In a little building on the corner of downtown Bloomsburg,
you're welcomed with a window filled with curious little fur balls of all different colors,
also known as cats! Lounging around on scratching posts waiting for
someone to play with them or even better, adopt! Cats in Bloom was founded in 2019, rescuing as many cats as possible and caring for them while trying to get them adopted. Even if you aren't looking to adopt, Cats in Bloom has made it clear that anyone is allowed to come in and give all of the felines love and attention and give yourself time to relax with these kitties on their website!
"I had found Dinero in front of a Dollar General, he was known for trying to break into the store and I could not resist taking him in and trying to find him a new home, even if he's the naughtiest." Michelle Yefko comments while letting out a laugh and looking over at the orange peacefully sleeping cat. (Figure 1). Michelle the co-founder talks about how she started up this business with the founder DiAnne Leonard and some other friends.
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| Dinero and his buddy sleeping! |
"We met a couple of years ago at a local shelter doing rescue work, and then one day I saw this building for rent and knew with what money we had, that we needed to buy it. After successfully getting the place, I had asked the landlord about the idea of a cat cafe, and he was all for it. That he had heard of so many thoughts like a nail salon and a mini grocery store, but this had stuck with him the hardest since he was a self-proclaimed cat daddy, it was accepted, and we started our journey of helping stray and abandoned cats find a new home." Michelle tells me with the most genuine look on her face.
Walking into Cats in Bloom, the first thing you notice is one of the volunteers or one of the founders sitting behind a little desk. Behind them is a large rule board, mostly rules to help keep the cats feeling comfortable in their temporary home. Some rules you must abide by are.
1.) Please do not disturb our cat naps!
2.) Please refrain from picking us up.
3.) Be gentle, be calm, and purr on!
With multiple volunteers helping foster some cats, you get to see them helping run the place by greeting newcomers (me!) and showing customers the way to different rooms like the kitten room. Admission for one-hour costs five dollars to help run the place and give the necessities to the cats. When walking into the kitten room, when walking into the kitten room, it is filled with colorful couches and cat necessities like cat sofas, scratch posts, and toys to keep the kittens busy if they have the "zoomies". Even with the rule of do not disturb the kitty naps, there are multiple cats always awake and patiently waiting for someone to give them company.
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| Swayze |
"It's always such a refreshing feeling getting to see the regulars that come in and see them bringing their friends that are new to the place. And it's a whole different wonderful feeling seeing one of our cats get adopted." I had the opportunity to witness a couple that attends Bloomsburg University put in adoption papers for the beautiful grey and white colored cat named Swayze (Figure 2).
"We're living in an apartment right now and here all year round, and I think it was time to start looking for a cat, even though he's the most cautious cat, when I saw him come out from under the couch, I knew it was game over" The lady vocalizes while talking to Michelle.
(Video 1)
With Cats in Bloom only being founded only four years ago, over a month ago they had one of their biggest accomplishments that could happen, with over 1,000 cats being adopted! (Video) With only a group of friends just wanting to help cats at a shelter, turned into a very successful nonprofit organization that has helped sick, abandoned, stray and abused cats find homes that they'll forever be able to be themselves and getting lots of love with it!
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