If you hear the name Smelly Cat Café and instantly think of television’s free-spirited Phoebe Buffay singing her beloved hit by the same name, you’re on the right track.
“I’m obsessed with the show ‘Friends,’ so that’s where that came from,” said Brooklynn Bishop, who last week opened a cat adoption shop off Cherokee Boulevard in the North Shore.
For the past six years, Bishop had been working in the veterinary industry. She had wanted to open a cat café for years, but bringing the idea to life was out of reach, financially. But last Christmas, her husband’s gift to her was to bring her dream to reality.
(READ MORE: Chattanooga’s Naughty Cat Cafe diverts more than 1,000 cats from shelters into homes)
When the Bishops began talking to banks, they were repeatedly turned down. Cats, as it turns out, couldn’t be used as collateral. Finally, though, they were able to secure a $15,000 loan, and now operate the café as a for-profit business, raising money to care for the cats and cover their business costs.