Curiosity killed the cat café.
A booming Virginia cat café that opened over the summer was forced to shutter for the rest of the year after a wily kitten caused a bathroom sink to overflow and flood in a series of costly “freak accidents.”
The Purrfect Bean, located in Richmond, Va., suffered extensive damage after the tiny suspect Roller, one of its nine kittens-in-residence, accidentally sparked a flood during a tussle with a towel and a sink on Tuesday, according to a GoFundMe post.
Roller, formally known as Roll the Dice, is a 5-month-old Tuxedo kitten with a tendency to sneak attack his “brothers” — and, apparently, unsuspecting towels, according to his bio.
The café owners assured that none of their feline tenants — including the black and white culprit — were harmed during the flood, which leaked from the cats’ upstairs lounge to the café space downstairs.
Some of the kittens were high and dry while they lounged on furniture in their nook, which is retrofitted with scratchers galore and hanging window perches. Others “enjoyed splashing around in the water,” the business said.
While the kitties enjoy the unexpected splash adventure, the flood caused severe water damage, and the shop will “realistically” be closed for the remainder of the year, the owners said in updates on the café’s social media.
The storefront’s entire flooring, ceilings and walls on the ground floor will need to be redone, according to an evaluation of the damage. The bathroom in the upper floor cat lounge will also need to be repaired and waterlogged equipment, including the espresso machine and coffee grinder, will need to be replaced, the business said.
While the repairs are ongoing, the cats are resting comfortably at their foster homes, where they typically spend the night before clocking in to their shifts at the Purrfect Bean.
The store will be hosting a local pay-what-you-can fundraiser to help cover the exhaustive repairs and support its out-of-work staff at Byrd Park Saturday with support from TikTok’s “The Tiramasu Guy” and “Find Your Exit Plan,” a local Matcha cart. The business also set up a GoFundMe for its staffers who are now without their typical income during the holidays.
“We are beyond grateful to be in a city that is built on community. The love and support truly means the world to us,” the café crew wrote on Facebook.
The Purrfect Bean hosts a rotating cast of adoptable kittens, most of which boast eclectic names like Jumpin’ Jack Flash and Hole Punch, though all titles are subject to change for would-be adopters. The café’s sprawling alumnae include others with names like Hickory Dickory Dock, Barista, Xbox, and Anastasia Romanov.
From its August opening through Nov. 5, the café has arranged more than 100 successful cat adoptions, according to a post on its Instagram. To honor its newly homed feline friends, the café takes Polaroid pictures of each with their new family and pastes them on an overflowing corkboard near the front door.
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