User:.huepow/Meow Parlour

Meow Parlour is a cat cafe co-founded by Christina Ha and Emilie Legrand located in Manhattan's Lower East Side, becoming the first cat cafe in New York.

It's nonprofit charity, Meow Parlour Cats,

History
Prior to opening Meow Parlour, Christina Ha had a background with cats. Her sister and husband, Simon Tang, surprised Ha with a stray cat, who she was enamored with. Ha described her love for her first cat, Mr. Socks, in an interview with Today, stating "You could tell this kitten was so nice, I took him upstairs and was on the couch like, ‘This is my cat now.’ He’s perfect.” Afterwards, Ha fostered more cats from Kitty Kind, developing a relationship with the organization and gaining a passion for animal rescue.

The concept of a cat cafe was introduced to Ha by Emilie Legrand, a friend and worker of hers from Macaron Parlour. The two were motivated by the success of Purina One's pop-up cat cafe in mid-2014, and decided to make Meow Parlour require reservations.

Meow Parlour opened on December 15, 2014. To circumvent rules restricting food being prepared in the same area as animals, Ha opened the Meow Parlour Patisserie nearby. The cats were provided by and made adoptable by Kitty Kind

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Meow Parlour shut down in March 2020. The establishment reopened in October 2021, after Christina Ha won $100,000 from the Petco Love Stories contest. Ha used the money to add a second floor to Meow Parlour which was utilized for office space and additional animal welfare.

During July 2022, Annapurna Interactive hosted a launch party for the video game Stray at Meow Parlour. Visitors could play during a designated time slot and purchase limited edition merchandise.