North Carolina Cat Café Celebrates 1,000 Adoptions

August 24, 2022

A cat café in Charlotte North Carolina is celebrating a huge milestone: 1,000 cat adoptions.

Mac Tabby Cat Café

Mac Tabby Cat Café owner Lori Konawalik says cats have been her calling and passion for over 40 years.

"One night, my husband Nick asked me one question, 'if you took all logistics out of it - what would you do?' The answer was immediate and clear. In that moment, the light came on and I was on my path to opening Charlotte's first cat cafe! Yes, the logistics were scary. But we kept pushing past the fear, deciding instead to move forward with passion and intention - a key lesson we wanted to instill in our three teenage sons," Konawalik wrote on her website.

With the help of 299 Kickstarter backers, Mac Tabby Cat Café became Charlotte's first cat café when its doors opened on December 16, 2017.

Mac Tabby Cat Café

For $12, customers can reserve a 60-minute cat lounge experience that lets them cozy up with adoptable felines that roam freely throughout the café. You don’t need a paid admission to order from the café menu. There's also kitty-themed goodies, local art and Mac Tabby merch available to purchase.

The café partnered with local rescues "Princeton's Meow" and "Catering to Cats and Dogs".

On Tuesday they celebrated their 1,000th adoption.

"What an amazing night! The ONE THOUSANDTH CAT WAS ADOPTED. Leo Wyatt snagged the title of 1000, and gets to be brothers forever with Reddi Whip! Double adoptions are the best... but this one was epic!" the café wrote in a social media post.

Lauren Reisner holds her new kittens Leo and Reddi Whip

"We are thankful for our partnerships with both rescues as part of our story. We have been blessed since day one to be surrounded by like-minded humans with the same passion - to save cat lives!" Konawalik wrote.

"I am forever grateful to this big, beautiful universe... the way synchronicity played such a huge part in the most amazing ways, the signs that kept leading us down the right path, the trust in our guts, the journey, the timing, the gratitude, the cats, the kind humans.... the CHANCE we have been given to live a dream. It isn't taken lightly. We are get to witness two little spaces on this planet that are overflowing with love for animals... and fellow humans. I may have done the work to get it started... but each of YOU continually making Mac Tabby what it IS, and I am honored to be along for the ride with you."