00:05this isn't your average cafe this are the regulars this is the fast cat cafe in Uganda
00:13through the love I have poured in these cats they have poured in me as well and here I have
00:19poured myself my work and my purpose meet Ella Nankoma she co-founded Uganda's fast cat cafe
00:26to give rescued cats a second chance and people a new perspective I imagine creating a place where
00:33someone would come and take a cup of tea with a cat parrying on their laps and living feeling a
00:41little lighter than when they came in growing up I always felt like I didn't belong anywhere
00:46I was bullied a lot and that affected my confidence why isn't it with cats on a personal level it's
00:53because I've seen them go through the same misjudgment I did and that's why I started rescuing them and
01:01through loving them and looking after them somehow I nursed this timid little girl I was just so lucky
01:10that despite the fact that my dad never understood what I was doing and despite all he knew about the
01:19cats he chose to listen to me and support me the first thing people used to say in the beginning
01:27was
01:28something was wrong with me I'm crazy yes some people use cats for witchcraft so it's things we've grown
01:35up knowing from our ancestors the grandparents it keeps on coming down to us and we keep on thinking
01:42yeah that is true but we don't have the facts despite all the ridicule I received most of the
01:48people ended up changing their mindsets and this lady was saying as possessed is one of the very many
01:54that rescues cats and bring them here in Uganda cats aren't pets for some people they are mythical but for
02:02others just something to avoid and when people walk in this is where things change they actually didn't
02:09think you would have a cafe that has cats in here in Africa because most Africans don't like cats
02:15I never used to be a cat person until I came here I think at the start of the year
02:20I adopted a cat
02:21from cat's cradle and he's cold dream he's super cool yeah I recall my first time at the cat cafe
02:29and then when I did come here I actually loved the place it's very warm this is my first time
02:33here
02:34so I was actually jogging around the area and I saw cat cafe I actually saw one of the cats
02:39hanging out
02:40by the windows and then I said this looks interesting I think it's a great a great concept
02:45my first time to come here at the cat cafe I felt like I belonged most of the time that
02:53I would get like free
02:54time I just think about coming here like oh my god I have to go to the cat cafes
02:58today Ella cares for many of the cafe's feline residents before they are introduced to potential adopters
03:06Meet Dot we're going to give you a tour of our shelter
03:11over here in most of the crates we keep the underweight cats and the nursing mums or the kittens
03:20the healthier cats always use the cat space as much as they want
03:24this is the catio or the hut of the shelter it's where the cats play they get to sleep
03:31it's where most of the cat beds are we have Penny they get to use the tree and climb up
03:36at times they use it as a scratching post and a place to hang and watch the birds too
03:42most times when it's raining heavy the other cats are able to come in here but this is not there
03:48forever
03:48this was a temporary structure because when I started the shelter I was still in school and I needed
03:54to have the cat somewhere so we are hoping maybe next year to start constructing on their land
04:02every rescued cat deserves a safe and loving home but finding families able to provide that can be difficult
04:09by carefully matching cats with responsible adopters the cradle is giving numerous cats a second chance
04:17the most surprising thing has been seeing some of the locals come and adopt more than two cats or more
04:22than one
04:23since the cafe opened our adoption skyrocketed not only just for the kittens but the adult cats too
04:29which was very very hard before we we had about 65 adult cats we'd always have a population ranging from
04:3965 to 80 adult cats
04:40at the moment we only have 28 adults at this shelter and that's because of the adoptions
04:47more people are starting to see pets differently and species like this cat cafe are part of that shift
04:54the one thing that makes the experience different is the cat I feel like some people come and they're stressed
05:02but they interact with cats they feel more better
05:05it turns out changing perceptions can be as simple as sharing a cup of coffee and a curious cat
05:12it
05:12you
05:12you
05:12you
05:13you
05:15you
05:15you
05:15you
05:15you
