I think we can all agree that 2020 was a tough year. Starting a new business in the middle of a pandemic has been trying to say the least.

In January we were full of excitement as we found the purrrfect location in the Old City Quarter.

Despite COVID worsening, we decided to sign a lease starting in April and hope for the best. There was no way we were going to lose out on this opportunity, and I was determined to make it happen no matter what.

We launched our online shop in May and kept our fingers crossed for a soft opening of our cat cafe in July.

However, we completely lost our funding due to COVID. This put us in a tough situation with a lease signed, rent still due, and expenses piling up. We had to rewrite our entire business plan and postpone the cafe side of our business.

We continued on though, and our first resident cats arrived in July!

We renovated the space throughout the summer, and renovations were finally complete in October.

We then had a soft opening and hosted our first events: pumpkin carving!

I took time off my day job in November to finally open the doors to the public and hire a team of amazing people to help make this dream a reality.

We've now been open for 6 weeks! We wouldn't be where we are today without your support, following our page, liking and commenting on our posts, shopping online and in store, visiting our cats, donating, etc.

2021 is going to be an interesting year with COVID still putting a damper on things, but we're excited nonetheless. Here are a few things we have planned:

1. We're brainstorming names for a new mempurrship program. Details to be announced. Do you have a punny name idea? We'd love to hear it!

2. We are expanding more into the pet supplies category. Cat food and litter is on the way, along with some more fun things like cat wine! And, as always, we offer FREE LOCAL DELIVERY, so you can order your cat food and litter and have it delivered right to your door for free. No need to go to the pet store during a pandemic. No need to lift heavy bags of food and litter. What brands do you want to see us sell? Let us know and we'll do our best to bring it in!

3. We have a number of events planned once COVID restrictions ease up, including cat toy making workshops, paint nights, cat drawing workshops, card making workshops, board game nights, cat yoga, and more!

4. What you're all waiting for, I know... The cafe! We had to postpone the cafe due to a lack of funding, and we're really hoping to be able to serve food and drinks (and alcoholic beverages) in 2021. The renovations required to open the cafe side cost about $50,000 though, so we're not 100% sure when we'll be able to take those steps. In the meantime, once masks are no longer required, we will be adding pre-packaged baked goods and bottled beverages to our shop.

We're always coming up with new ideas, so this is just the beginning. Subscribe to our newsletter so you can be the first to hear about what's going on!

Happy Mew Year, all! We look forward to seeing you.