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| - I think this is a really great place for anyone who isn't able to keep a cat or other pet at home for whatever reason, but still enjoys the company of an animal. I ordered a café latte (it was good) and added my name to the waiting list for the cat room. I had to wait maybe 7-8 min. or so before my turn, which was alright as I had a good view of the cats from outside the room anyway. The cats themselves were very cute and as someone who doesn't have any pets I enjoyed being able to interact with them. You can enjoy your drink while in the cat room (as long as you keep it out of the kitties reach). I went on a Sunday around 11:30 am and it wasn't too busy, but by the time I left about an hour later the place were pretty packed, so if there's anything I recommend visitors do, it's to come earlier rather than later!
**Update** 2016/05/10 So apparently there is some rumor going around that Tot Cat Café has "neglected" its cats. A former employee wrote a post on Facebook-a post that has apparently now been taken down, which I find suspicious-claiming the cats were horribly neglected by the cafe owners (underfed, not given enough water, etc.) and that she left the job because she couldn't take care of the cats by herself anymore.
This surprised me greatly, as I have visited the cafe several times now and the cats have always appeared healthy and happy, and there was always plenty of food and water in their bowls-in fact, I thought they might actually be overfed! But I decided to visit once again today, concerned that things had gone severely downhill since my last visit. I was very relieved to see that the cats presently there appeared to be in good health and spirits-in fact, they were probably the friendliest cats I've encountered there to date. I saw no signs of neglect or abuse. Everything else from my original review still stands.
However this person's post seems to have set off a new slew of complaints and accusations about the cafe and particularly its cat room-some of which I believe are justified, but others are just plain silly.
Yes, both the seating area outside the cat room and the cat room itself could use some work in terms of decorum, which is why I won't give a five-star rating. The walls of the seating area could use a cleaning, as well as some sort of posters or artwork, but to say the cat room is disgusting and an unacceptable living space is, in my opinion, ridiculous. Yes, the room sometimes smells a bit, probably because-surprise!-like all animals, including humans, cats tend to have their own scent! Thankfully, there is now a small air conditioner in the corner of the cat room which I think will help mitigate that. And yes, the fabric covering the benches and part of the floor has tears in some spots, probably because-surprise!-cats like to scratch things!
The employee also went on to say that the Toronto Humane Society has reportedly taken back the cats it had given the cafe. According to some recent CBC and Metronews articles I found discussing the issue, the director of THS has stated that all of the cats taken back were in good health, and the main reason for their severing ties with the cafe was simply due to a difference in philosophy-the non-profit Humane Society vs. a for-profit cafe-and NOT due to abuse. I know there are other animal agencies in the area, so I am eager to see which one the cafe will partner with instead.
I don't want to jump to conclusions, and if substantial evidence IS found to prove the cats are being abused, the cafe should certainly face the consequences. But I have a very hard time believing an establishment that went through so much red tape just to open up would deliberately mistreat its main attraction, especially when it was being monitored by the Toronto Humane Society. I will continue to support the cafe unless substantial evidence of animal abuse is found through a proper and thorough investigation, as I just can't put much faith in a (now deleted) Facebook post by one individual.
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