Tara Ford always had a love for animals. But instead of becoming a veterinarian — her initial childhood dream job — life led her down a different path to launching her very own cat café.
The first time Ford learned of a cat café — a coffee shop where people can interact with cats — was in 1998, while she was teaching English in Japan. Although Ford didn’t get a chance to visit one while overseas, it was where she adopted her first cat, Taka, that she took back home with her to the U.S.
After traveling through Southeast Asia, Ford returned to the U.S. in 2000 and became a physician assistant for decades in New York City. But a few years ago, after feeling unsafe from a wave of rising violence, Ford sold her condo in Astoria, Queens, and moved to West Orange, New Jersey. Once again, she learned about another cat café, this one called The Shabby Tabby, in nearby Long Island, New York. But this time around, she wanted to go experience it for herself.
“I walked in and…it was a dream that was planted,” Ford, 47, says.
Ford is now the owner of Catfé Montclair, a spacious cat café that opened in January in downtown Montclair, New Jersey. Unlike other typical cafés, where people are working on their laptops or reading books, customers instead get to cuddle and play with energetic felines.
As of April, there were more than 200 cat cafes in the U.S., which is higher than any other country, including Japan, according to That Cat Life, a blog dedicated to cat culture. And while all cat cafés are “special in their own way,” Ford says her cat café focuses on healing for both cats and customers. Growing up, Ford always had cats around her, she says, which always brought a sense of comfort as she moved through different stages in life.
“They always were a constant companion and bringing me a lot of peace and relaxation,” she says. “So, I wanted to share that with the world.”
Most of the cats have experienced significant trauma, “so, we focus on really loving them up,” says Ford, who holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology. Her catfé features 12 to 14 male and female cats at a time, which are all adoptable rescues from Homeless Tails, a temporary cat rescue shelter in nearby Wayne.
One rescue story that resonates with Ford involves Bella, an 11-year-old cat who was adopted in April. Bella previously lived with a man who became homeless after losing his job. Bella lived with her owner in his car for years until he had a mental health crisis and she was rescued. When Bella first arrived at Catfé Montclair, Ford says she was “really scared,” scurrying to the highest point in a separate space where the litter boxes are located, avoiding everyone.
After a month of being antisocial, Bella finally came down.
“The weekend before she was adopted, she came onto the floor in that area for about 20 minutes playing,” Ford says. “And we were all just, like, brought to tears by this.”
Cats are known to be territorial, but to ensure all her cats get along with each other, Ford says she introduces one to two cats at a time, some who arrive together as siblings.The shelter she works with is also “very good at giving us the well-mannered cats,” she adds.
“They all kind of just start to watch each other and assimilate and realize that they’re safe and just chill out,” Ford says. “It’s amazing.”
Healing is not only important for the cats but is an important factor for the customers, too. Catfé Montclair holds events like “Yoga + Cats,” where people can bring their own yoga mats for a guided session. Another popular event is “Sound Bath + Cats,” where a sound bowl healer uses a wand to create soothing frequencies to relax the body. During the ancient Tibetan and Buddhist therapy, customers can bring their own yoga mat or pillow to lay down while the cats roam around them. One sound bowl healing session led a newly rescued cat to come out of its shell, Ford says.
Ford says she originally thought her business would have a “slow start,” but it’s been the exact opposite. She says she’s been flooded with messages from customers wanting to visit the catfé. The establishment is fully booked each day it operates on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, while sometimes running on Wednesdays and Thursdays to hold special events.
“We went from 500 followers [on Instagram] when we opened [and] by the end of the week made 3,000,” she says. “It just…like, blew up and I had no idea that was going to happen.”
While no walk-ins are accepted, customers — who are mostly women of all ages — can reserve a 30- or 60-minute time slot when purchasing their tickets online. Each ticket, which starts at $12 for 30-minute time slots and up to $40 for events, comes with a complimentary coffee or hot chocolate, and customers can buy other beverages in-house like seltzer water and iced tea. Although food can be served in cat cafés in different countries, it is prohibited in the U.S., Ford says. She also says she allows a maximum of 12 people in the space during business hours.
When she’s not managing the catfé, Ford continues to work as a part-time physician assistant in Paramus, New Jersey. With a focus on sexual medicine, Ford spends about one to two hours with patients and only sees a handful of patients per day, so “it’s all manageable,” she says. The jobs, in fact, are not entirely unrelated: both focus on women and healing. “I am very passionate about…my [PA] work and helping women, because I work with a population that has difficulty finding help for their conditions,” Ford says.
Although simultaneously managing the catfé does become stressful at times – there are unexpected challenges, such as when cats try to escape or when the ceiling needs repairs – Ford isn’t alone. Ten volunteers rotationally come in twice a day after business hours and during closed days to help with maintenance and to ensure that the cats have human interaction. The rescue center she works with also provides the cats’ food and litter.
Ford shares her love for cats with her husband, who is a full-time longshoreman who also helps run the business when he can. One of their first dates was at a cat convention in Asbury Park called the Catsbury Park Cat Convention, which had a session on how to successfully open a cat café.
“He’s been super-supportive and I could not have done this without him,” she says.
Ford says she and her husband used their own savings to invest at least $100,000 into opening Catfé Montclair. But this investment was sort of expected for Ford, who has often heard the phrase, “you don’t open up a cat café to make money.” Since opening, Ford and her husband, who have no children, have put a lot of money into their business and “still continue to put a lot of money into it,” she says.
“In just the last three months…when I look at how much money we’ve made versus what’s in our account, it’s like ‘what? Where did that money go?’” Ford says. “You know, all these little things that the cats do need…it’s not easy.”
Yet, Ford’s passion for animals and people, she says, keeps her going.
“I was born with a very strong sense of knowing that I could help either animals, or people, or both,” she says. “I guess what I’ve realized as [I’m] going through life, I’ve been helping people and I just wanted to do more to help animals — and it’s very fulfilling.”
“It does feel good to see these little creatures, to nurture them, expose them to all these people and see them grow and change and then get adopted,” she added.
In the future, Ford says she hopes to move locations so more people can access the catfé, which is currently in a commercial building on the second floor. She also wants to actively help others who dream about opening a cat café of their own. In fact, Ford was recently contacted by someone in Oregon interested in learning how to open one. But “right now, we’re just focusing on running the business,” she says.
Besides being around cats, one of Ford’s favorite aspects of being a cat café owner is seeing everyone’s faces — especially children — when they walk through the door.
“It’s just nice to see everybody relax and smile,” Ford says. “It’s just a calm, warm environment.
Ford also experiences joy whenever a cat gets adopted. Whenever someone wants to take a kitty home, the shelter handles all paperwork and collects adoption fees. Catfé Montclair’s first adoption was from a young girl who brought home a 13-year-old cat. Since then, at least 15 cats have been adopted.
“Nothing beats that,” Ford added. ◼