The cat cafe at 452 Northampton St. is on its second life.
Love YOU More cafe and thrift store is meant to “be a safe space for everybody to come be themselves, have a good time and just relax and just be present,” said owner Kelly Bauer. The cafe opened in January, charging customers $10 for a small coffee, a cookie and time with its three cats: Leo, Jackson and Coco.
Leo, a brown tabby, is “the most playful,” according to Bauer. Coco is the only female, small and gray: “She is sweet but very sassy.” Jackson, meanwhile, “is a love bug who purrs the loudest.”
Bauer, who has bipolar disorder, explained that cats are also a personal source of comfort.
“It regulates your nervous system a little bit and gets you into a calmer place,” she said.
For Bauer, creating an environment of hospitality is central to the cafe’s mission, which is “intentional acts of kindness.” The space has a selfie station, a kids coloring table, a giving tree decorated with gift cards and is trying to implement an “adopt a senior” program. All proceeds to the organization go to supporting these activities, according to Bauer.
The space was formerly home to Project Paw, which the regional Center for Animal Health and Welfare ran with a similar business model — a thrift store that funded care and adoption for cats that customers could interact with — until it closed last June.
Love YOU More’s cats are not up for adoption, though Bauer said she is considering it.
“These three cats will stay for the duration of their life,” Bauer said. “The community gets to watch them grow and be part of that process, which I think is really cool, because we’ve got people that are already coming back.”
Bauer led one of the Center for Animal Health and Welfare’s shelters before she resigned in 2022 — entering a now-settled legal battle with the center in the following year — after being accused of mismanagement of employees and volunteers. Other center leadership and Bauer denied harassment and bullying allegations.
“I took a few years to really work through that, and it got very dark, and it got very overwhelming,” said Bauer. “I gained my footing again, and I realized that what I do is important.”
Customers have been drawn to the cafe like a feather on a string.
“I’ve been to several cat cafes, but I like this one a lot,” said Eva Lacy, a customer of the establishment, “The cats are friendly, the owner’s friendly and you get a free hot chocolate when you come in.”
“10 out of 10, there were a lot of cats,” Samuel Owens ‘27 echoed.