UPDATE: July 8, 9:45 p.m.
Whiskers Cat Cafe has met its goal. The Kickstarter successfully raised $20,708.
UPDATE: July 8, 8:40 p.m.
With Kickstarter, it's all or nothing. The campaign has less than an hour left. Whiskers Cat Cafe needs to raise an additional $1,500 in order to become a reality. If it doesn't, it gets none of the funds raised, said creator Audrey Boese.
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They started in Asia, and then made their way to major U.S. cities like New York and San Francisco. Now, Kansas City, not wanting to be left behind, will soon be home to the ever popular cat cafe.
It's the brain child of Audrey Boese, a local cat enthusiast who's seen the cat cafe concept take off in other markets.
"A cat cafe has all the perks of a normal cafe - coffee, tea and baked goods - but you have the added benefit of having the option to go into a cat lounge and interact with cats," explained Boese, who owns an all-black cat. "Whatever your comfort level is: if it's sitting on a couch and enjoying love and cuddles and getting your fix, then that'll be more than available, or there will be some active cats there if you want a play session."
"The cafe will be set up to where the cafe is separate and you will have the option to walk into the cat lounge," she said. "In the cat lounge you will be able to interact with all the cats that are available, whether that's snuggling or playtime. Really just getting to see their personalities take place rather than the stressful shelter environment they would normally be in."
In order to fund the startup, Boese is relying on the public's help with a Kickstarter campaign. She hopes to raise $20,000 over the next month or so. If she raises more, she’ll put it back into the café by making upgrades to the ventilation system and cat rooms. In return, donors will get some cool kickbacks like mugs, T-shirts and parties at the café.
Click here to visit the Whiskers Cat Cafe's Kickstarter page.
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Terra Hall can be reached at terra.hall@kshb.com.
You can also follow her on Twitter.
