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Cat Cafe Reopens On Monthly Basis To Benefit D-FW Adoption Centers

Paradigm Studios
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Cat Connection Facebook page
Kittens from the Farmers Branch Animal Adoption Center in the cat cafe.

Five stories that have North Texas talking: Cat Connection in Farmers Branch will bring coffee and cats together; Dallas City Council will discuss ways to re-house hundreds of homeless living in Tent City; Fort Worth flamingos are in the mood for love; and more.

Cat Connection, a pet supplies store in North Dallas since 1985, will host cats and people who love cats in an in-store cafe once a month, starting this Saturday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Visitors can enjoy free coffee as well as free cuddling (if you meet the right cat). Local adoption centers hope the combination will open visitors' hearts wide enough to adopt one or two or however many cats one deems healthy. For Saturday’s event, The Cat Connection will be partnering with Farmers Branch Animal Services, GuideLive reported.

 

The pet supply shop was the first to bring the trend — basically a shared space between humans and cats to relax and drink coffee — to Dallas-Fort Worth last year and decided to reopen the pop-up cafe to help with the surplus of kittens local shelters are facing this year after a warm winter and the success of last year's event, according to GuideLive.

 

There are places where you can indulge in caffeine and cats all the time. GuideLive reported: “D-FW is now home to one permanent cat cafe, the Charming Cat Corner in Lewisville's Vista Ridge Mall. This one doesn't sell food or drink, but welcomes patrons to bring their own from the mall's food court. Another business, Muffinmeow Cat Cafe, hopes to open by end of year in Richardson.” Read more.

Here’s the schedule for Cat Connection’s series (courtesy of GuideLive):

  • April 9 (benefiting Farmers Branch Animal Services)

  • May 14 (benefiting the DFW Purebred and Domestic Cat Rescue)

  • June 11 (benefiting Operation Kindness)

  • July 16

  • August 13

  • Dallas City Council will discuss how to close “Tent City,” the homeless encampment below I-45, today. Twenty of the roughly 250 people living in the community have left the site with the help of caseworkers, and 23 more people are scheduled to move out in two weeks, The Dallas Morning News reported. Dallas shelters are trying to accommodate with extra beds, and council members are expected to discuss using Dawson State Jail and the old Parkland Memorial Hospital buildings to provide additional temporary shelter. Read more. [The Dallas Morning News]

  • Most businesses in Texas don’t sell alcohol to minors, The Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission found. The commission completed an undercover operation from Feb. 23 through March 15, visiting about 1,500 TABC-licensed businesses, The Associated Press reported. On Tuesday, the commission announced 92 percent of retailers, specifically along travel corridors between major cities and popular spring break towns along the Gulf Coast, declined to sell to minors. According to AP, “A similar 2015 spring break operation involved more than 900 retailers, with about 90 percent abiding by Texas alcoholic beverage laws.” [The Associated Press]

  • The wall off Grayson Street in San Antonio that read “I love tacos so much” now reads “I love cocaine so much” after being vandalized this weekend. The popular photo opportunity might be painted over completely, despite the positive reception from the community since its debut in December. mySA.com reported: “Luis Muñoz, the creator of the quirky landmark, touched up the wall hours later, but is now considering painting over the piece completely to save any future troubles, he told mySA.com on Monday.” In December, shortly after Muñoz created the piece, the city painted over the wall, thinking it was vandalism. He hopes the city will take measures to protect public art. Read more. [mySA.com]

 

  • The Fort Worth Zoo knows how to breed more and more “lesser flamingos”. The zoo breeds more lesser flamingos than all other zoos in North America and Europe combined, WFAA reported. The flamingos were struggling to breed for several years, but the zoo, through observation and experimentation, created a solution. Building the so-called “love shack” created the ideal breeding ground for the birds with the heat turned up to 95 degrees, mirrors to create the illusion of more birds and a light cycle that mimics the birds’ natural African habitat, WFAA reported. Nineteen babies have been born with four on the way so far this year. Read more. [WFAA]