Cat cafe owner posts about having no customers; then has busiest days since opening
by SAMANTHA READ, NBC 10 NEWS
TIVERTON, R.I. (WJAR) — The owner of a café in Tiverton who made a post about having no customers one day was pleasantly surprised at the reaction.
Since 2021, ‘Bajah’s Cat Cafe’ located at137 Main Road in Tiverton has served as a cat adoption facility and café.
Inside of the establishment that’s located on the Fall River, Massachusetts, and Tiverton, Rhode Island, border, there is a room dedicated to getting cats adopted.
Fifteen of them at a time roam freely with hopes of finding a forever home.
Fifteen cats at a time roam freely with hopes of finding a forever home. (WJAR)
“Since opening it has been a rollercoaster journey but it’s been fun. We’ve been learning a lot and we’ve been helping cats which is our main priority,” said Amanda Souza. “People, they can come in and meet the cats from Forever Paws Animal Shelter, which we’ve been partnering with for the last 3 years we’ve been open, which is fantastic, so they bring in the cats for us and we give them a great place to show off.”
With a fee of $8 per person and a reservation, people are granted 30 minutes of interaction with adoptable cats.
There’s also a full-fledged café that offers an arrayof drinks and food that can be brought in during that time too.
“We take care of the cats fully while they’re here so if there’s any medical expenses, food, the whole 9 we take care of all of those expenses,” said Souza. “So when you come in and you purchase a coffee or a tea, those proceeds go to help those cats.”
To date, Souza said the café has helped home about 500 cats and counting.
“Lately the pet population and the cat population has actually increased,” she said. “Birth rates are up, shelters are packed full, so any resources they can get the cats out of the shelter and in a great space like this that socializes the cats and gets them ready for a home is fantastic.”
With a fee of $8 per person and a reservation, people are granted 30 minutes of interaction with adoptable cats. (WJAR)
While Souza is proud of the work she’s done with rehoming the cats, she said the café part of her business has been slow lately.
“I don’t think people realize that we’re a café. You don’t need a reservation to come in the café section you can come in and still support us without going in that cat room by coming in and having a cup of coffee and a breakfast sandwich,” said Souza. “I try to do my best at keeping prices reasonable because at the end of the day it’s about the cats.”
Typically, Bajah’s opens at 7 a.m. and one day a little more than a week ago, Souza said she started panicking.
“It was almost 10:15-10:30 and not one person had come in the café,” she said. “I was in freak out mode I’mthinking, ‘Oh my god we’re going to fail, we’re going to have to close the doors, what can I do? How can I fix this.'”
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Souza said she realizes times are tough for people.Since she’s poured her heart and soul into her business in an effort to save cats, she knew she needed to do something.
“You always see, ‘Oh we’re going out of business.’ I don’t want to be that person. I want to stop that before it even gets to that point because if I stop I don’t have that for those cats,” she said. “So I’m like, I just have to ask. That’s the only thing I can do is ask my community to support me and support the cause because at the end of the day you don’t have to love me, but you have to be able to love those cats.”
Souza posted on the Bajah’s Cat Café Facebook page in part:
Dear Tiverton Residents,
We really need your support! Bajah’s Cat Café has been part of this community for 3 years, and it’s disheartening that our café section isn’t getting the love it deserves from our own town. As of 7 AM today, not a single customer has walked through our door.
We offer delicious coffee, tea, pastries, and breakfast sandwiches—everything you need to start your day right. We even serve breakfast sandwiches all day long!
We’re open seven days a week as early as 7am and offer easy ordering through DoorDash or directly from our website.
Thank you, Tiverton!
The post went viral.Hundreds of people commented or shared it.
Since 2021, ‘Bajah’s Cat Cafe’ located at 137 Main Road in Tiverton has served as a cat adoption facility and café.
Souza said she never imagined what happened next.
“It was so crazy. It was so crazy that the door handle fell off my door,” she said. “People came Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday I mean we’ve never seen sales like that before ever. The community’s love and outpour was amazing.”
“Sometimes you don’t realize how many people are behind you and support you,” she added. “To see the outpouring, it was crazy. It was just beautiful. I don’t think in a million years I could’ve ever wished for something as amazing as that.”
Souza said currently she’s in the process of making the café a full cat rescue where she hopes to bring in even more cats.
To her knowledge hundreds of cats are euthanizedeach year and she wants to be a part of the solution with the help of her community.
“In 2023 alone approximately 3.2 million cats were taken in by U.S. shelters. It’s a huge number,” said Souza. “And if we can do something to help our little community, it’s going to make a big difference.”