RubyCats is Raising Awareness About Cat Rescue as Toledo, Ohio's First Cat Cafe.
From Rebecca:
I invest so much of my time into rescue dogs. It started that way because the dogs could come outside to the park before I had a studio. Photos of dogs became the lifeblood of this business and I will never regret prioritizing them. But that doesn’t mean that I don’t wish I could do more. I wish I could focus on just as many cats as dogs. We have had some amazing cat clients and we are spreading the word that your felines deserve to be a part of photos too. Cats might be a little tricky to take photos of, but I am always excited for a challenge.
When planning FLUFF-uary, I decided to reach out to RubyCats, a cat cafe new to downtown Toledo. Most cat cafes partner with a local rescue or shelter and host adoptable cats in their space. Homeless and feral cats are a truly colossale issue right now. To see a cat cafe open in the area, essentially a foster home for a number of adoptable cats, was so encouraging. I really enjoyed to meeting Tallie, the director, and all of the fluffs in their care.
Keep reading to learn more about RubyCats and how it came about.
From Tallie:
Tell us a little about how Ruby Cats came about and what a cat cafe is. When Kiki our family cat was gone for 36 hours, she must’ve had some kind of adventure, because she came back and was pregnant. She had the kittens at our house, and afterwards, my youngest child, Ruby definitely didn’t wanna part with the kittens and suggested that we open a cat café! At first I scoffed, but the more I thought about it, the more I thought it was a great idea! I began to interview board members and founded a nonprofit and here we are! In the United States, a cat café is usually a rescue where the cats are all adoptable… Generally, there is some sort of offering for humans to snack on and drink, but not always. What’s unique from other rescues is that the cats are “free roaming” & there is a cozy or homelike atmosphere so people can spend time with cats in that environment.
What made you passionate about rescue cats? I had always had rescue cats for pets. About four years ago, our family had just gotten a cat, Kiki, that was recently rescued, and we had made her a spaying appointment; she was pretty young. Before that appointment she escaped the house one night. She was missing for what ended up being 36 hours. I joined websites and Facebook groups that were for lost and found pets well trying to find her. That’s when I discovered just what a problem there was with unhoused & feral cats in the Toledo area.
Tell us about the rescue you partner with. We were fortunate to be partnered with Forget Me Not Cat Rescue and they provided healthy cats with great personalities for us to open RubyCats!
What are your goals for your organization moving forward? RubyCats’ goal is to ease the burden from all of the rescues locally by housing cats that are looking for homes! We look forward to helping rescue many cats and kittens and getting them the healthcare they need & of course finding them loving families as well!
What would you like to see grow or change in the Toledo area pet community? I would like everyone to understand how important it is to spay & neuter their pets.
What was it like working with Rebecca? Rebecca was so kind and I was excited to show her our space! It was fun having her there and I can’t wait to see the photos of our feline friends!
