Hang out with adoptable kitties at Cats N’At in Wexford
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If yinz are looking to adopt a kitty, hightail it dahn to Cats N’At in Wexford.
Since opening Dec. 5 at 171 Church Road, co-owners Kim McMillan and Alex Stelitano have helped 23 furballs find forever homes.
The self-confessed “crazy cat ladies” met while working at Animal Friends, a no-kill shelter in Ohio Township. When the pandemic hit and they got laid off, they didn’t want to put their personal feline rescue mission on hold.
They launched an Indiegogo campaign and, with the help of more than 250 backers, were able to make the leap into business ownership and land on their feet.
Cats N’At has a small boutique on the ground floor. It’s filled with kitty-themed collectibles and crafts, as well as prepackaged snacks for cats and their bipedal pals. Folks are invited to come in and shop or hang out and play board games.
McMillan and Stelitano, who were regulars at the now-shuttered Colony Cafe in the Strip District, hope to offer hot beverages and grub in the future, but, for now, their focus is on adoption.
The company works with Just Fur The Love Of Cats, a North Hills-based rescue organization that provides the adoptable animals.
At any given time, there are four resident felines occupying the second floor of Cats N’At.
They all have been vaccinated, spayed or neutered, microchipped and dewormed and are FIV-FeLV-negative.
Additional foster cats often will spend a day at the business to give them more exposure to potential adopters but return to their temporary abodes at closing time.
For $8 a person, up to six guests can hang out in the adorably decorated cat room for 30 minutes. The space is filled with natural light from big windows, and there are scratching posts, perches, toys and comfy napping spots galore.
If you make a connection with a button-nosed tabby or calico, McMillan and Stelitano will talk you through the application process and ask you to sleep on it for a night. Kittens are $150; if you take home a pair, the price is $250. Cats a year or older are yours for $100.
The owners say it’s hard to say goodbye to Cats N’At residents, but they take comfort in that they’re going to loving homes and can keep in touch through social media. New pet owners are encouraged to tag Cats N’At in photos they take.
“We try to provide a lot of instruction for first-time cat owners,” says McMillan, who, like Stelitano, has her own clowder of cats at home. “We are available 24/7 if you need us.”