Turns out Belinda Carlisle was right: Heaven truly is a place on earth.
That place is Otis & Clementine’s Books & Coffee, a bookshop and cafe that happens to be host to a bunch of kittens, all of whom are up for adoption.
The book shop, just outside of Halifax in Nova Scotia, Canada, often has multiple kittens wandering freely around the store and happily jumping on customers’ laps.
Each kitty is from the South Paw Conservation Nova Scotia rescue group, which gives the bookshop young kittens in need of care so the animals have a comfy place to live while they search for their forever home.
The store’s owner, Ellen Helmke, decided to use her shop as a way to match the cats and kittens with potential owners.
That means that people often come into the bookshop just planning to grab a latte and a good read, end up falling in love with a kitten they meet while there, then later get to take them home.
Each cat adopter needs to pay a fee and bring along references to show they’ll be responsible owners, and the shop now has a 100% adoption rate, with more than 30 cats living at the bookshop having been taken to their forever homes.
And, of course, the presence of kittens and cats acts as quite the draw for the bookstore.
Some people come to Otis & Clementine’s Books & Coffee intending to adopt a kitty, some come just to hang out with feline pals, and others go in to get a book and are pleasantly surprised when a kitten appears on a nearby table.
At any one time, there’s usually one mum cat and three or more kittens exploring the store.
The visitors help to socialise the kittens and get them comfortable interacting with humans.
Owner Ellen told Global News: ‘All the kittens are in and out fairly quickly, as they are adopted.
‘I’m so happy to make my customers happy when they come in and they’re just thrilled to see a kitten they weren’t expecting.
‘It’s amazing and makes me happy to come to work.’
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