VISTA, Calif. (KGTV) — North County's first cat cafe is welcoming in guests to enjoy a cup of coffee and make a new best friend — human or feline.
Cat & Craft opened its doors in Vista last week, welcoming its first guests to sit down, have some coffee, and lounge with adoptable felines. The 1,500-square-foot cafe is divided by a glass wall separating the coffee from the cats.
Guests can order coffee, tea, or pastries in the cafe before or after hanging out in a cage-free environment with cats and kitten from the North County non-profit cat rescue, Love Your Feral Felines (LYFF.)
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The cafe was opened by the wife and husband team of Caroline and Andrew Vaught, who say their shared love of cats and volunteer work with LYFF led them to opening the cafe.
“We created Cat & Craft because we wanted to provide a place for the community to connect with each other and animals who are in need of a loving family to call their own,” Caroline Vaught said. "We knew this was our calling after realizing Andrew’s coffee expertise would pair perfectly with our shared love of cats. It was our previous volunteer work with LYFF that lead us to create this space for the community."
If a customer falls in love with a particular cat, they can actually adopt the feline. The cats inside the cafe's lounge are fully vaccinated, spayed/neutered, and microchipped. All of the adoption proceeds also go to LYFF.
Reservations are highly recommended when visiting but not required. Only a small amount of people are allowed into the cat habitat at a time. Customers should not bring their own cats as well.
The cafe is set to hold a grand opening later this year, but the cafe is currently opened. So far, they've had two adoptions and aim to have 500 adoptions by the end of the year.
On the food and drink side, the cafe keeps Manzanita Roasting Company coffee beans stocked for all their coffee creations and partners with Bread and Cie, A Delight of France, and Hazel and Jade for their pastry and dessert offerings. The cafe's menu ranges from various espresso drinks and pour-over coffees to teas, toast plates, and pastries.
