Meet the woman who left her consulting job to open D.C.’s first cat cafe

Kanchan Singh with a rabbit. She plans to open a cat cafe in D.C.
(family photo)
 
Kanchan Singh knows her latest venture is ripe for a “Portlandia” spoof. She is, after all, trying to open a cat cafe — a cafe in which people are expected to pay a cover fee to enter her establishment and play with cats. The shop, Crumbs & Whiskers, will partner with the Washington Humane Society and all of the cats showcased will be available for adoption. Oakland and New York recently got their first cats cafes, with reservations filling up weeks in advance.

Singh, 24, who is taking time off from her management consulting job, talked to us about her still-fledgling plans to open the cafe this summer, D.C. peak yuppiness, and how she is trying to convince her parents she’s not crazy.

Laugh now, but more than 3,000 people already have signed up for her Gentlemeow’s VIP program – and she hasn’t even launched a Kickstarter yet.

Where are you in the process? Have you signed a lease on a place?
We’ve basically signed on the place, we’re not advertising it yet because a legally bound document has not been signed yet.

Can you tell me the general neighborhood?
I can’t.

What about the quadrant?
I’m just going to say D.C. for now.

What has the reaction been?
The reaction of who? Because, trust me, depending on who you are asking for, the reaction is very different.

How about your parents? Last time we spoke, you said they were pretty lukewarm about the idea.
Oh, yeah, they still think I’m crazy because they know I am on [unpaid time off]. So it’s kind of hit them that this is real — they’re very uncomfortable right now with the choices I am making. Obviously they are my parents at the end of the day so they are not going to say you can’t do this.
What do you tell them to quell their — or anyone else’s — uncertainties?

To me personally, the inspiration for the cafe came when I was in a cat cafe all the way in Thailand.  I talked to the owners when I was in there and no one in that cat cafe was Thai. They were all American or European. And they were telling me that the Americans and Europeans love this.

Article first seen here:  http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/local/wp/2015/02/06/meet-the-woman-who-left-her-consulting-job-to-open-d-c-s-first-cat-cafe/
Related info here: km-consulting.blogspot.com