A Chevallum business set on idyllic acreage is fast becoming the cat’s whiskers of hinterland cafes as it brings people and moggies together under the one roof.
The Cat Retreat at 129 Dales Road is the Sunshine Coast’s only café dedicated to promoting feline-human interaction, adding a splash of adorable cuteness to every coffee break.
Café patrons can even take home a kitty with their takeaway latte or espresso – once they have gone through the Sunshine Coast Animal Refuge adoption process steps that can take up to a week.
The café has found homes for 48 adult cats in the past two years as a result of the unique bonding environment.
Stroll down the short boardwalk from the car park and the awesome pawsome experience begins, as you’re likely to be greeted by some of the bright-eyed and bushy tailed stars of the show behind wire netting on the massive outdoor deck.
Make your order at the counter or take a seat inside the café to observe the curious antics of the five to eight kitties behind the floor-to-ceiling glass doors and windows looking into the Zen Zone: a quaint and cosy outdoor lounge area that makes both species feel at home.
Pay an extra $15 for the delight of joining your newfound four-legged furry friends at one of three, one-hour Zen Zone sessions daily.
It’s a “purr-fect” way to meet a possible new member of the family or simply start your day “feline” happy.
The Cat Retreat owner Tania Barton knows only too well how cats can lick loneliness and teach their owners to slow down and smell the coffee.
“Cats are like medicine for the mind, body and soul,” she said.
“They provide a unique sense of calm and joy to people of all ages and abilities by encouraging patience and the art of wasting time.
“Having a cat in your company while you are enjoying a heart-warming coffee and delicious snack in a beautiful, peaceful environment feels like ‘home for the soul’.
“We have transformed our establishment into a cat lovers’ haven, where patrons can simply enjoy a coffee and cake in our cat-themed café or have the ultimate cat interactive experience in the separate Zen Zone.
“By having a controlled environment where we introduce Sunshine Coast Animal Refuge cats to patrons, they are helping provide extra love to the cats, but they can also have a beautiful connection with one of the cats and apply to adopt them through the program.”
Tania said her whole life seemed to have revolved around cats and it was a childhood dream to work with them.
From the day she was born, she was part of a cat-loving family that always had at least one at home as a pet.
Tania has five pampered pusses of her own at the moment – two of which often visit the Zen Zone to welcome new arrivals of the human and feline variety.
“I grew up in a small country town on acreage and was able to have pretty much whatever animal I wanted,” she said.
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“I would often organise more pets with my school friends or other family members until I ended up with my own little menagerie.
“By having animals in my life, it helped me to become a more compassionate, caring person, and taught me how to care greatly for living things.”
From this special connection from a very young age, Tania always knew that she would work with animals, especially cats, one day.
As a child, she was passionate about animal welfare, becoming known for rehabilitating sick or injured wildlife.
At age 18, while working full-time as a legal secretary, she devoted her weekends over the next few years to volunteering at a veterinary clinic and her local animal refuge while also studying animal care and behaviour.
Since living on the Sunshine Coast, she has continued that support of local refuges and animal rescue groups as a silent donator or active sponsor.
But her ultimate goal was always to offer a personalised, compassionate environment where she could combine services for cats’ health and well-being and educating children and the wider community on caring for them as pets.
Hobbits Knob Cat Retreat was established on the property and opened on December 1, 2007. It is now considered one of the best cat-boarding premises in Australia, attracting clients from overseas, interstate and within Queensland (pre-Covid).
The Cat Retreat café was added on April 10, 2019. And except for a six-month closure last year as COVID-19 restrictions hit the hospitality industry, the café and Zen Zone have offered an ever-changing mix of abandoned and surrendered cats another opportunity to find a loving new home.
“I am very passionate about the general well-being of all animals and especially my love of cats and their eccentric personalities,” Tania said.
“I wanted to share my gorgeous property and passion with the general community through assisting the local refuge with rehabilitating and rehoming cats.
“The cat café seemed like the perfect avenue to encourage the community to assist and/or form a bond with the refuge cats to give them another chance at life.”
Tania said the “cats and pats” playfulness rubbed off on just about every customer.
“The main comment we get is how people finish their session calmer and much happier than before they arrived,” she said.
“We also get comments about how it is a great space to feel inclusive and comfortable around other people.
“Children absolutely love the cats. They get very excited when they arrive but they, too, are relaxed and happy after the session.
“Parents always comment on the change in their child’s behaviour after they get to chill with the cats.
“We do have an age restriction to children over five for the safety of them and the cats, but the younger ones love watching through the glass while they enjoy a milkshake and cat colouring-in.
“We had a beautiful couple visit the café every single Thursday for months and then they asked if it was OK to spend time with the refuge cats that didn’t cope well with people.
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“Over time, they stayed for sometimes the entire day, just hanging out with the refuge cats and providing them with lots of love, brushes and cuddles.
“It is fair to say that we also loved having this couple around and the huge impact they had on the cats’ well-being – so much so that they are now part of the team here.”
The revolving door of cats is due to their changing social behaviours, whether they have been lucky enough to be rehomed, as well as the mix of patrons. The best interests of the animals’ well-being is the number-one priority.
The boarding cattery staff take care of the visiting cats from the Tanawha-based refuge as part of their paid daily work, which the Zen Zone entry fee helps contribute to.
“All of my staff are genuine animal lovers with a passion for the well-being of cats, in particular, with extensive cat-handling experience along with animal-care qualifications,” Tania said.
“Unfortunately, adult cats are harder to rehome than kittens. They can come with behaviour or temperament issues, due to a number of reasons – and that’s why they ended up at either the pound or the refuge in the first place.
“These cats need some serious work behind the scenes to help them settle and adjust to other cats and, sometimes, humans.
“We have a program whereby we assist in the desensitisation of triggers for improving their temperament.
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“By doing behind-the-scenes work and having the cats in a controlled environment with humans, we can see the improvement in their personality quite quickly.”
The Cat Retreat staff strictly control the interactive environment to ensure that each cat has the optimal experience for its well-being.
While the café operates from 9.30am-2.30pm, Thursday to Saturday, only three, one-hour sessions are held per day in the Zen Zone, with a 30-minute break between sessions.
Each session is limited to 15 people, with a maximum of four children aged between five and 15.
The Zen Zone has strict conditions of entry, and patron/cat interactions are monitored closely.
“The interactions are very beneficial to each cat’s well-being as they get to experience all types of human and other cat personalities, with the option to remove themselves into the safety of their room (behind the Zen Zone) whenever they desire,” Tania said.
“We also make sure that if a cat becomes overwhelmed or frightened, we will immediately put them into their room for a rest.
“A majority of the cats absolutely love the cuddles, play and attention they receive and look forward to greeting their guests.”
Not everyone who visits is in a position to take on the commitment of a new “fur baby”, or sometimes they already have cats as pets at home.
The majority of patrons just go in for a cuddle.
Tania said the unique space in and around the café had hosted various gatherings, birthday parties and even a hen’s party.
Annual memberships are available, allowing customers to simply chill out with the cats in the Zen Zone on a regular basis, getting to know them and helping with their behaviour so they are more likely to be rehomed.
SCARS manager Penny Brischke calls The Cat Retreat “a cat lifesaver for us”.
“When we’re at capacity, which we are at the moment, it gives us the ability to have another six to eight cats saved and placed there and they do get adopted there,” she said.
“It gives us a lifesaving option for another 50-60 cats a year.”
