We regret to inform you that like so many other small businesses, we will be temporarily closing effective Thursday March 18.
Many of you have shown us support these past few days and we are so very appreciative.
Here’s what you need to know about our plan for going forward:
1. All cats in our foster care will remain in the lounge and our staff will be onsite feeding, cleaning and playing with them 2x per day, 7 days per week.
2. Our mission is unchanged – we are here to help cats find loving forever homes and that is what we will continue to do.
~ ~ ~ Anyone interested in adopting a cat can complete LYFF Rescue’s pre-approval questionnaire online at
LYFF will be working with us to set up appointments for approved adopters to come interact with the cats. ~ ~ ~
3. As always, each cat adopted from Cat & Craft enables LYFF to move another rescue cat into our environment, thus enabling them to save another cat or kitten from area shelters.
4. Just as the corona virus has affected businesses, schools and families, it has negatively affected area shelters too. Animals need our help now possibly more than ever. We will continue to provide updates on the cats in our care as well as our plans for the future via our social media and newsletter.
5. We continue to offer online e-gift cards and merchandise, the proceeds of which help mitigate the costs we will continue to carry in order to save cats.Â
Until we see you again, know that we love you and appreciate you very much. 🙏
Health and safety has always been a priority at Cat & Craft.Â
In light of the current events we are facing as a nation and global community, I want to detail some of our standard operating procedures – those that have been in place since the day we opened, as well as those we have now voluntarily implemented as we all continue to monitor developments around the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.Â
Such topics are usually not very interesting to the general public so I’ve refrained from delving into too much detail unless asked, but peace of mind is important during times like this and I speak for everyone at C & C when I say we are more than happy to be transparent with our operations – especially on the subject of maintaining the clean and safe environment we pride ourselves on.
As a food service establishment we are monitored and licensed by the San Diego Department of Environmental Health; Food and Housing Division. We strictly follow all their health and safety regulations – which is how we’ve maintained our A rating with them – and our baristas conduct cleaning and sanitation duties throughout the day.Â
If you’d like to learn more about the rules and regulations for food service establishments you can read about them here: https://www.sandiegocounty.gov/deh/fhd/
To further support the health and safety of our employees and customers, we’ve chosen to implement additional measures in the cafe to help protect against the spread of any virus or pathogen.
Given the cat lounge is a separate environment from the food prep area, it does not fall under SD/DEH guidelines.
However, thanks to the help of our partner, LYFF Rescue, we have a very stringent cleaning practice in place – which I want to detail for you here:
Use of hand sanitizer required before entering the cat lounge
Protective shoe covers provided for guests to cover shoes when entering the cat lounge
Before the first group of guests arrive each morning, a mixture of water and Top Performance 256 Disinfectant (which kills over 50 known viruses and pathogens, used throughout veterinary hospitals and animal boarding facilities around the country) is sprayed on all cat shelves, counter tops, cabinets and furniture surfaces. This is repeated multiple times throughout each day.Â
All cat litter mats are washed and sanitized each morning.
All cat litter boxes are washed and sanitized each week.Â
Wand toy handles and door handles are disinfected hourly each day.Â
All bedding, towels, and floor coverings are regularly laundered in hot water with bleach.Â
All glass windows in the cat lounge are cleaned twice per day with a vinegar and water solution (avoids airborne chemicals causing problems with cat respiratory health).Â
We run two air purifiers with HEPA filters and a UV-C Sanitizer daily.
Upon closing each evening, the floor is cleared and mopped with Top Performance 256 Disinfectant.
Each Monday, we are closed so that we can conduct a “deep clean” of the cat lounge. This is typically a full 8 hour day spent cleaning the space.Â
Effective this week, adoptable cat takeaway cards will be provided on request.
Also effective this week, no more than two individuals will be briefed in the cat lounge entry vestibule at a time, and anyone asking to be briefed individually will be accommodated.Â
While we have not received any formal notice regarding procedural changes from the DEH, CDC, WHO or local government we are closely following and will abide appropriately to protect the health and safety of our customers and staff.
The good news is… this too shall pass.
Thus far the CDC reports pets are not at risk https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/faq.html#animals. And all of us who have had experience with cats know that a cat’s purr is a highly comforting experience when times are tough.Â
We continue to be a space you can come to for comfort when the world around us gets a little scary and we appreciate your continued support as we get through these times together.
Even as I write this, I’m mentally running a checklist on all of my friends who have cats and the text messages they send me about their cats.
My mom texts me pictures and updates of her cat Inky like she’s reporting live on location – where she is sleeping now, where she slept last night, what she is sitting on now (seriously, it’s hysterical).
I’m sooo equally guilty of this! Let me break down my own idiosyncrasies for you.
For the purpose of our current discussion, I’ll focus on Miss Letty, our almost 3 year old Tortoiseshell House Queen.
Prior to this, I could delve into decades of obsessive behavior over my Rugby and Guinness back when they were still alive – but that gets super “crazy cat lady” so I’ll save those stories for another day…
Letty weighs all of 8 pounds and is only slightly larger than a regulation size NFL football if it had legs. She’s super vocal – as most tortoiseshell gals are – and has a full range of beeps and squeaks that communicate her current desires, mood, and concerns. Full meows are reserved specifically for “DO NOT LIKE” situations (such as car rides to the vet).
Here’s a day in the life of my relationship with Letty.
She wakes me up in the morning by landing on my chest like she literally dropped out of the sky (spook jumps). I then stare at her and tell her how beautiful she is. She’s generally feisty AF in the morning and has zero receptivity of my praise and so we head downstairs for breakfast.
Will she eat? Maybe… depends on her mood so I end up following her around the house with her food bowl (she has two different food bowls) until she decides where she would like to eat. She eventually will lead me back up stairs where she will announce that she would like running water from the tub faucet, to which I immediately oblige.
Now it’s time for me to get to work, but, of course, as soon as I’m seated in my office she’s in my lap purring. If I’m trying to type on my keyboard she will quickly transition to either walking on said keyboard or seating herself between my face and my computer screen. If I’m on a skype call she will walk in front of the camera – because whoever I’m talking to must surely be made aware of her presence, right?
Eventually Andrew will come upstairs to get dressed for whatever he’s up to, so Miss Letty must then transition to jumping up onto his shoulders like a little spider monkey. Once she decides she’s in the mood for a nap, each of us is released to go about doing the things that are required to keep her kingdom in order.
In the evenings there are more requirements to provide her running faucet water on demand, lap space during dinner, and at lights-out she burrows herself under the covers and punches her tiny little paw pads into whatever portion of my body is most convenient to her and she stays like this ALL NIGHT. It’s my responsibility to wake up and move myself AROUND HER.
I recently purchased her a set of crystals. Yep… I bought my cat crystals (she loves them, for real). How many hours have I spent staring at her and talking to her? I’d seriously be terrified to count them.
So the point I’m trying to get at here is more than just telling you I’ve lost my marbles. Rather, how great is it that we can love another creature so much that we willingly sacrifice our wants/needs to make it happy? That we can have such a connection with a cat (or cats, or cats and dogs, or birds, whatever) that we brag about him/her like a child, confide our secrets to, and seek out first when we’ve had a not-so-great day.
We never anticipated adopting Letty. We had three cats at the time – more than enough as most people would say. But the day she appeared in our lives, she immediately locked eyes with me in such a way that told me she knew something that I didn’t. And such is exactly what we strive to make possible at Cat & Craft simply by holding space and encouraging connections.
Got your own crazy cat lady story to share? Send them on over, your stories are welcome here!
If you’ve attended any of our Purrs & Poses Cat Yoga events then you already know who I’m talking about today.
It’s my good friend and also my favorite yoga instructor Ahlia Biondi. And this blog post is a the story of how we met and the deeper connection she has with Cat & Craft.
How Ahlia & I Met
Ahlia and I met randomly back in the fall of 2016. Andrew and I had just moved to California and I was feeling overwhelmingly LOST. By lost I mean I had just quit what I had previously thought was my dream job, left all my friends and family, and moved across the country to a city and state where I knew no one but my husband Andrew.
I had big dreams to create something new and meaningful through our transition to the West coast, but dreams are never easy to bring to fruition – they often require periods of challenge and even a few of what I call “dark nights of the soul” in the process.
I’ve been practicing yoga since 2007, and throughout the years it’s been my go-to when I need to work through something both mentally and physically. It was through exploring yoga studios and classes in the area when I one day lucked into Ahlia’s huge smile and infectious happiness.
She had a light and energy about her that was immediately contagious (and on top of that she taught a killer vinyasa class). So I kept coming back to her class and soon after she mentioned she would be hosting a 200 hour teacher training in Bali Indonesia.
Aside: I had wanted to get my yoga teacher certification for years but had always managed to find some excuse as to why I didn’t have the time – usually related to my job. Well, here I was with no job, no direction, and spinning around what I could possibly do that would help cats and connect people, so I basically went straight home and told Andrew I needed to go spend a month in Bali with a total stranger. And because Andrew is awesome he agreed and was in full support of the idea.
Paying Attention To Signs
To make a long and life-changing story short, had it not been for joining her for those 30 days in a completely magical place, I would not have found myself in downward dog one morning in a hut in the jungle asking Source / God / Universe, whatever to give me a sign. A sign that pursuing some form of cat cafe with cat yoga was the path I needed to take.
That sign immediately appeared in the form of two white fluffy cats bounding into the hut and directly across my yoga mat. Not kidding.
Turns out they belonged to the owner of the property, and they hung out with us for the entire time so I was able to get photo proof of them after class. Not one to question the Universe, here we now are! : D
Ahlia’s teaching for us this Sunday and again on Sunday Oct 20, so grab your spot now here.
Lastly, you can learn more about Ahlia’s story and her work here on her website.
Well it’s not exactly fall here in SoCal, but my Southeastern roots (hence the use of “ya’ll”) are feeling the change of seasons just the same (ahem… college football)
Today I want to spend some time diving a bit deeper into a core component of our vision for Cat & Craft – healing.
I’m thinking about making this the first installment in a series of posts on the topic. After all, it’s the primary motivation behind creating a space such as C&C – for the cats in need of loving homes and people in need of unconditional love.
She reached out to me one day about the work she does for people as well as animals via vibrational sound healing (read on and you’ll learn what that is).
I found this fascinating… so much so that I want to share it with you in the form of a brief interview I did with her.
I hope you enjoy!
[Caroline] As I understand it, the purpose of your practice is to help people and animals work through emotional blocks such as traumas, negative emotions and fears so that the individual can experience restored well-being (physical and emotional), increased confidence, and has room for love and joy in their life. I’d love our readers to understand how vibrational sound healing support these objectives?Â
[Kathy] “Vibrational sound healing with tuning forks is a gentle, non-invasive and effective way to release physical and emotional blockages, allowing for increased energy, improved physical health, and enhanced emotional well-being.
When we experience trauma, we don’t always have the resources necessary to process the painful or difficult emotions when they arise. Whenever we suppress an emotion, it becomes stored in our energy field. The emotion will continue to look for ways to express itself until it is released. Oftentimes, that expression is through the manifestation of physical pain, illness, disease, or chaotic life circumstances.
Tuning forks can identify these pockets of stagnant or incoherent energy and balance them through sound, vibration and intention, allowing us to fully process and neutralize the trapped emotion. Although the memory itself remains intact, the negative emotional charge no longer exists. Remarkable changes and healing can occur once these cellular memories are cleared.
Tuning forks work with the physics principles of resonance and entrainment.
Our bodies are like musical instruments which become out of tune over time due to stress, anxiety, physical pain, and emotional traumas. Tuning forks can diagnose and correct distortions in our body’s energy field. They act as a mirror showing us where incoherence resides within and around the body. Once identified, the body auto-corrects itself through the process of entrainment to specific healing frequencies. This is akin to the phenomenon of hanging two pendulum clocks on a wall that are swinging at different intervals. Eventually, the more powerful pendulum clock will entrain the other clock so that they fall in sync with one another.
The frequencies of the tuning forks that I use are not set to the modern Western musical scale. They are instead precisely calibrated to ancient Solfeggio frequencies (a six-tone scale used in Gregorian chants) and Fibonacci ratios (mathematical patterns that are found in the human body and throughout nature) that are specifically designed for healing through the harmonization of body, mind and spirit.
The tuning forks that I use are made from high-grade aluminum alloys. These alloys produce pure tonal quality, longer ring tones, and produce an infinite number of overtones. Tuning forks modulate brainwave patterns, and balance the Autonomic Nervous System, allowing us to enter into deep states of relaxation where self-healing can occur.
So tell us how you began to share your skills with animals?Â
“I initially began working with animals to find relief for my cat Walker’s asthma. Walker had been on various medications and holistic remedies for nearly a decade to manage his frequent asthma attacks. I knew that weighted tuning forks (known as Osteophonic or Otto forks) released nitric oxide, which reduced inflammation, increased vascular flow, and improved immune function. The weighted tuning forks had the added benefit of mimicking Walker’s own purr. I noticed a pattern where Walker’s asthma attacks would stop if I could get him to purr. This was a huge ah ha moment for me.
The next time Walker had an asthma attack, I placed the stem of an Otto tuning fork directly on his chest and rubbed his back with my other hand. Within a minute or so, he was breathing normally again. This technique worked much faster than the inhaler I had been using. Not only did the tuning forks work quickly, they had no adverse side effects. Walker also seemed to enjoy the familiar soothing vibration of the tuning fork. I realized that the healing effects of tuning forks reached much further and deeper than I ever could have imagined. From that point forward, I knew that I wanted to help both people and their pets with vibrational sound healing.
I’m in the process of reading a book called “Animal Lessons, Discovering your Spiritual Connection with Animals” by Danielle MacKinnon and the author quotes, “Animals are here to help us evolve by connecting with unconditional love”. This rings true in my soul based upon my own life experiences, what are your thoughts given the work you have done and your own first hand experiences with animals?Â
“I love Danielle MacKinnon’s work and believe she has a keen understanding of the symbiotic relationship between humans and animals. I agree with Danielle that animals are here to teach us unconditional love. They show us in a quiet yet masterful way that love is not something that can be learned from a left-brained, analytical perspective. Rather, it is something that must be felt and experienced from that deeper, unseen place within our hearts.
Have you ever had the experience of breaking down in front of your pet on a bad day? From my own experience, they affectionately and loyally sit with you, holding space without judgment, making you feel as if everything in the world is going to be okay. In that place of raw vulnerability, we feel completely safe, secure and loved. There’s no expectation for us to feel anything other than what we are feeling in that moment. We are fully accepted and unconditionally loved, allowing us the gift to process what we need to process in order to heal.
Not only do animals teach us about unconditional love, they teach us many other invaluable lessons such as patience, gratitude, and living in the moment. Much like tuning forks, animals act as mirrors showing where we are out of balance in our lives. They gently guide us into making adjustments that lead to our continued evolution and growth.
In return, people can help animals by becoming more aware of their own energy when they are in the presence of their pets. People are not always aware of how sensitive animals are to energy. Living in states of perpetual stress, anxiety or fear, can unintentionally affect our pet’s health and well-being.
We influence the lives of our pets in a variety of ways. We not only control their external environments (where they live, what types of foods they eat, their social interactions, how little or how much exercise they receive, etc.), but we influence their emotional well-being as well. By nourishing our own physical, emotional and spiritual needs, our pets are naturally healthier and more balanced.”
Based on your experience, what signs or signals do you receive that tell you the animal is receiving a benefit from the treatment?
“A majority of the benefits that the animals receive are reported to me post-session by their owners. From my own observation during a session, animals are normally active, alert and oftentimes curious when I arrive. Within a few minutes of being exposed to vibrational sound therapy, the animals become much more relaxed. By the end of the session, most of the animals I work with are either asleep or resting comfortably. In cases of extreme stress or physical pain, I see marked improvement in their physiology by the end of a session. Some of the benefits that have been reported to me after sessions are increased energy, much calmer demeanor, improved sleep, decrease in aggression, increased appetite, and reduction of pain and/or swelling.”
Are there any signs a pet owner could look for that might point out an energetic unbalance or block that vibrational sound healing might help address?
“Some signs that a pet owner could look for that might indicate an energetic block or imbalance could be lethargy, changes to the appetite, new or unusual behaviors, aggression, excessive chewing or licking, pulling out fur, etc.
It’s important to note that I do not use tuning forks to diagnose specific illnesses or diseases in animals. I encourage pet owners to consult with their veterinarians if they believe their pets require medical attention.
I would also invite pet owners to rule out any external cues in their pet’s environment that may have contributed to these physiological or behavioral changes (i.e. moving to a new home, new additions to the household including people, animals or things, changes to their diet, new lights or sounds, etc.). Again, animals are very sensitive to energy and to change of any kind.
Change can create undue stress on pets, which can be easily alleviated through sound balancing. Sound balancing with tuning forks allow animals to enter into deep states of relaxation required for healing. It is in these deep states of relaxation that stress responses are disengaged, allowing for an animal’s natural healing responses to be turned back on.”
A few weeks ago, I announced our staff would be taking a field trip to Laguna Beach to visit Catmosphere.
Well, the field trip was this past Monday and we had a blast!
You see, most cat cafes share a common goal – we want to see fewer cats in shelter cages (or worse, euthanized unnecessarily) and more cats happy in loving homes.
So rather than view other cat cafes as competitors, we see an opportunity to collaborate on ideas together so that we all can make the biggest and best impact for both the animals in need of assistance, and the families who will enjoy love and companionship through adoption.
About Catmosphere and its founder Gail
Catmosphere opened in August of 2018 and color me impressed… Gail not only runs the business but also handles all the rescue and adoption efforts herself!
That means she works directly with local shelters, rescues and families who have encountered a circumstance where they can no longer care for their cat. She takes all cats slated to enter Catmosphere to local veterinarians for intake screening and appropriate care, personally reviews all adoption applications AND completes all home checks prior to adoption approvals.
Here at Cat & Craft we work with a rescue organization that accomplishes the same via dedicated volunteers – and they’d tell you it’s time consuming and often times difficult work. So for one individual to handle it all is extremely impressive and worthy of support.
Inside Catmosphere
When you visit Catmosphere you will find a delightful space with lots of windows and natural light, right in the heart of Laguna Beach.
The cafe portion offers delicious toast plates, macarons and they also serve beer and wine. Similar to our space you can either view the adoptable kitties from the cafe or you can book an hour in the cat lounge to interact with them directly.
We had a great time sharing best practices with one another and discussing ideas for how we could help support each other and other cat cafes here on the West Coast.
How fantastic would it be if all shelters, rescue organizations and cat cafes’ collaborated to bring an end to unwanted pets and animal suffering? It’s a tall order, but with enough people dedicated to bring about positive change in our communities and our culture as a whole, it’s not impossible.
If you are ever in the Laguna Beach area please make a point to visit the Catmosphere team and show your support!
