Crumbs and Whiskers explained

Alt:Crumbs logo
Caption:Crumbs and Whiskers logo
Formation:[1]
Type:Cat café
Affiliations:Homeward Trails Animal Rescue
Stray Cat Alliance
Remarks:Financed via Kickstarter: Link
Crumbs and Whiskers
Founder:Kanchan Singh
Vat Id:(for European organizations) -->
Location:3211 M St NW, 20007
7924 Melrose Ave, 90048
Region:Washington metropolitan area
Los Angeles metropolitan area
Owner:Kanchan Singh
Chetan Singh
Website:

Crumbs and Whiskers is a small business which operates cat cafés that foster rescue cats and offer cafe amenities, in, and Los Angeles, California. Crumbs & Whiskers partners with rescues who save cats at risk of euthanasia in high kill shelters and cats facing homelessness on the streets.

Crumbs and Whiskers opened its first cat café in Washington on June 20, 2015; this was the first cat café to open in the Washington metropolitan area.[2] [3] [4] [5] The Washington, D.C., café is partnered with Homeward Trails Animal Rescue, and provides a living space for around 20 to 25 cats at a time.[6] [7] Through the partnership arrangement, the Homeward Trails provides vaccinated and vetted cats to Crumbs and Whiskers, which functions as a foster home for the cats until they are adopted.[8]

The Los Angeles café opened on September 30, 2016, and was the first cat café to open in the Los Angeles metropolitan area.[9] [10] The Los Angeles café is partnered with Stray Cat Alliance, a Los Angeles–based animal rescue which provides cats for the café. Similar to the Washington, D.C., café, the Los Angeles café offers a living space for the cats until they are adopted.

Crumbs and Whiskers uses an online booking system for scheduling visits and offers a fixed admission price per visit.[11] [12]

Startup funding

The business founder, Kanchan Singh, opted to finance the venture by crowdfunding through a Kickstarter project with a target, an amount which she was initially uncertain that she could raise. The Crumbs and Whiskers Kickstarter project reached its funding target less than a day after it launched, and doubled this amount prior to the project deadline. The campaign ended with 705 backers and raised a total of $35,881 for the café.[13]

Notes and References

  1. News: Perry Stein. Meet the woman who left her consulting job to open D.C.'s first cat cafe. The Washington Post. March 29, 2015. February 6, 2015.
  2. News: Perry Stein. Not-yet-open D.C. cat cafe raises serious money in 1 day. The Washington Post. March 29, 2015. March 9, 2015.
  3. News: Maura Judkis. So, how would a cafe crawling with adorable kittens pass a D.C. health inspection?. The Washington Post. March 29, 2015. November 20, 2014.
  4. News: Courtney Pomeroy. D.C.'s Cat Cafe, Crumbs and Whiskers, Makes Strides Toward Opening This Year. CBS. March 29, 2015. March 23, 2015.
  5. Web site: Rachel Nania. Founder shares plans for D.C.'s first cat café, Crumbs and Whiskers. Washington's Top News. March 29, 2015. February 18, 2015.
  6. News: Caroline Tucker. Cat cafe pounces forward in D.C.. ABC7. March 29, 2015. March 28, 2015. November 30, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20201130200927/https://wjla.com/news/local/cat-cafe-pounces-forward-in-d-c--112694.
  7. Web site: Jeff Clabaugh. D.C.'s first cat cafe (yes, a cafe with cats) opens this month. Washington Business Journal. June 14, 2015. June 9, 2015.
  8. Web site: Ellison L Barber. Georgetown Cat Cafe gets approval. WUSA9. April 2, 2015. March 24, 2015. On Tuesday morning, a zoning hearing approved to operate Crumbs & Whiskers – a café that specializes in cats. Kanchan Singh said this means a blue building on the corner of Wisconsin and O St NW will officially become the location of her café.. https://web.archive.org/web/20150405201754/http://www.wusa9.com/story/news/local/dc/2015/03/23/georgetown-cat-cafe/70355180/. April 5, 2015.
  9. News: Megan Moureaux. Cats Looking for Furever Homes at LA's First Cat Cafe. NBC Los Angeles. January 1, 2017. October 18, 2016.
  10. News: Suzanne Sproul. Everything you need to know about LA's first cat cafe Crumbs & Whiskers. Los Angeles Daily News. January 1, 2017. September 23, 2016.
  11. News: Associated Press. DC's first cat cafe to open in Georgetown June 20. https://web.archive.org/web/20150620043328/http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/dcs-first-cat-cafe-to-open-in-georgetown-june-20/2015/06/11/be5cf590-101c-11e5-a0fe-dccfea4653ee_story.html. June 20, 2015. The Washington Post. June 14, 2015. June 9, 2015.
  12. Web site: Emily Blomquist. Crumbs and Whiskers: D.C.'s first cat cafe.. The Eagle. June 14, 2015. June 10, 2015.
  13. Web site: Crumbs & Whiskers: Washington DC's Cat Cafe. Kickstarter. January 4, 2017.