A two-story tower of tabbies painted by the front door of 214 N. Lombardy St. hints at what’s inside. The Purrfect Bean — now open, with a grand opening slated for Friday, Aug. 15 — is not an ordinary coffee shop but a cat café, where rescued cats and kittens will live and have opportunities to meet humans who can give them a purrmanent home.
Founder Michelle Langham formerly worked for the SPCA and is active in animal welfare volunteering. When she moved to Richmond three years ago, Langham was surprised to find no cat cafés, especially because “it’s such a cat-friendly community, and there’s so many cats here that need homes.”
She decided to step in, founding the Purrfect Bean as a place for cat lovers and cats in need to meet. Langham hopes to “bring joy to the community while helping cats.”
The cats come from Purring Hearts VA, a volunteer organization that rescues at-risk cats in the Richmond area. All of the cats are healthy, sociable and ready for adoption. Langham estimates that the café will foster eight to 12 cats at a time, though that number may increase if the café facilitates a high number of adoptions.
“Hopefully, we do a ton!” Langham says.
The café will serve coffee roasted locally by Afterglow Coffee Cooperative, as well as tea from Richmond’s Spice and Tea Exchange and locally made vegan snacks from Two and a Half Irishmen and No-nuts Donuts (which in addition to being vegan are gluten-free and nut-free, made in a dedicated and inspected kitchen.) The café will also offer cat-themed seasonal specialty drinks. This summer’s menu includes Tabby Tonic, Russian Blue Matcha and Citrus Catnip Iced Tea.
In addition to fostering cats and serving cuppas, Langham hopes to use the café as a hub for cat and animal welfare education.
“We’ve talked about doing some classes here on TNR, which is Trap, Neuter, Release, so that community cats don’t overpopulate,” she says. Overpopulation is a problem because feral cats lack access to veterinary care and harm wildlife.
Langham says another goal of the café is “exposing people to cats who might not otherwise have been around them,” providing a positive first experience. The café is close to Virginia Commonwealth University, so college students missing their family cat can come by to de-stress and enjoy feline companionship.
For those who don’t have a lot of experience with cats, Langham provides this advice for how to be polite when meeting one: “Cats do what they want to do. If they want to interact with you they will, if they don’t they’ll leave.” Langham advocates “giving them the space to be themselves.”
One way to respect a cat’s space is by applying the three pet rule: “You can pet a cat three times, and then you stop and check in. If they come back for more, they’re still enjoying it,” Langham says. Being aware of the cats’ body language and letting them decide how long they want to socialize helps them to be calm — it’s good cat manners.
The cat lounge upstairs is separate from the ground-floor café. It features couches and chairs, as well as cat trees and wall furniture for the cats to enjoy. To visit, book a 50 minute reservation online for $20 on weekdays and $25 on weekends. Reservations ensure that the lounge doesn’t get crowded, and the fee goes toward cat care, including food, litter, veterinary services and socialization (cuddles).
From the cats’ perspective, the Purrfect Bean is “different than a shelter environment, because it’s more of a home set-up,” Langham says. “Cats that might be really stressed out in a shelter might do a lot better here, because it’s not so loud and [there aren’t] small spaces and strange smells. It’s more of a cozy home space, so it’s less stressful for the cats.”
Those interested in adopting can apply through Purring Hearts either before or after visiting the Purrfect Bean.
