Estimated read time: 4-5 minutes
BOUNTIFUL — A new space seeks to share the joy of cat companionship with Utahns by combining a peaceful, quiet work space with the experience of being around cats.
Fawn's Family Cat Rescue and Lounge opened its doors about a month ago in Bountiful. The modest but cozy space offers a spot where cat lovers can come to play with 22 cats that call the lounge home — and also get some work done.
The lounge serves another purpose as a home for disabled cats, as well as advocating for their adoptions. Every cat at the lounge is up for adoption, explained Areah Watterson, executive director at Fawn's Family Rescue, a nonprofit that runs the lounge.
Some of the lounge's current residents include a 2-year-old cat named Nomad, who is partially paralyzed from the waist down but loves to climb the crates that house the lounge's kittens, and a 6-year-old cat named Houdini, who has no eyes and has managed to map out the whole lounge in a way that allows him to get around without any issues.
"Everybody in here is adoptable; they're also fixed and microchipped," Watterson said, explaining that part of the rescue's mission is to make the process of adoption more accessible and appealing to Utahns looking for a pet. "However, there's no pressure if you don't want to adopt. You can come in here to play with the cats and hang out with them."
Inside, visitors have access to table space, outlets for charging their devices and an overall serene environment to get their work done and possibly relieve some stress. Visitors can also buy prepackaged drinks and snacks. There is an entry fee of $6 or $9 depending on whether you plan to spend half-an-hour or an hour at the lounge, but entry fees are waived for visitors planning to adopt a cat from the lounge.
Watterson said a lot of the lounge's visitors are people who miss having a cat and can't have one because they live in an apartment building that doesn't allow them. "People come in here as a way to destress," she said.
In the month the lounge has been open, it's facilitated the adoption of nine cats. Though, the number may be as high as 12, according to Gary Shu, Watterson's husband and an integral partner in the nonprofit's operations.
Shu said he made many of the renovations to the space himself, with the comfort of the cats in mind, giving them lots of surfaces to play on and even access to tucked-away sections, when the cats are feeling overwhelmed and need time to themselves.
"We want to find each of these guys a forever home," Watterson said, referencing the current situation at shelters in northern Utah, which are finding themselves overwhelmed with animals. "People really should adopt right now because the shelters are overflowing. It's a problem."
Local rescues like Fawn's Family Rescue are working to help alleviate the pressure animal shelters are dealing with by fostering animals facilitating the adoption of animals that need a home. Watterson explained, in order for an animal to be spayed, microchipped or checked by a veterinarian, they need to have a foster home first.
"You can't really see a cat's full personality at a shelter," she said, explaining that cats at shelters often break down or become fearful because of how loud and chaotic shelters can be. At the lounge, however, all of the cats seem to love getting to know visitors because they are in a more relaxing and quiet environment. "Here, they have a safe haven to be who they are," Watterson added.
She has rehabilitated previously feral cats — that once lived outside and had become completely averse to human contact — into cats that now adore human contact. The lounge is currently home to several cats that were once feral but are now loving companions looking for a permanent home.
Fawn's Cat Rescue and Lounge is looking to further engage with the local community by hosting events, like cat yoga and painting with cats, that gather cat lovers for a good time, and to introduce locals to the cats that are currently adoptable at the lounge.
