Saving cats one cup of coffee at a time

What’s better than cats, coffee, and a place to get cozy? That’s exactly what you’ll find at Purrrlandia, a cat café in Thousand Oaks, California, where guests can sip an iced latte — or the café’s signature Strawpurry Matcha — with a kitty from Best Friends lounging in their lap. It’s relaxing for people and cats alike. And best of all, the collaboration is helping save more cats’ lives across Los Angeles.

“People love the ability to come and relax with cats if they had a stressful day, and they just seem so transformed when they leave,” says Purrrlandia owner Kat Killoran. “They even say as much — that this was just what they needed.”

Best Friends and Purrrlandia began working together last summer when the business first opened. Best Friends’ goal is for all shelters to reach no-kill, and that means trying new and creative ways to bring people and pets together. To date, the cat café has placed more than 200 felines in homes.

With its cozy living room vibes, Purrrlandia sits somewhere between a traditional shelter and a foster home, where adoptable cats have room to roam and simply be themselves. “It's such a good experience for the cats to be in a home-like setting,” says Jennifer Nann, who is on Best Friends’ staff in L.A. and selects which cats will go to Purrrlandia. “I think it really sets them up for success going to a home.”

So what’s a typical day for the cats at Purrrlandia? At any given time, Purrrlandia is home to about 25 cats. Social butterflies and shy kitties alike are thriving in the cat café environment. The expansive space has quiet rooms they can retreat to and lots of high places to perch if they prefer to observe from above.

Plenty of love from staff — better known as “purrristas” — and guests helps many shy cats build confidence. Guests can spend time with the cats in a variety of ways. Besides petting and snuggling them, of course, people can brush the cats, wiggle wand toys for them to chase, and give them treats. When there are fewer visitors, the kitties can look outside to see what the squirrels and chipmunks are up to on “cat TV.”

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Purrrlandia also hosts special events for both humans and cats, including craft nights and sound baths. If you’re not familiar, a sound bath is a meditation where you relax while listening to instruments like singing bowls and chimes — and, in this case, the soothing sounds and vibrations of purring cats.

While the cats enjoy their time at Purrrlandia, the ultimate goal is finding each one a home of their own. Every cat wears a collar with a QR code linking directly to their personal adoption profile, making it easy for guests who feel a spark with a special some-kitty to learn more about them.

The relaxed environment not only makes the cats feel good, but it also helps them get adopted. “Adopters can truly see the cats’ true personalities,” says Jennifer.

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Kat and her staff take the lead on matchmaking, but otherwise, the adoption process is the same as it would be at Best Friends. And it’s leading to happy adoptions like Gus Gus.

Gus Gus, a brown tabby with bright yellow eyes who arrived at a shelter with severe injuries, likely from being hit by a car. The resilient little guy underwent emergency surgery to repair his jaw, which had been broken in multiple places, and then came to Best Friends in Los Angeles to recover.

Gus Gus spent time in a foster home recovering, both physically and emotionally. Intelligent and affectionate, he loved chasing anything that moved and sleeping right next to his people.

Once he was fully healed, he headed to Purrrlandia — but it would only be a brief stay for him. Shortly after his arrival, a family fell in love with Gus Gus. Sometimes you come for coffee and leave with true love.

In a recent update, Gus Gus’ adopter shared that he’s settled in beautifully. Looking at the photos of him draped across people’s laps and snuggled up, he looks completely at ease, the trauma he experienced now a distant memory. The adopter’s daughter even made a wood etching of Gus Gus in her woodworking class — proof he’s already etched his way into their hearts.

At the heart of it, Purrrlandia is about introducing cats from Best Friends to a whole new community of people.

“I think it is a great, eye-opening experience for the public to see that these wonderful cats are adoptable cats,” says Jennifer.

Partnerships with cat cafés like Purrrlandia ultimately mean more lives saved. By creating additional safe, enriching space for adoptable cats, Best Friends has expanded capacity beyond the pet adoption center and available foster homes to help more cats move out of shelters and into loving homes.

More cats going home? Now that’s our cup of tea.

Our goal at Best Friends is to support all animal shelters in the U.S. in reaching no-kill. No-kill means saving every dog and cat in a shelter who can be saved, accounting for community safety and good quality of life for pets. 

Shelter staff can’t do it alone. Saving animals in shelters is everyone’s responsibility, and it takes support and participation from the community. No-kill is possible when we work together thoughtfully, honestly, and collaboratively.