Cats on High Street

I’m convinced cats live in a parallel universe and for brief moments slip into our lives to eat, plot and sleep. It must be exhausting on the other side. For seven million years they have been perfecting their “I’m a cat and you’re not” sensibility.

Kidding aside, I recently visited Chestertown’s Cat Colloquium on the second floor of the newly renovated 18th-century landmark Stam’s Luncheonette to talk with CEO Laura Johnstone Wilson about their mission.

Cat Colloquium was founded by cat-lover and entrepreneur Wendy Culp and conceived as an educational forum with a “commitment to revitalizing downtown Chestertown by establishing a dynamic and inviting community space for both human and felines alike.”

Through partnerships with others, Cat Colloquium also acts as a fundraising source to support organizations that care for animals, children, and the community,

Meant as a community open space and educational hub for meetings and school visits, the floor was architecturally designed to be a haven for cats. A 20-ft rope encased tree, with limbs reaching the skylights, sits like an art installation in the play area. Cat tunnels, platform areas, nooks, and pillows abound and there’s even a narrow staircase down to Stam’s front window.

And yes, there are cats!

A dozen felines encamped at Cat Colloquium are special—they are all rescues and many of them have suffered from various injuries and medical conditions. Robinson, for example, is blind, but lives and thrives to annoy the group with his antics. Peake (Chesapeake) was bread without ear cartilage—now an outlawed procedure—and Buster lost his tail after being hit by a car. Each cat receives special medical care from Dr. Renee Rucinsky from Mid-Atlantic Cat Hospital.

Cat Colloquium is open to the public. If you are a cat lover, it’s some kind of paradise.

This video is approximately seven minutes in length.  To learn more about Cat Colloquium please go here.