Near the outskirts of Stanford Shopping Center’s vine-lined corridors, crowds of people line up in front of Mini Cat Town, a new cat adoption center. Framed with tall glass windows, cat toys are scattered around the floor with cat beds lined along the pillows of sofas.
Kneeling outside and seeing the kittens play with one another, Erika Lee, a visitor, said she enjoyed watching the cats from outside.
“I have been both to this location and Milpitas and have loved getting to see these kittens play with one another and snuggle up in their beds,” Lee said. “Having this opportunity to see them through the glass makes me just want to go inside and play with them.”
Due to its popularity, Mini Cat Town at Stanford has a daily waitlist for visitors allowing them to wander around the mall while waiting or sit right outside and enjoy the view of cute kittens. For a 30 minute session, visitors pay $15 and must sign a waiver at the door, put on foot coverings, sanitize their hands and wear a lanyard displaying the time their session ends.
According to manager Ava Etemad Rezai, Mini Cat Town is also run by volunteers who walk around and ask visitors if they would like to have a cat brought to them or to be placed on their lap for a cuddle.
“Typically, on weekends, we will have more (volunteers) than weekdays because a lot of our volunteers are high school students,” Rezai said. “We’re really popular on the weekends and get a lot of foot traffic, but volunteers are really wanted during the week as well. It really is a good opportunity for students who need volunteer hours.”
Mini Cat Town first opened in 2015 in the South Bay, and since then it has expanded to five locations around the Bay Area. According to its website, it was founded as a non-profit by three like-minded sisters, Thi, Tram and Thoa Bui, who wanted to create an adoption center for stray kittens in their community.
“It’s our only Mini Cat Town (on the Peninsula), so I really hope this one stays open because people living here wouldn’t have to drive as far to adopt,” Rezai said.
According to Rezai, this new location in Stanford Shopping Center has had a promising start, with Steph Curry adopting two cats in August. Not only that but across the Bay, Mini Cat Town has already had 216 adoptions this year and nearly 2200 total since 2015 according to its website. Rezai also said the best time to visit is when the store first opens at noon.
“When I’m opening the store, (the cats are) wide awake, hungry, and ready to roll,” Rezai said. “A big flow of guests comes in the morning, and by 3:30 they’re knocked out because they’ve spent time with so many guests.”
Toby Rober, an Animal Care Alliance Manager, said many of Mini Cat Town’s kittens come from foster homes or animal shelters, where they learn to play with one another and are trained to be calm around visitors.
“Sometimes foster (homes) have kids, in which case (the kittens) get used to the kids really early on,” Rober said. “If not, they come to us and just by being around other cats and children and adults makes them happy to interact with customers.”
Rober also said the cats at the Stanford location are usually between two to nine months old, while other locations generally house older kittens.
“The reason that we have them as two months or older is so they can get spayed or neutered,” Rober said. “We don’t have cats being spayed or neutered under that age, just because it’s very dangerous for them.”
Though the kittens are initially small, Rober said they grow quickly and often get adopted within four weeks at a location. He also said volunteers miss the adopted cats but are also happy to see them start a new chapter in their feline lives.
“It’s super nice being able to watch them grow, being able to name them, and then watching them go to really good houses, even though we will miss them,” Rober said.
While Mini Cat Town might seem like a cat cafe, Rezai said the store is much more than that. It also serves as an adoption center to encourage visitors to bring home cute and playful kittens.
“We are only here guaranteed for a year and a half, and I’m hoping we can extend it,” Rezai said. “This place and its other locations have been successful, and I hope others can see that as well. They’re starting to get a lot of foot traffic. People can see this place is super popular, and I hope it stays as we get to see cats go to their forever homes.”
