Gem City Catfé: Dayton's Cat Café and Community Space
Created by Karin Gudal-Johnson
Gem City Catfé is a comfortable coffee house in Dayton, OH, home to adoptable rescue cats, with a community focus.
Latest Updates from Our Project:
Celebrate our one year anniversary with us!
about 5 years ago
– Sat, Feb 09, 2019 at 10:28:24 PM
Hi friends!
We had an awesome first year! We did 124 adoptions, started teaching our free TNR classes as well as trap rentals, met Lil BUB and Kitten Lady!
A huge thank you for your support and making this possible! We'd love to celebrate with you, this Saturday the 16th at 1pm! We'll have:
free catered food from OmNom and cake from Batter Up (including vegan options!)
a photo book of our story for you to sign
silent auction items to fundraise for Gem City Kitties
community cat shelter building from 1-4 upstairs
time capsule for you to write wishes for next year
pawrtner wall is installed and ready to view!
Hope to see you there! If you didn't get your rewards picked up or shipped to you (maybe an old address or something), we can look it up for you and get everything sorted out!
Thank you all again for making a difference for cats in Dayton!
- Karin
Everything shipped!
almost 6 years ago
– Mon, Jun 25, 2018 at 11:23:16 PM
Hi Friends!
Almost all of the rewards are shipped! We have a few addresses that have changed but the majority of you should have received everything! Thank you so incredibly much for your patience with us and our project. We look forward to showing you our hard work in person and introducing you to our kitties!
We're currently at 64 adoptions and we just put in a new patio!
Thank you all again for bringing this idea to life!
- Karin
Learning how to ship things - rewards coming soon!
almost 6 years ago
– Wed, Jun 13, 2018 at 07:47:03 PM
Hi friends!
Thank you for your patience and support! We've been open 6 months, although it feels like it's only been a few days because time has been flying by!
We've done 58 adoptions since we opened! We launched our TNR Certification classes this Spring and we've been able to teach people each month how to do TNR and advocate for community cats, as well as rent traps out for free! Next week, we have a Bottle Baby Foster class to teach people how to care for abandoned kittens in need and connect them with foster opportunities!
All of this has been a huge learning curve for myself and our team, and I apologize for the delay we've had to get rewards shipped. We're so grateful for the support you gave us to get open and we couldn't have done it without your help.
We have all the prep ready for our ship station and we'll be navigating the process this week! You'll be getting notifications with tracking numbers soon!
If you backed at the $30 level or above and haven't used your free entry and free drink yet, your coupons to do so are still valid! The coupon code would be the phone number you used for the Kickstarter!
If you haven't had time to visit yet, we'd love to see you soon!
Thank you all! - Karin
GRAND OPENING - TOMORROW!
over 6 years ago
– Mon, Jan 01, 2018 at 07:21:11 PM
Wilpur Wright is excited to see you!
Hi Friends!
After months of waiting, we're finally ready to open - tomorrow! We are so excited to share the space with you. Thank you all for your support and patience with the delays we experienced. Here's all the details about visiting us! The link to book is at the bottom, in an effort to have everyone read all this important stuff we wrote.
Cafe side vs cat side
The cafe and coffee bar are fully separated from the cat lounge by two doors. We were able to install separate air units as well, so there is zero risk of allergies acting up for anyone with cat allergies. You can come in to the cafe side and get a coffee at any time during our business hours! We do take walk-ins for the cat lounge, but we encourage reservations to make sure you get a spot. We only allow 12 people in the lounge at a time to ensure a stress free environment for the cats, which is why access is limited.
About the cat lounge
The cat lounge is two separate rooms with multiple seating areas. The cat lounge entry rate is $10 for non-members and $5 for members (more on membership down below!). We currently have 11 cats, although we will try to have 12 most of the time. 3 cats are our permanent residents - Mr. Baby, Wilpur Wright (in the header) and Meowrville Wright (below). The residents help keep the communal stress levels low, which helps keep our adoptable cats from getting colds and spreading them to each other. If you find a cat you love, you can fill out an adoption application online and we can process the adoption in house!
Location Access
Due to delays in city permitting, our parking lot approval came only recently and now the ground is frozen. For now we recommend street parking on Henry, Dutoit, or High St. There is a ramp to the back door, but due to the snow, it will likely be easier to access via the front sidewalk which leads to the back along the porch. This would also be the way to enter from 5th St, although you can use the porch door if stairs are not a problem.
Backer Info
Add-on merch - If you haven't picked up your merch yet, just let us know during your visit and we'll grab it for you!
People that live out of the local area / shipping - We will start shipping merch shortly - we're so sorry for the delays here. We'll send an update when we're packing it up and we'll attach tracking when it goes out so that you know!
$10 tier and above - Pawrtner Wall - This was a challenge, as we had way more names than expected and they wouldn't fit in our planned location or go up the way we planned. We are working with a local company to make a giant vinyl sticker that will cover the whole back entry area near the stairs. It will be installed very soon and we'll share photos as soon as we get it installed.
$30 tier and above - Early Entry - If you weren't able to book your visit yet, your pledge will still cover a visit and drinks of choice for two at no additional cost. To read more, click here.
$50 tier and above - T-Shirt - If you haven't picked up your t-shirt yet, let us know during your visit and we'll grab it for you!
$100 tier and above - Membership / Name a Cat - We have a big list of all the names and we're working through it now! Some of you should have already received emails with the photos of the cat with your chosen name. When we use your name, we'll send you an email and a photo of the kitty!
For membership, you should have received an email with your coupon code to use for your online reservations. [Spoiler - It's your last name if you didn't get our email.] Please let us know if you have any issues booking with your member code. As a reminder, members can enter the cat lounge for $5 instead of $10, and can use the member rate for any guests visiting with them.
Emerald Mug - We have the mugs, but our vinyl logo on our prototype did not withstand washing very well. We are making a new attempt to create something more durable and will have it for you by the end of January. For now, we'll still hook you up with unlimited drinks!
After navigating final details, we decided to form a new 501(c)3 non-profit cat rescue, Gem City Kitties. This allows us to partner with multiple local rescues and shelters, including our original partner, Humane Society of Greater Dayton. We are able to help foster based rescues get exposure, pull from county shelters, or transfer from multiple rescues as they need it with our own rescue. If you'd like to read more about Gem City Kitties or support our efforts, please click here.
Hopefully we covered it all!
We're really excited to see you all soon and share our community space with you. Our goal for our first year is 192 adoptions - what better time to start than a brand new, fresh 2018. Cheers!
As promised, there's the link! Questions? Reach out via email at [email protected]
Now Booking - Early Entry!
over 6 years ago
– Wed, Dec 27, 2017 at 05:23:44 PM
Now taking Early Entry Reservations!
Hi friends! It's been a long wait but we're excited to finally open the Catfe doors for our Early Entry visits! All the exciting details are below!
Dates: December 28 - 31. If you can't attend these dates, your coupon codes will still work for any reservations later!
Details: Your Kickstarter pledge (for those of you that backed at $30 and above) includes a visit for two to the cat lounge with drinks of your choice.
Other Rewards: If you have other rewards to pick up, like T-Shirts or merch, we'll be happy to get those for you during your visit!
The rest of the details are on our website, as well as the booking calendar! If you backed from a distance, we'll begin shipping rewards the week after our public grand opening.
