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Meet Melissa Pruitt of La Gattara Cat Lounge & Boutique

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Today we’d like to introduce you to Melissa Pruitt.

Melissa, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I always tell people that the love of cats is in my blood, and that’s certainly proven to be the case! My dad was the chief of police in a small town in Southern Illinois. He was loved and honored for his love and support for animals, especially cats. The other police officers would get frustrated with him because he would keep cat food in the car for the feral cats that he fed, and the cars would smell like canned cat food! My dad passed away when I was 25, and I’d like to think what I do honors his memory.

Growing up in Southern Illinois, I would constantly bring home kittens and cats that needed saving… they all needed new homes, and I wanted to give that to them. I guess I can identify with the need. I’ve experienced some challenges in my early years, and I’ve never forgotten what it’s like to want a place where I belong. I think to a certain degree, I’ve found my place by helping them find theirs!

Arizona is the place where I eventually ended up, and I’ve lived in Arizona now for 17 years. I opened up La Gattara last year, and in the 16 months, since we’ve opened, we’ve found homes for 186 kittens and cats. I love the Star Fish story, and although I may not be able to help them all, I can at least save that one. And that is how I feel about each cat that goes to its furrever purrfect home.

I had a near-death experience in 2014 following complications after major surgery, and my surgeon said that I very nearly didn’t make it. He told me to use my second chance at life to make it count. That is my intention.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Unfortunately, nothing has been easy along the way, but the challenges HAVE made my resolve much stronger. You can’t always predict the obstacles that can be thrown in the way of a new business! Licensing, permits, building up (and out) to meet the standards of the business, supplies, advertising, marketing, web design, research, cleaning, cleaning and MORE cleaning! Someone told me once last year, that you had to give everything up in order to gain everything. And that is indeed the truth of the matter.

Fortunately, I’m blessed to have a lot of good friends, family and loved ones who all believe in the mission statement of La Gattara.

Please tell us about La Gattara Cat Lounge & Boutique.
La Gattara Cat Lounge & Boutique is Arizona’s first cat café! At any given time, we have a couple dozen free-roaming kitties in our lounge that are all with local Arizona humane rescues. We have an amazing boutique that offers all things cats! From Cat wine, catnip (like the popular Meowijuana), cat-themed mugs, t-shirts, home décor and more. We are very proud to be partnered with Kate Benjamin of Hauspanther, a Phoenix resident and Co-Author of “Catify To Satisfy” and “Catification” with renowned cat expert Jackson Galaxy. We carry all of Kate’s products, like cat toys and cat furniture. The lounge was designed by Kate with the intention of people to take the ideas from the lounge home, and put into the application with their own cats!

The lounge is a space where people and cats can come together. It gives the cats a free roaming space to show their true selves and to be comfortable without the confines of a small cage. It gives people the opportunity to get to know the cat and it’s personality and see if they will be a love connection.

We have just regular lounge hours where you can visit and hang out with the lounge cats for what I call “real life Prozac”, or if you want to get more involved we have tons of events, like Cat Yoga, Meowditation, Drag Queen Bingo with Cats, Cat-eoke, Speed dating with cats, Paint with Cats, Mewvie night, Cat prom, Kids camps, Cat behavior classes, and so much more! When we opened it was very important for me to make La Gattara a place of love. We are a “safe space” We love and respect all humans and cats alike. I’m very proud of this.

People can come into the cat lounge and know they are never going to be judged, and they can relax after a bad day or a happy day. Over the last year, so many things have pulled at my heartstrings, which is what keeps me going every day. We have regulars that have been come party of the lounge family. I explain it like this is like Cheers where everyone knows your name and you can just come be you. The love I see in this small 1400 sq space has forever changed me. The only way I can explain it is when the door shut’s behind you, all your problems are gone for just a little bit. All the sadness, hurt, pain is gone. No hate, only love. Love and cats. This true compassion and absolute love is what sets us aside from everything.

Arizona is the number one state for how many homeless cats we have and for the amount of cats we euthanize every year. We have to do better. I work every day to be an advocate for cats, Every detail we do in the lounge is to advocate for the cats. For them to have a better life.

Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
When I was 12 years old, my mother brought home a kitten she had found at the local farmer’s market — this homeless, half-feral kitten that would never have survived long. I named that kitten Tawny after my best friend, and Tawny was a member of our family, but specifically loved me more than anyone else. It felt really great to know that we’d rescued him, and it was a huge bonding moment between my mom and me during those years.

She knew how important that Tawny would be for me, and she was my cat for years after that! We gave her the best home we could, and that made a huge impact on me in terms of what I could do for others including cats.

Pricing:

  • $10 Per hour per person for 1-hour lounge visit
  • $15 Cat Yoga
  • $40 Paint with Cats
  • $25 Drag Queen Bingo
  • $15 Meowditation

Contact Info:

Image Credit:
Amanda Rief, Melissa Pruitt

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