Build Canoodles Cat Cafe in London, Ontario

As a life-long animal rescuer, parent of a child who is both "on the rainbow" as well as "on the spectrum", and a teacher, I am hoping to raise funds to build a cozy, comfortable, therapeutic, 'SAFE space': CANOODLES Cat Cafe. We're about the love.

The stress of grad school would have been insurmountable without the unwavering companionship of my first cat Verbal, an angry "tortoise", whom I rescued from a box of six kittens on its way "to a pet store or the shelter". Frankly, I was the one human she made an effort to tolerate. I really cherished that relationship; it taught me so much. I rescued my second cat, an orange male, Curiosity, from atop a traffic light, attached to an overpass in Hartford, CT. Curiosity was 'the lover', Verbal was 'the fighter'. The two of them enriched my early and middle adulthood in ways that ONLY cats, in their very unique, feline way can.

Although I serendipitously stumbled upon my own two 'rescue' cats, Canoodles Cat Cafe will help socialize and match adoptable (surrendered, rescued, or stray) cats from local shelters with their forever families in a cozy, comfortable cafe setting. It will be a reliable, relaxing space to spend time in the company of fabulous felines - either on your own or with a friend.

Our greater London community will benefit from this fun, family-friendly, social enterprise: Canoodles Cat Cafe. Matching adoptable cats with caring humans will help control the city of London's pet population while enriching the lives of the residents in the area. Canoodles will allow students, families, and retirees in the area quality time with adoptable felines, without any obligation - just the endorphin releasing fun of 'Canoodling' with cats! If a person matches well with an adoptable cat, we will connect them with our partners, the animal rescue/shelter that housed the cat before us, to complete the adoption.

My immediate family knows the benefits of caring for pets on a person’s mental health; we, collectively, have been struggling for years with depression and anxiety, we continue to battle an eating disorder (a team effort), we are learning all the intimate details of the Autism Spectrum, and we are helping one of our own through a gender transition. We understand that families in our rapidly-growing area are dealing with their own struggles and we know through experience that quality time with cats can help relieve stress - and can be a great distraction!

We hope to build Canoodles Cat Cafe for ALL cat-lovers, want-to-be cat parents, and people who would like to have reliable 'access' to pet-like creatures, without the long-term commitment and responsibility of owning a pet.

All funds raised on GoFundMe, will be put toward bringing Canoodles Cat Cafe to life in London, Ontario.

The (CR5 zone) unit we are looking at is a shell and requires everything from HVAC, electrical, plumbing, framing, flooring, walls, counters, equipment, cat climbers, litter boxes, supplies, A/V and IT plus security systems...

The 'estimated' total price tag: $260k startup costs.

The main feature of Canoodles Cat Cafe will cost $11,500; I've requested $12,340 from generous donors, like you, to help cover some of the taxes, duty, or setup fees.

Thank you for your consideration and support.

Sincerely,

Renee D'Andrea