Cuddles and Cats

    Walking down Main St in Bloomsburg, PA there stands a variety of different storefronts to see, but none so grand as the charcoal gray with white trim storefront belonging to Cats in Bloom. The large glass windows allow onlookers to see in from the street and observe the cats all running about and playing with the patrons inside the establishment. 

    Open since November of 2019, this non-profit organization works to rescue cats from all situations, and then spay and neuter them all to prepare them for adoption. They function entirely based off of volunteer work, and any funds they collect go right back into taking care of the cats, which could be any medical needs or just the basics of buying litter and food. A typical day in the life of one of these volunteers involves, entering the building around midday to be greeted by anywhere from 30 to 40 different cats at a time, feeding them in different locations throughout the store, cleaning litterboxes, and cleaning the floors and other places the cats find themselves shedding their fur onto. After they finish all of those chores, they sometimes take time to enjoy some of the company of the cats for a short time before leaving once more or waiting to open to the public. If they do have to leave, they must then return in the evening to do all of these tasks again

The colors light up the entrance, which is covered in smatterings of reds, pinks, and hearts, all in the spirit of the Valentine’s Day holiday. There are tall cat trees, and even shelves for running, jumping, and climbing around the space. As well as different types of chairs scattered around the room, giving some quite comfortable places to sit and enjoy the company of the many cats who live here. The adult cats in this space lie on almost every surface.

    A mom wearing light denim jeans, and a blue puffer coat, and her two small children, a boy, in a dark navy jacket and dark wash jeans, and a girl, wearing a pink, light blue, and navy puffer coat, black leggings, and an eagles t-shirt, walk in the store. The kids appear excited, and thrilled with the idea of looking at the kittens.

    “We don't plan on being here very long, but we are looking to adopt.” chimes the mother, and a volunteer quickly ushers them back to one of the kitten rooms, to see all of the younger adoptable cats.

    Through Cats in Bloom, the adoption process is quite simple. "We don't do same-day adoptions, because we try to avoid impulsive decisions, and try to have people put a little thought into it, make sure they're prepared to have a cat." However, there is an adoption application for potential owners to fill out showing their interest in any of the various residents of the building. It asks a little bit about the individual, two personal references, and even a vet reference, to ensure that these cats go to good homes. They also require that renters get written permission from their landlords so that they know that the cats go to a place where they are technically allowed to be. "Many people have good intentions, but their landlords aren't as enthused about them." Through this process, Cats in Bloom has helped almost 1200 rescue cats go to their forever home. 

    The volunteers who started Cats in Bloom began by sourcing their cats as fosters from local shelters, but they've found that there is such an influx of cats from other sources, that they would need to get more space if they were to continue taking in cats from shelters. "All of them here right now are through our own network." Many of these cats were found out in the streets, thrown out, left behind in moves, gotten lost, or even owner surrendered. They tend to range from 3 months to 4 years old, but Cats in Bloom occasionally take in older cats, who could be anywhere from 7 to 13 years old. "We actually function here through a foster network, so many of these guys actually lived in a foster home. Which is nice for them, because they get a little bit of an idea of what it's like to be off the streets and we get an idea of their temperament."

    Walking into the downstairs of the building, there is a large room, full of slightly older kittens. Many slept on various surfaces, cat trees, whicker chairs, couch cushions, cloth tunnels, and even large sinks scattered around the room. These younger residents have taken over complete control of the place, some of them even sleep in sinks towards the back of the room. The kittens in the room come in all shapes, sizes, colors, and temperaments. Some are shy, some playful, and even some stay asleep the entire time that people occupy the room.

    A dark-colored tabby cat rolls around on the floor while Thomas, a customer at Cats in Bloom, plays with one of the various toys attached to rods.

   “Breath man! Breathe!” he shouts, laughing at the nonsense of the cat throwing himself around to hunt down the flying and flopping toy. 

    They are open to the public Thursday through Sunday, so anyone would be able to come in and look around, but on some off days, they hold exclusive small events for different organizations. "We'll have a social hour with the cats, we have some special needs organizations or groups, and a few people will come to do, you know, service or for an outing." This can be a helpful therapy for these special needs individuals. These events happen rarely, as the cats need time to decompress from the days full of people and fun that happen on the weekend. The cats really do love all of the attention, so anyone and everyone who likes cats is welcome in at Cats in Bloom for some snuggles from our favorite furry friends.