Wichita’s first cat cafe opens and is the purr-fect hangout for the feline friendly
In a cat-tastic and totally paw-some development for fans of the feline, Wichita’s first cat cafe has quietly opened its doors.
Noah Souza and Julia Hardenburger’s Snick’s Cat Cafe — and the 12 up-for-adoption cats who live and play there — are now accepting visitors at 8336 E. 21st St., which is in the Shops at Tallgrass. They officially opened their online reservations late Wednesday night and already had 100 bookings by Thursday morning.
This morning, Wichita Eagle photographer Jaime Green and I were the first customers through the door for the cafe’s opening day, and the owners gave us an inside look at how the business will operate.
Souza and Hardenburger, high school sweethearts and longtime cat lovers, said they decided to open the cafe as a tribute to their late tabby cat, Snicker, who died of lymphoma in 2022 at age 16.
The couple first announced their plans for the cafe in March and have been working on it ever since. It’s taken longer than they wanted, and people have been impatient, they said. They’ve been deluged with people sending messages or popping in to find out when the cafe will be opening. They also were overwhelmed with job applicants: 200 people applied for the cafe’s openings, Hardenburger said.
The couple designed their 3,400-square-foot space with three different areas. At the entrance is a bright cafe decorated with vintage furniture. It sells hot, iced and blended coffee drinks plus teas and pastries. (See the menu below.)
A bit farther back is a retail area stocked with all types of merchandise for cats and cat people. Not only does the shop stock cat toys, cat strollers, cat leashes, and backpacks cats can ride in, but it also has cat jewelry, cat clothing, cat decor and cat art.
The main attraction, though, is the cat lounge, where those who want to interact with actual feline friends can hang out in 50-minute, reserved blocks that cost $15 a person. The lounge is in a separate room from the cafe, but it’s enclosed in glass so all the action is visible from the cafe.
Cat lounge visitors, who must be at least 7 years old, can bring their food and drink into the lounge with them if they choose, but they must adhere to a list of rules posted at the entrance. They’ll be asked to wash their hands, to speak in gentle voices and to refrain from picking up the cats and climbing on the cat furniture. Waking sleeping cats also is a no-no.
Though the cafe is allowed to have up to 19 cats living in the lounge, at the moment, it has 12. Among the opening-day residents are brother tuxedo cats Tommy Lee and Nikki Sixx, who would prefer to be adopted together; a playful kitten named Trixie; a regal tabby named Cabbage Patch; and an orange kitty named Reed.
The cats, who come from the Wichita Animal Action League, are all available for adoption, and their photos and bios are listed on the cafe’s website. People who decide to adopt a cat from the cafe won’t take it home right away but can get the adoption process started while they’re there. (All the cats at the cafe are vaccinated, spayed or neutered and have microchips.)
Kitty paradise
Those who enter the lounge will discover a paradise for cats — and they might wonder if the cats actually want to be adopted away from such a magical place. (The cafe does have two resident cats who will live there permanently: a rowdy tabby named Skrunch and a chubby tuxedo named Charlie.)
The area is fitted with lots of custom cat furniture, including bird house-shaped cubbies attached to the walls and a tree whose branches are tied with ropes the cats can climb. Cat toys are scattered everywhere.
The lounge features plenty of places for human visitors to sit, too, and the cats put on quite a show. They’ve figured out how to use the furniture and are constantly jumping on to perches, chasing toys or each other, and hopping into visitor’s laps to beg for rubs. Pro tip: Hardenburger recommends that people who want to see the cats at their most active book their visits during the morning hours.
People don’t have to interact with cats at the cat cafe: None are out roaming in the main cafe area or in the retail space. If they want, customers can just stop in for coffee. There’s even a large table reserved in the cat-free area for groups that want to have meetings there.
But those who do want to play with the feline residents should book appointments online, the owners said. They’ll take walk-ins but can’t guarantee there will be openings. Only 14 visitors are allowed in the cat lounge at a time.
Some people have expressed disappointment that younger kids aren’t allowed in the lounge, but the owners say that they will eventually organize story times and other events that will give kids under 7 time to play with the cats. Also, if a family is seriously considering adopting one of the cats, there’s a separate room where younger family members can attend a meet-and-greet.
Snick’s owners also are planning other events for the lounge, including cat yoga sessions.
People who want to work with the cats can get volunteer jobs through WAAL, the owners said. They’ll be needing people who can help keep the lounge clean and the cats happy.
Feeling the love
Since Snicker’s death, Hardenburger and Souza have adopted two new kitties to live with them at home: Felix and Pippa. Their images are incorporated into a painting behind the cash register in the retail area, as is Snicker’s.
Opening day was emotional for the couple. Standing in the retail area of the cafe, they said it had been hitting them all morning that they’d finally achieved a longtime dream. Glancing at a framed photo of Snicker that sits on the counter near the cash register, Hardenburger said that the cafe’s namesake also was on her mind.
“We are feeling the love today, I think from him,” she said. “We’ve definitely teared up a few times just today.”
Snick’s Cat Cafe is open now but will celebrate its grand opening on Dec. 11 — and Souza promises some baby kittens will be present for the event.
Reservations for Snick’s Cat Cafe are available at www.snickscatcafe.com/booknow
Snick’s Cat Cafe menu
This story was originally published December 5, 2024 at 1:07 PM.
.jpg)