Lovers of cats and coffee have a place to call home in Jacksonville Beach and it is called The Caffeinated Cat.
The quaint café opened about four years ago and quickly became a part of the community for so many with its unique concept of grabbing a drink while hanging out with cats.
According to owner Tammy King, the proceeds from the drinks sold at the café help support her mission of providing a loving place for cats dealing with issues to call home instead of being out on the streets.
“Everything we do is for the cats, and we never lose sight of that,” King said.
The majority of the cats at the café have issues either mentally or physically and are not likely to be adopted as a result.
One of the staples of the café since it opened was Flerken, who garnered the title of CEO and served as the official spokes cat for The Caffeinated Cat before he passed away in March.
“He was here before we even opened, and he was the reason we realized we had to have a place like this,” King said. “He was a seriously abused cat and had to have four surgeries and spent three months in the hospital, but he survived and it was amazing.”
According to King, he was a shining example of what the café is all about, which is giving cats a second chance at life and the opportunity to enjoy what life they have remaining to the best of their abilities.
“This is the last stop for many of these cats, and we’re happy to provide them with that,” King said. “I just knew that we had to have a spot for these cats that have been abused and can get medical attention. There’s no other option for a lot of them.”
Flerken’s fighting spirit and memory have lived on since his passing, and his legacy lives on as King started Flerken’s fund, which people in the community can donate towards to help in the effort to raise money to one day build a medical space to go along with the café to more quickly tend to cats in need.
“Unfortunately, offering the help we do, you deal with death so much, but you have to have another way to look at it and another way to deal with it,” King said. “You have to expect it as a part of life and continue because there are always going to be those out there that still need our help.”
Many come and visit looking to spend some time and pet the cats while sipping on a drink, which includes options more than just coffee, such as flavored teas, lemonades and ginger ales.
Allie Christensen and Mark Young both stopped into The Caffeinated Cat because they had a feral cat that the café had offered a home to about a year ago and they wanted to stop by and finally visit the place that had offered to help when no one else would.
“We were going to Florida State University, and we had basically saved two litters from the area we were living in, but we had a tough time getting them in humane societys because a lot of time they would be turned down because they were feral,” Christensen said. “We had to come back home and this was the only place in Jacksonville that would take her.”
Both Christensen and Young are graduates of Ponte Vedra High School and still call North Florida home.
“We had never been here before, but always wanted to stop in and see the place that offered to help and allowed us to save a cat’s life,” Christensen said. “I’ll always be happy for The Caffeinated Cat for that.”
The café is closed on Monday but open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday. It is located at 331 1st Ave. North in Jacksonville Beach.
