Catching Grumpy Cat’s online antics is enough for some, but for others there’s nothing like the real thing. For cat lovers who can’t keep cats as pets but who yearn for occasional purring companionship, the Humane Society of Huron Valley recently opened Tiny Lions Lounge and Adoption Center–Ann Arbor’s first “cat cafe.”
Cats are the main attraction at the spacious space in a strip mall on Jackson Rd. near Zeeb. Regulations prohibit the sale of coffee or food, but patrons are welcome to bring them in from Biggby’s next door or elsewhere. For a $7-an-hour cover charge, feline aficionados can cuddle, pet, and play with kitties in the main room, which holds tables and chairs, a children’s area, cat-related and -themed merchandise, a movie screen, and an electric fireplace. (The children’s area and a second room can be rented for birthday parties and other events.) Yoga-with-cats classes began in May, while “mew-vie” nights and Little Paws Story Times for kids two to five will begin this month (other young visitors must be at least twelve and under adult supervision). Cafe manager Haley Chynoweth says that while visitors cannot bring in their own cats, “We’ll have plenty of cats for people to enjoy.”
The cats, which come from HSHV and other shelters, are all available for adoption. At Tiny Lions’ opening Blue, an eight-year-old Siamese mix, was blissfully enjoying a belly rub while his feline pals played and sashayed among visitors. Two days later, Blue found a home, becoming Tiny Lions’ first alumnus.
