Cat rescuers to open Lake Norman’s first cat café. Sip a drink, adopt a kitty.
The founders of a non-profit, Davidson-based cat rescue group plan to open a for-profit cat café in downtown Mooresville.
The café would be the first in the Lake Norman area and among 150 nationwide, including Charlotte, Concord, Belmont, Asheville, Salisbury and Raleigh, Amy Doughten told the Mooresville Planning Board on June 24.
Doughten and Roni LaBarbera founded the Cats of Davidson rescue group and applied to the town of Mooresville to establish a cat café use and regulations in its zoning ordinances.
The Planning Board voted 7-0 to recommend the new use to the Mooresville Board of Commissioners, which has final say. The Town Board is scheduled to hold a public hearing and vote on the request Aug. 4.
Cat About Town Feline Social House and Catfé would feature baked goods and beverages and a separate space and entrance for cats to live and lounge and be adopted, Doughten said.
Cat cafés increase adoption rates by 50%, she said.
And the cafés include additional uses, such as “community cat yoga,” “Ladies Night Out with the Cats” socials and shared work space, Doughten said.
“It becomes a destination,” she said.
With the separate cat living quarters, “we’re facilitating almost a meet-and-greet kind of area,” she said.
One cat per eight to 11 square feet would live there. An established rescue group would provide the cats, Doughten said. No drop-offs would be allowed, she said.
Doughten and Roni LaBarbera said they would choose an available downtown space after receiving town approval of the new zoning use.
“I love a cat café,” Planning Board member Laura Temple said, adding that she’s been to four or five, including in Concord. “I’d be delighted to have you down the street from me.”
“This is heartwarming, and probably one of the most supported opportunities we’ve had in front of us,” Planning Board Chair Steve McGlothlin said. Several residents spoke in favor of the request on June 24, none against.
If the Town Board approves the request, the cafe would open in 2026, Doughten and LaBarbera said.