Looking for the purrfect spot for a cup of coffee in Paducah? Tortitude Cat Café is looking to create a cozy, inviting space where people can meet and adopt new cats and grab a locally-sourced snack.
Tortitude opened the lounge section of its facility Saturday after months of planning and construction. The café section is expected to open later this month pending a health inspection and some renovations.
The café is the first of its kind in Paducah, and one of just a paw-full in the state of Kentucky.
Owner and founder Tori Rodgers said the full opening – set for later this month – can’t come a meow-ment too soon.
“We want everyone here to get that experience, we want the cats here to have that experience,” Rodgers said. “That's one of the mottos that we have: ‘It’s all about the cats.’”
The café will offer a selection of prepackaged food and drinks from local businesses like Kirchhoff’s Bakery and Deli. For food and safety reasons, each section of the facility has its own HVAC unit to ensure that potential allergens from the lounge area don’t enter the café.
The café’s soft opening also included a large adoption event led by The McGangsters, a nonprofit volunteer cat rescue group based in McCracken County.
Every cat in the café will be up for adoption, with total fees expected to be around $30. Around twenty cats and kittens, all of which have been cared for by The McGangsters, will stay at the café at any given time and will be rotated out as they get adopted.
McGangsters co-founder Jim Gatlin said being able to house a portion of their rescues at Tortitude will open up more room for them to take in new ones.
“That’s twenty more cats that we can take in off the streets,” Gatlin said. “That’s our goal: To save as many as we can.”
The cats in the shop have all been given dewormer, flea and tick medication and their first round of vaccinations. Each has also been screened for both FIV and FeLV. The McGangsters have also offered to cover the cost of spaying or neutering any kitten under six months old when they reach the appropriate age.
Tortitude will remain closed to the public until construction on the café side is finished later this month. Rodgers said updates will be posted on the café’s website.
