They’ve set out to save the world, one cat at a time.
Deanne Iovan is the Executive Director of the
Ferndale Cat Shelter, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit which also houses the Catfe Lounge. Iovan started as a volunteer with the cat shelter, and proposed the idea of opening up a storefront lounge to create a less stressful environment for their cats.
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Steve Koss
The group rented a space on Livernois, which at the time, was not as bustling as it is present-day.
“Cat cafes were gaining popularity around the world and in the U.S., and we were the first cat cafe to open in Michigan in 2015,” Iovan says.
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Steve Koss
“We started planning events there — birthday parties, yoga, bingo, and anything to draw people in from the community to hang out with the kitties and raise funds for the shelter.”
After seven years, the Catfe Lounge bought a building about a block away from its original location, and reopened in January 2023.
Since its inception, the no-kill, Ferndale Cat Shelter has provided help — anything from medical care, spaying/neutering, finding adoptive homes, and trap-neuter-release programs for about 6,000 cats in the Metro Detroit area.
“I have always said there should be a cat cafe in every town,” Iovan says. “It’s healthier for the cats, it helps to socialize them to more people, and it’s less stressful than being in a cage.”
”I think it’s great that there’s, like, 10 cat cafes in Michigan now.”
While many cat cafes are for-profit endeavors that partner with a cat shelter, the Ferndale Cat Shelter is unique in that every admission fee goes towards the care of the cats.
The
Catfe Lounge invites the general public to the cafe for a $15 admission fee, where they can enjoy coffee, tea, juice, and friendly felines.
With only three employees, part of the organization’s responsibilities are completed by about 60 volunteers, who work on adoptions, events, fundraising, cleaning, boarding, and more. The shelter is administered by a Board of cat-lover volunteers, and relies solely upon donations and an occasional grant.
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Steve KossAmy Ingalls.
One such cat admirer — Amy Ingalls, adopted a cat from the shelter, and soon became more involved in the programming side of things, hosting yoga with cats.
Held on two Sunday mornings a month at 10 a.m. and two Thursday evenings at 7 p.m., cat yoga sessions run about an hour long. These
$20 classes, hosted in the
Catfe Lounge, are suitable for all ages and all experience levels, although kids should be accompanied by adults.
“I lead a hatha style, gentle yoga practice,” she says. “We might start from the ground, work our way up standing, and then back down to the ground. It’s just casual, low-pressure, accessible poses that focus on mindfulness and alignment.”
”People bring their own mats, and it’s in the actual shelter space. They clear out all the furniture and you’re in the space where the shelter cats move around and can roam around.”
Cats are naturally good stretchers and breathers, both qualities that make them suitable yoga companions. Ingalls says yoga with cats is a calming way to connect with animals who are inherently observant of their surroundings.
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Steve Koss
“Everybody leaves more relaxed when they come in, which is personally my goal,” Ingalls says.
The cat shelter brought in yoga with cats as part of its public programming including bingo and birthday parties, to help increase the community’s exposure to the nonprofit.
“When you’re running a nonprofit, you’re trying to think of ways to raise money and trying everything, you throw stuff against the wall to see what actually sticks,” Iovan says.
”Yoga has been one of those things that has been consistently popular in the community.”
Each session is a mix of age ranges, abilities, first-timers and repeat yogis.
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Steve Koss
Although folks might immediately fall in love with a cat during yoga, they can’t necessarily leave with one that day. The
adoption process is lengthy, but for good reason — to really match the right human with the right feline companion.
The shelter typically checks in on vet histories and conducts Facetime home visits to ensure the proper living arrangements await in a furever home.
“We really are trying to create a community,” Iovan says, “not just people who love cats, but to also have a space for people in the community to do a lot of things.”
”We want people to have a reason to come in here, to support the cats, but to also broaden our reach in the community as much as possible. I hope we continue on this path.”
The Catfe Lounge is open Wednesday-Sunday from noon to 5 p.m.
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All photos by Steve Koss.