REGINA — It’s not often you see cats roaming inside a café, but Chelsey Legendre’s love for animals and her dream of opening a coffee shop created a unique pairing.
Legendre opened Excalipurr Cat Café nearly eight years ago with two separate spaces.
“So one side is just like a normal coffee shop. You can come in, you can grab a coffee, or grab a treat. The other side is our cat room, where, if you pay admission, we do reservations on the hour.”
The room designated for cats includes furniture, hammocks, TVs and more.
“The cats are our main focus, and they're being happy and healthy and enriched, but we also wanted to make a space that was comfortable for our guests.”
Legendre described cats as the cheapest therapy one can find in the city.
“That warmth and that gentle energy that they bring. It's just calming in itself.”
Each cat comes from Scraps Moose Jaw, with whom Legendre has partnered for years.
People can adopt a cat for $175 by contacting Scraps Moose Jaw.
“Our cats are all spayed and neutered, up to date on all their vaccines, so they're pretty much ready to go.”
Through years of partnership with local humane societies, more than 600 cats who stayed at Excalipurr Cat Café have been adopted.
“We have an adoption wall where we post all the pictures of our kitties that have been adopted with their new families.”
Excalipurr Cat Café is the only one located in southern Saskatchewan, with another currently operating in Saskatoon.
“It is hard to run this, even in a city like Regina, the population is hard to maintain.”
Legendre is unsure of her café’s future, as her lease expires in two years and the building is currently up for sale.
“We would love to have somebody come along and buy the building. If not, I would either move the space and start fresh after 10 years, or I would close the doors and potentially open at a later date somewhere else.”
