Treehouse Cat Cafe: Chicago, IL, USA
Website / Social Media
Website: catcafe.treehousehumanesociety.org
Facebook: @treehousehumanesociety
Instagram: treehousehumanesociety
Twitter: @treehousecats
Cat vs Cafe (60/40)
Review of Treehouse Cat Cafe
One of the most common things I hear from people when I talk about cat rescue and adoption is how they can’t visit a shelter because it’s so sad and they would want to take all the kitties home.
On one hand, I get it. On the surface, an animal shelter seems like it would be a sad and desperate place. However, I always tell people that A) not every cat wants to live with you, and B) today’s shelter environment might surprise you.
Case in point: Treehouse Humane Society and Treehouse Cat Cafe.
Located in the Rogers Park neighborhood in Chicago, Treehouse Humane Society opened the doors to it’s state-of-the-art shelter and cat cafe in 2017. I couldn’t believe my eyes when I walked inside. The shelter section is modern, immaculate and spacious, but also incredibly cozy and cheerful with large, sunny windows and accents of color. They have done a magnificent job creating a welcoming environment for the community to come together and advance animal welfare.
The cat cafe is fairly small, but since they limit on the number of people, ours was a very relaxing experience. There were four cats in residence the day we visited: Minnie, a sweet and playful tabby, Felicia, a silky tuxedo girl, Dakota, another tabby with expressive eyes, and Dr. Jones, a cat described by the cat board in coffee terms: ‘black, robust and spicy’.
Inside the cat room, we sipped our delicious coffee, procured from the adjacent cafe space. One of the volunteers, the kind and lovely Ashley shared her experiences working with the cats and her own rescue at home- a hulking 16 pound Russian Blue rescue named Puck.
I’ve said it before, but it’s worth mentioning again. The kitty love is the best part of these visits, but meeting cat loving kindred spirits from around the world is a close second.
If you have avoided visiting a shelter for fear it would be depressing, I encourage you to pop on over to Treehouse Cat Cafe. This hybrid shelter and coffee shop proves that such an experience can actually be a darn good time.
Date Visited: 9/28/19
