Cindy Skop will open the Kitty Cat Lounge in downtown Lakeland at 946 E. Orange St. this Saturday.
The lounge will serve up local food, drinks, and hands-on time with adoptable cats who are looking to find a forever home.
“I have always, always loved cats,” Skop said. “One day I visited a cat café and realized this is what I want to do.”
“I did some research and realized Polk County is No. 1 in the Southeast for euthanasia,” she said.
Best Friends Animal Society, a national nonprofit organization, compiled animal shelter data showing Florida ranks fourth in the county for animal shelter deaths – and Polk County leads the state in animal shelter deaths last year.
In 2022, Polk County Sheriff’s Office Animal Control reported 7,152 cats entered its shelter in 2022, with roughly 52.6% being saved, or adopted.
“Cats have a much higher euthanasia rate than dogs,” Skop said.
Kitty Cat Lounge is working with Saving Paws Rescue of Florida, a charitable organization that rescues cats and dogs that have been abandoned abused, or neglected. It will host eight foster cats in a safe, enclosed area where visitors can reserve a time slot to play and snuggle with the friendly felines.
“The idea is to get them all into homes,” Skop said. “The idea is not for them to live here but to be adopted.”
The lounge will be open Tuesdays to Saturdays, from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. More information is available online at kittycatlounge.com.