Cat News
New cat cafe in Carrollton will help both kitties and autistic adults
Tuxedo cats are the most regal cats.
A new cafe with a side of whiskers is opening in Carrollton: Called AUsome Cat Cafe, it'll be a nonprofit and rescue that also helps adults with autism develop job skills.
Adding to Dallas' growing cat cafe scene, the cafe is coming soon to a shopping center at 2155 Marsh Ln., slated to open in the fall.
Founded by behavioral analyst Andrea Gamble, the mission — to help adults with autism find work, and also surround them with kitties — is something close to her heart.
This will be her first journey into starting and operating a nonprofit; she's currently awaiting 501c3 status approval from the state.
Gamble says she has owned a therapy center for children, teens, and adults with autism and other developmental disabilities for years in Carrollton. However, watching them grow up and struggle to either keep employment or enter the workforce was tough.
“I've heard of the cat cafes and know there's one in Garland, one in Lewisville,” Gamble says. “This one will be right next to my center, and we can use it as kind of a job training site, hiring adults on the spectrum or with other disabilities.”
Gamble got into the cat world after she started fostering kittens at her home. When she brought a few to her clinic, she noticed kitties and clients got along quite well. This sparked the inspiration to pursue a cat cafe and have the adults she works with also interact with kittens, guests, and foster professional experience.
The cats visitors can play with and potentially adopt will come from cat rescues across DFW, like Cats in the Cliff, whose founder Lisa Dennis is helping Gamble set up the cafe's nonprofit status.
Food and drink will consist of coffee and prepackaged snacks.
Though there will be no veterinary services right on site, they will be using a vet in the same building complex to spay and neuter cats prior to adoption. The adoption fee, prices, and how many cats will be on site at a time are still being sorted out.
As for training adults onsite, their duties will range from cleaning up tables in the open-space area, ringing up drinks and snacks, and keeping cats fed and their areas tidy.
“It may take them an extra second to ring something up,” Gamble says. “Hopefully it also gives them some job skills, so that if they do want to go work at another cafe or restaurant, they'll have something to put on the resume, a recommendation, and have those skills to be able to use at another job.”
