Seth Johnson
Looking for the purr-fect way to spend a day? The Feeline Good Cat Café offers a meow-tain of paw-sibilities for you.
The shop opened Monday in downtown Gainesville as a spot to fulfill any coffee cravings, serving drip coffee, lattes, teas and pastries—all while facilitating cat adoption.
Customers can reserve one or two-hour time slots in the Cat Room and spend the time cuddling and playing with the cats on hand. Or, you can walk in, order a drink and study at a table.
Walk-ins are accepted for the Cat Room but depend on availability.
Owner Francesca Hall, 23, said the community has been super supportive about the opening. The Cat Room was completely booked for its first day, and a lot of Tuesday’s slots were reserved as well.
Two cats were also adopted early on the first day.
“It’s overwhelming but, like, in a really good way,” Hall said. “It makes me feel really good about what I’m doing.”
The idea of opening a cat cafe came after Hall adopted her first cat Oswald from a shelter during the peak of the pandemic. She then visited a cat cafe and got hooked on the idea.
“I was like, ‘You know what. This is a really good idea,’” Hall said.
She began researching the business visiting more cat cafes. While at The Witty Whisker Cat Café in St. Augustine, she adopted her second cat, Stevie.
Hall, who is from DeBary, began looking for a spot to start her own cafe in September 2020, originally wanting to open in Austin, Texas. But, she settled for Gainesville, which she called a “mini-Austin.”
She found the space 201 SE 2nd Pl, Suite 113 in January without knowing much about the city and began the construction process before moving to Gainesville in March.
Hall partnered with the Humane Society of North Central Florida (HSNCF) for the cat adoption side of the business, a model she had seen in Savannah, Georgia. Hall receives her cats through HSNCF, and the furry friends stay at the cafe where they roam the Cat Room with all its toys. Customers can come play with the cats and, if they want, adopt one on the spot after filling out the paperwork.
“I just really want to find these cats home,” Hall said.
