Crumbs & Whiskers, the District’s first aspiring cat cafe, is charging ahead to become a reality. Founder Kanchan Singh reached her $15,000 fundraising goal on Kickstarter in 24 hours, signaling that Washingtonians are eager to hop on trend of mixing cats and coffee. So did Singh celebrate by belting out a spirited version of Cats‘s “Mr. Mistoffelees”?
“This is really lame, but when I get really excited I listen to Taylor Swift and dance around my house,” Singh said. The budding entrepreneur says she had too much work for a more elaborate celebration.
The next big step: signing a lease for the space, which she hopes to do this month in Georgetown. Other hurdles include the next zoning hearing, and wrapping up conversations with the Department of Health–a process she says is trip-wired with red tape.
Singh says she would have been overwhelmed by achieving 50 percent of the final goal in the first day, but her “mind was blown” when she raised 100 percent. The campaign is scheduled to end April 7, and she plans to keep it running for the full duration. The extra money will be used to make the cat cafe more elaborate and interactive for the cats, such as a wall shelf unit for cat play if the total reaches $20,000, or another play place and cat wheel if it reaches $30,000.
“We just want to keep the crowdfunding momentum going,” says Singh.
