice, Tahlya and her family visited many more cat cafes across the lower 48, and when Tahlya graduated high school, she and her family brought that idea to the Mat-Su Borough, opening the Alaska Cat Café in Wasilla earlier this summer.

“She said she loved this idea, and she loves cats,” says mother Tara Rice. “She graduated high school a year early…and when we asked what she wanted to do, she said it was this-a cat café.” Tara says her family had a space that had previously been home to several restaurants that became available, allowing Tahlya’s vision to come to life, while family was nearby to lend a hand.

“We are a family of entrepreneurs, and this was an opportunity to support her dream and get hands-on experience in entrepreneurship.

“They’re adorable,” says Tahlya, who is not opposed to dogs, but loves cats’ independent nature and believes the felines are misunderstood, pointing to the adult cats at the café and their protective nature to the young kittens. “I think they are really sweet, just awesome pets to have.”

While many come in to the Cat Café for coffee and other caffeinated beverages, as well as sandwiches and some baked goods, people stay for the cuteness of the kittens and cats next door, at the Cat Lounge, where they can mingle and play with adoptable cats and kittens.

The café operates as a for-profit business with 100% of its profits going directly to funding the nonprofit Cat Cottage, which rescues, shelters, feeds, and provides medical care to abandoned, stray, and surrendered cats in the Mat-Su Borough. It was created with one goal in mind—supporting their nonprofit partners who rescue and rehome cats and kittens.

The Alaska Cat Café works with The Cat Cottage and The Krazy Kat Rescue and is actively working to bring in even more rescue organizations. They are also working with VCA Far Country and Animalitos to get their furry guests spayed/neutered and vaccinated. Many of the kittens are already pre-adopted but must wait until they are big enough, typically two months, and have both sets of initial vaccines before they can go home.

“While the younger kitties have homes ready to go, we do have older ones we would love to find forever homes for,” says Tara, who would like to offer more adult cats, but there is a limit to five adult cats. She is hopeful that as people visit and get a better idea of what it is the Cat Café is doing, they may get permits for more.

What sets the Cat Café apart from typical shelters, however, is the homey vibe, with a sofa, floor poufs and mats, kitty towers and plenty of floor space allowing the kitties and humans to roam, play in different areas, and connect in a relaxed environment.

“Here they’re more relaxed. A lot of the times when cats are in a pound or in a shelter, the cats might be scared or anxious, hunkered in the back of a small enclosure. They don’t want to interact,” Tahlya says. “When they're in here, they're roaming freely. They have all this space to themselves. People can see them in an environment like this, more relaxed, and they get to know the cats’ personalities better. It makes it a better experience.”

The cats and kittens at the Cat Lounge are fit for adoption-socialized and litter box trained, vetted surrenders or socialized kittens that have been raised in a communal environment, have received their first round of vaccinations from a trusted vet partner are available for adoption.

“We did take in a kitty from a hoarder home,” said Tara of one of the felines, and Tahlya points to another itty bitty kitty, named Nacho Tot, that was the runt of her litter and is nearly a pound.

“Some friends came out last weekend and they told us about this place. My daughters can’t have a cat, but this way they can come out and visit and play with them. I think it’s pretty great. I didn’t expect the plethora of kitties. I was expecting 3 or 4 cats. This is like dreams coming true. I think it’s pretty great,” said Jessica Popiel, who made the visit from Anchorage with her daughters Ava and Claire.

While people can walk in to the Cat Lounge, Tahlya says appointments are preferred as they limit the number of visitors to ten at a time to give cats and humans the best experience and alleviate any stress to the cats. “It’s a quiet area because animals can get easily upset with too much activity.”

The Cat Lounge is open Sunday-Thursday from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and is located at 340 N. Lucille in the heart of Wasilla.

For more information and to book an appointment, please visit their Facebook page or www.thealaskacatcafe.com