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The Start Local podcast features interviews with business and nonprofit leaders from in and around Chester County, Pennsylvania.
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The Southern Chester County Chamber of Commerce partners with the Start Local podcast to promote trade, commerce, industry, and sustainable economic development while supporting a diverse, growing marketplace.
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Learn more at the Southern Chester County Chamber of Commerce website, sccccc.com.
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Hey, hey, welcome to the Start Local Podcast.
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I'm Liam Dempsey, and I am flying the podcast studio solo today.
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I have all the controls all to myself.
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My colleagues Eric Goodmanson and Joe Casabona were both called away on podcasting emergency, so to speak.
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So I am holding down the fort solo today, and I am very pleased to sit down and speak with Christine Bainey.
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Christine is the executive director of Tree Tops Kitty Cafe.
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I'm going to say that one more time.
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Tree Tops Kitty Cafe. Yes, that's a thing. And the cafe is a free roaming cat rescue
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located in the wonderful borough of Kennett Square. Christine, welcome to the Start Local Podcast.
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Hello. Thank you so much for having me. Very excited for this.
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Yeah, I am too. I am too. For folks out there listening, I should share that maybe a couple
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of weeks ago, I had the opportunity to pop down to the cafe and get to visit for the first time.
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And oh my gosh, it is a very special place, but I don't want to get ahead of myself.
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And I should be very clear that I am not a cat person. I'm not anti-cat, but I am allergic to
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cats. But I just love the place. It was fantastic on so many levels. So let's start there. I'm going
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to ask you to talk about the, and tell us about the Tree Tops Kitty Cafe. You're on State Street,
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right in Tennant Square.
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The cafe is a shelter for cats in need of adoption.
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So walk us through the cafe.
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What can folks expect when they walk through that door of the cafe?
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Absolutely.
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So when they come into Treetop's Kitty Cafe,
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best of all, they can expect to spend their time with the cats, of course.
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We are an open room, about 1,200 square feet.
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All the cats are free roaming unless they're in isolation
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due to some medical concerns or what have it.
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But we have an average of 18 to 22 cats, self-serve drinks.
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We have a small retail section.
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And most important, we just hope everyone has fun just meeting the new cats, spending time with them.
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And best of all, every visit is a donation that goes towards the cat's care.
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Yeah, let's just clarify that.
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It's not a cafe like a coffee shop where you can just pop in.
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It's much more of a make a donation, come in and visit with the cats.
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And if you want, you can put a couple of bucks in a jar to get a can of soda or buy a Keurig.
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It's not a cafe in that sense if people are looking to get a latte with their cat petting opportunities.
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Oh, yeah.
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You're 100% correct.
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It's kind of like a cat vibe.
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It's very relaxed.
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It's more of a lounge.
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But we do not have a permit to have food or beverages, to serve you beverages.
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So it's more of a lounge, I would say, just to hang out with the cats and to get to know them.
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Tree Tops Kitty Lounge.
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Now there's a vibe.
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There's a vibe.
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So the Tree Tops Kitty Cafe was founded in 2006
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as a nonprofit focused on wider animal rescue, not just cats.
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In 2017, the organization opened the kitty cafe
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and pivoted to focus really on cat adoption.
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Tell us about that evolution.
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Why did the organization open a cat cafe?
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And more specifically, why did it narrow its focus
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really just to domestic cats?
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So it actually just happened naturally.
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And they started out mostly foster base.
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And there was a pet store in our current location called Paws and Claws.
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And they had a few cats that would stay in the pet store.
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And the customers just loved coming in, spending time with them.
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So when the pet store closed down, the owner decided to make part of it a cat cafe and just evolve from there.
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And it's just a little bit easier, I would say, to have probably regulation-wise and just manual labor-wise
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of cats to care for versus dogs and other animals.
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Yeah, well, speaking of regulations,
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there's got to be rules and state guidance on running an animal shelter.
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Tell us about how many cats you can have at the,
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I won't call it a shelter, at the lounge at any one time.
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So it's funny we get that asked,
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but that's a question we get asked frequently.
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I believe we're allowed to have up to 28 cats.
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Don't quote me on that, but to be fair to the cats
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and their different personalities,
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we tend to have an average of 18 to 22 cats
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just based on who was at the cafe at the time.
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So I was reading on your website,
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reading your mission statement,
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and it's longer than we have time to read,
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so I'm going to hopefully summarize it,
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and you'll correct me if I've done a good job or not.
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But as I interpreted it,
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your mission is to rescue adoptable cats
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from high-kill shelters,
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to give them the care they need
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and help them feel safe around people
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in their cage-free cat cafe.
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So ultimately, you're working to find each cat a loving permanent home.
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But tell us how you find and take in those cats in need.
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That's a great question.
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So we work with local shelters in the area and different rescues.
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We do work with one group further down south.
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But typically, we just build a relationship with the shelter.
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They know what our deal is with the open room and free roaming cats.
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So they, especially if they have a good candidate for the cafe, they'll let us know.
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Sometimes we have no clue what type of kitty we're getting or their personality.
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And other times we, if we have a particularly, how do I say this, a spicy group of cats, we might ask for a certain personality.
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So it kind of all depends on how the group of cats are.
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More recently, we have been pulling from ACT or ACCT in Philadelphia, which is something I'm very passionate about.
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and treetopses as well, that we pull animal or cats off of the timestamp for euthanasia.
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So it's kind of their last chance, and we love stepping in and helping them,
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whether it's behavior needs, medical, whatever the timestamp is needed,
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we're there for them if we can help.
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Can I ask, are you proactively calling these different shelters,
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or are they reaching out to you, or is it some of both?
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Hey, we have some space.
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Is there anybody you'd like us to think about?
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Or are they calling you and saying, hey, do you have any space?
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We have some little feline friends that could use your help.
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So it is a mix.
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It's a mix.
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For ACT, we mostly seek the cats out from them, but we do have other shelters, the smaller rescue groups especially.
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If they do not have the capacity to help them, they might reach out to us as well.
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But it kind of all depends on what rescue and the cats.
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It's always changing.
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Yeah, I would expect.
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I would expect.
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So when I was in your shop a couple of weeks ago, I saw T-shirts at your store.
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and I've since noted that these are also available for sale on your website, folks, so listening.
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So the t-shirts are wonderful.
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They read, cheaper than therapy, and then your treetop skiddy cafe logo is right below.
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And when we were in the cafe, I had the chance to meet and chat with some of your regulars.
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You have regulars, which kind of blew my mind.
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I mean, it makes perfectly sense once I kind of got my head around it.
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But they're paying money to stop by and spend time really with the cats.
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I mean, sometimes they were chatting to you, but mostly they were talking to cats.
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So aside from those looking to adopt a kitty cat, tell us about who comes into your cafe.
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And I guess more importantly, why?
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What do they get out of it?
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So that's a great question as well.
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We do have a variety of clientels and different regulars.
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It seems like the most common would be there's an allergy in the family to cats or someone who rents and is not allowed to have cats.
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We have a few regulars that just love following the different journeys and seeing them start to being adopted.
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So that kind of all depends.
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One thing I do find very, the one thing that shocked me when I started here at Treetops was a lot of our regulars are males.
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For some reason, I kind of just assumed, and I shouldn't assume, but I thought they would be female supporters.
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But a lot of our regulars are males, and a lot of them just are not able to because of renting or allergies.
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So it's a great way for them to just kind of come in.
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Everyone can kind of go at their own pace with the cats.
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So it is very therapeutic.
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And with a variety of cat personalities, you can pick to cuddle up with a cat or just giggle and play with them.
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So it's always changing.
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It's always different.
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But it's great to see the public interact with the cats.
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That was wonderful to witness to see these people coming in off the street,
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So I literally have trying to strike up conversations and relationships with these little cats.
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So the folks that come by often enough, you're calling them regulars and the like.
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I'm wondering, what do you call your residents?
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What do you call your cats?
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Do you have a phrase or a word that you use to refer to the cats that are living with you?
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So apparently, I just learned this recently, the correct terminology for a group of cats is a clowder.
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So I tend to call them a clowder, but of course, I feel like every cat parent would agree.
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Every cat there has a nickname as well.
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So just once you learn their personalities, you just form different nicknames and attribute it to that.
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The cats at Tree Tops Kitty Cafe are literally allowed to go everywhere.
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And I was there, you showed me around all the places, both front and back.
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So where you're organizing things and cleaning supplies and food supplies
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and all the things you need to run a proper cat shelter.
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So they could go back there and then up into the retail spot
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where someone could buy a t-shirt or a little cat food
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or what have you, a little gift.
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And then, of course, the cafe area itself.
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Moreover, they have the place for themselves
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really from the time you close until you or one of your colleagues
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opens up in the morning.
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So the question is this, Christine.
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Tell us about the biggest chaos that the cats have caused in your time with the cafe.
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Because we know cats cause chaos, right?
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Absolutely.
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The question is, how bad was it?
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Tell us about it.
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So there's a few memories that pop up now.
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I would say the scariest and the largest mess they made was one of our shelves in the back rooms.
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They jumped up, and I guess the weight of the cats was just too much, and the shelf fell down.
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So that was scary, but we always do have a few cat trees toppled over sometimes.
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You can tell when they're really partying, when there's cat litter everywhere and the food is just all over the floor.
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Really partying.
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Yeah, you just, you wonder what they're doing.
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And then there's sometimes what I think is the cutest and maybe the saddest at the same time is some of the clingy cats that just really like to be cuddled.
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And you can tell they really love their human.
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They'll drag their bed or their blanket around, and you'll find them in different odd spots of the cafe.
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So you can tell that they were probably out meowing for some affection that night.
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So just a variety of different adventures for them.
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Do you have cameras so you can come in in the morning and sing,
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It's that same kitty. She's always doing that.
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I mean, we just knew where it was, but now we have video footage.
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Oh, yeah, absolutely.
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I have to make a note to stop watching the camera actually at night because it became quite addicting.
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But there was one cat in particular, because they can hear me.
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I can speak on the camera as well.
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And I like to joke there's one cat, actually two cats, their brothers, Brennan and Dale, and they like to mark the walls.
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And there have been a few times on the camera that I'll catch them getting ready to mark.
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And I just all of a sudden go, Dale, Dale, I see you.
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And he'll just stop, just stop what he's doing.
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And he knows, he knows, and he'll run away.
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That's hilarious.
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That is hilarious.
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Let's go back to your website again.
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I was looking at that in advance of our time today,
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and there's a section on the website that sets out in a very clear way
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the skills and expertise that you're seeking for in board membership,
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whether it's financial skills like accounting and the like,
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or marketing, or all sorts of different skill set.
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And it was very clear and very direct.
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We're looking for these skills to join our board.
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And it struck me as a very direct and hopefully helpful way
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to get the support you need in your board and any board needs,
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but you're being very deliberate about that.
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And I'm curious, has that straightforward approach
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helped attract good leaders to your board?
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I absolutely do believe so, yes.
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I think out of all the years Tree Tops has been open,
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I think this is our most active and supportive board.
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And I am very proud of our board.
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They're very passionate about Tree Tops mission.
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But it's something when I first joined Tree Tops,
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it's something I did want to make sure we had an active board
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because it is a lot of work and it's a lot of emotion
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and you need that group, that core to support you and the cats.
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So I'm very proud of our board.
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Can I ask if you've had board members join
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since you put up those very clear guidelines
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about what you're looking for?
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Yep, I would say I think about half of our board right now is new in the past year or so.
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And we're actually currently looking for two new members.
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Excellent.
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Well, we'll be sure to link to that specific page on your website,
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and we'll link to it on the show notes over at startlocal.co.
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That's startlocal.co.
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The cafe, as I understand it, has five employees.
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Is that right?
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And four.
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Four, she says with her fingers quietly.
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Yes, excellent.
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So do you and your colleagues and the four of you, does that include you?
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Yes, it does.
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Okay, so including you, there's four.
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So do you and your colleagues handle all of the tasks and the responsibilities for running the cafe and the adoption service?
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Are you able to rely on any volunteers to help carry out some of that workload?
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Okay, so the volunteers are the backbone of the organization.
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They come in twice a day, help with the care for the cats, the cleaning, just even building that relationship with the cats so they know a familiar face.
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That's huge to the cat.
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That means a lot.
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So they definitely help take a large load off of our shoulders.
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And a lot of our volunteers do foster and just stick with us during events, just keep up with us.
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Some of the volunteers have been volunteering for five or six years, so they definitely have stuck with treetops for a while.
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But the everyday in and outs, running the cafe, that is more of a staff position.
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And then we do have one person that's in charge of helping with fundraising.
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So a mix, but the volunteers, without them, we would not be treetops.
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So what is the funding structure for Treetops Kitty Cafe?
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How does the nonprofit raise money to support the cats?
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I know you have a little retail shop there,
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and I know folks can pay to come in and visit the cafe and get some quality cat time.
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But talk us through that.
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Oh, yeah.
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So like you said, every visitation that is a donation that helps support the cat rescue.
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We do have about two to four large fundraisers every year.
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The donations from the community are the main fuel for treetops.
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And we do have a monthly kitty keeper club.
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So you can be a monthly supporter for treetops.
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Outside of that, we have events inside the cafe and larger events outside.
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For example, the Mushroom Festival is coming up pretty quickly here.
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So based off, those are our main, outside of,
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we do have one person that does grants as well and fundraising.
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But the largest support is from the community.
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So tell me about what you do at the Mushroom Festival.
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Do you just have a table and raise awareness kind of thing?
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Or are you actually able to get some homes?
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I mean, clearly you're not going to hand them over right then and there.
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But are people coming down and starting the process right in the middle of the mushroom festival?
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Oh, yeah.
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So last year we actually, Holmes, one of the cats, he was pretty new to treetops.
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And he was adopted from a visitor from the mushroom festival.
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So it's a great exposure.
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We had a large support from the mushroom festival community that came in that weekend.
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So I can't remember how many adoptions we had from the mushroom festivals,
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but I do remember Homes was one specifically.
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But just great exposure.
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We also have a parade here in Kennett.
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Tree Tops was part of the parade last year.
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So anything to get the word out,
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we're very proud of the Tree Tops community and Kennett Square.
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It's a great, great community.
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It is a wonderful community down there, yes.
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So I'm going to ask you one more money question,
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and it's really about the cost of safely housing and feeding
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and providing medical care for a cat on a daily basis.
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And I appreciate it's a little bit of how long is a piece of string, right?
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Some cats will have more medical needs than others.
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But is there a way to kind of average it out?
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So what does it cost to maintain a cat there at the cafe?
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So it's pretty shocking, I think.
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It's about $25 per day per cat.
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And then so that averages about $750 a month.
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So in general, for all the cats currently, it's $450 a day.
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And then to break it down, so our adoption fee, which is $150, that covers about six to seven days for one cat.
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So we're not really profiting off of the adoption fee.
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Again, it's mostly community support.
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But yeah, cats can be quite picky and quite costly.
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But we love them.
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So we expect that some kitties come to you with medical issues,
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and some might even come with significant medical issues.
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And with that, we expect that you're going to rely on the services
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and expertise of a local veterinary practice or two.
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If so, can you share with us who are Tree Tops' go-to vets of choice?
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So we swear by Pocopson Veterinary Station.
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They had a relationship with Tree Tops now for a couple years,
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and without them, I'm not sure we could continue with the medical care that we need for some of the cases.
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Just for example, last year we had one kitty that became a tripod, so his one leg was amputated.
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And we've had, I think, one or two kitties that had to have eye removed.
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So it's quite a journey for those cats and it can be quite costly and Pocopson is great.
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I mean, there are times when I can text them with a question,
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which I shouldn't put that out there
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because they probably don't want text from all their clients.
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But it's nice to have that support where I'm not sure if it's an emergency
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or if they need care, I can quickly just send a message
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and they'll get right back to me.
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And they're great. They're very supportive.
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Yeah, that must be really helpful because, you know,
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I expect your knowledge of cats is pretty deep and pretty thorough,
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but cat care and cat veterinary care are different realms, aren't they?
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Oh, yeah, absolutely.
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such a variety at different times. It can be quite a lot, but like I said, thank God we have a
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Pocopson vet there. So I'm kind of curious with 18 to 22 cats, are you making daily shuttle runs
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to the vet? Is it like, oh, it's Thursday morning. Let's get all the little kitties that need to go to
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whatever it might need from the vet. How does that work? What are the logistics around
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literally herding cats to go to the vet? It's funny you ask that question because I
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I was questioning if I actually had to reschedule today's recording because there was a little bit of a cat emergency at the cat cafe today.
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He's okay.
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He's okay.
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We got word back from the vet.
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But honestly, to backtrack, when we do get a new kitty, depending on their age, if it's a senior kitty, we like to take them to the vet just to get a senior panel done to make sure everything's good, checks out for their age.
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If they're healthy, then that's great.
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If not, we might have to, you know, depend on if we can find a foster or what we can do to treat them.
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If they're younger kitties, we typically just base it off of their health.
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But on average, I would say we're there anywhere, visiting the vet two to eight times a month.
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And it's pretty regular, but they're great.
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They work with our schedules.
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And we, I mean, knock on wood, we've only had to go to emergency.
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Yeah, we've only had to go to emergency care once this year.
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So that's the scary part is because that's the financial unknown and you just don't know what's going on with the kitty.
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But, yeah.
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Thank you.
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So let's talk about you a little bit.
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You joined the cafe about 18 months ago.
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A review of your LinkedIn profile shows that you have worked in animal care and animal welfare for most, if not all, of your career, Christine.
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So the question is this, is what about caring for and supporting animals?
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speak so strongly to you?
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So I would say that was my main focus
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through my career was to stick with animals
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in that realm.
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I feel like I'm a little bit
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a hippie view in this way
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that I do believe every animal,
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every person has the right
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to live on this earth.
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I think we were born for a reason
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and I just think since humans
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are a little bit smarter,
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we got the arrogance in us
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to believe that we have certain controls over animals or, you know, labeling them a rodent,
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whatnot. So in my mind, I thought we just needed more animal welfare. We needed more
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voices for the voiceless. And at the end of the day, even when I'm tired, you know, if I'm just
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not feeling well and I see an injured animal in the back of my head, the one question that always
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goes through my head is, what if that was you?
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What if that was your mother?
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What if that was your friend?
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To me, that is someone's mother, that is someone's friend.
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We just don't know that relationship
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because we're not that specie.
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So I just very much, anyone that needs any kind of help
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or anyone to be their defender, I'm there.
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I got your back.
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Well, that leads into our next question.
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So thank you for that lead-in.
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When you and I were chatting previously,
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I asked you about your hobbies and your out-of-work interests.
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And to be candid here, your first response was just to laugh out loud.
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And you're laughing in the background now.
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You went on to explain to me that because your friends and the people in your community know you are such an animal whisperer, such an animal lover,
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that you regularly get called on to help sick and injured animals in your area, regardless of the species of the animal.
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And it sounded like regardless of the daytime or night.
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So I guess the question for you is,
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what's the cutest animal rescue you've ever supported or been involved in?
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I hate to say this, but the cutest and most memorable
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is actually a kitten stuck in the hood of a car.
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Outside of cats, though, outside of cats,
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there's one story when I did live down south.
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We were driving on a busy highway and on the side of the road was a beagle, a hunting hound, and he was a puppy.
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And so we turned around, we picked him up and come to find out that he was a hunting puppy that was being trained.
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They had driven two hours to train the pack of dogs.
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And apparently it's very common for hunters to, if the pups do not make it back in time, the hunters leave them behind.
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So we ended up taking him in.
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He was adopted out to a new family after, of course, the previous person signed off on releasing the puppy to our care.
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So to me, that sticks in my mind because it's a puppy.
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It's a baby.
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It didn't know what to do.
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It was just sitting on a highway waiting for someone.
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And then outside of the puppy, my second answer, most amazing thing I've ever experienced is a hawk, a wild hawk was injured.
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It actually ended up just healing with just some therapeutic or homeopathic drops.
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But because of that, he remembered my kindness, I'm assuming.
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And he actually befriended me.
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He followed me every day to work, would sit there and wait for food.
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So it's something that's a core memory that I'll never forget.
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Oh, my gosh.
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Yeah, that's amazing.
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That is so cool.
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It's called Littlefoot.
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Oh, you named it?
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Yeah, it looked like a little dinosaur when he was walking around.
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Yeah.
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I feel like I could start a podcast and just focus on Christine's animal rescues.
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Oh, there's so many.
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Episodes and episodes and episodes and episodes.
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If you had to break it down, and I'm asking you to kind of think anecdotally,
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how many times are you rescuing animals during reasonable hours
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versus getting called by friends and family at three in the morning that says,
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I just found, I heard this animal crying outside my house.
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And can you come help?
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because it happens all at all hours of course a lot of people do not reach out at night because
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they're afraid to wake me up and I always that's one of the things I scream over and over again is
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please do not do not worry about that I am here you know even if I'm sleeping I'm happy to wake up
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and help because the big thing is if that animal is injured and it disappears the likelihood of
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finding the animal again is very, very low.
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But oddly enough, I would say a lot of rescues have been during,
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you know, what you call like typical business hours.
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And I think that also is because people are out traveling more during those hours
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and just with the daylight, you can spot more.
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But that's a blessing in its own way because, you know,
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the other rehabbers, wildlife care centers, they're open during those hours.
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So it makes it easier for the animal to get immediate care.
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00:26:50,480 --> 00:26:53,740
So I'm going to switch gears a little bit away from animals and talk music.
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Because you shared in our previous conversation that your favorite musician or artist is Hans Zimmer,
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the acclaimed film composer and producer.
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Two questions for you.
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What is your favorite piece of music by Hans Zimmer, if you have one, if you can narrow it down?
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And why film scores?
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What about that genre holds your attention so closely, so dearly?
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I love Hans Zimmer.
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I even named my car after.
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It's called Hans.
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It's a German car, too.
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And thank you for naming your car.
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We name our cars in our family as well, so it's nice to meet another car namer.
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Love that.
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Absolutely.
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So what caught my attention with Hans Zimmer was actually the Gladiator soundtrack back from the 2000 era.
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And even to that day, I would say that, honestly, is probably still my favorite score by him.
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My favorite song, Song, is the name of it is 503.
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But I think his music speaks to me because sometimes, you know, especially at the end of a busy day, just the voices in a song can be a little overwhelming.
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So it's to me, the music is very emotional without the lyrics.
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So you can create any kind of emotion from sad, happy anger, and you can feel that in the music.
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So to me, that reaches deep down to me.
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And it's just something I think that it's also very inspiring because, I mean, how do you create that?
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You know, that's what I'm always intrigued.
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How do you come up with that?
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You know, it's just amazing.
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So when you're listening to it, are you a headphones listener or do you have it on the speaker?
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Is it filling your home or is it just filling your ears?
459
00:28:33,720 --> 00:28:35,980
That depends on the song, actually.
460
00:28:36,860 --> 00:28:39,900
Luckily, the car that I'm driving, it has a great sound system.
461
00:28:40,760 --> 00:28:44,500
So you'll often hear just Hans Zimmer blaring through Kenneth Square.
462
00:28:45,200 --> 00:28:47,360
If you don't know that's me by now, it's me.
463
00:28:50,240 --> 00:28:53,140
But yeah, it's a great way at the end of the day for me to relax.
464
00:28:53,320 --> 00:28:59,420
So if it's not the drive home, then I usually do just play it through the sound bar at home just to get that bass going too.
465
00:29:00,740 --> 00:29:01,880
Yeah, I appreciate that.
466
00:29:03,020 --> 00:29:10,180
So perhaps to the chagrin of cat lovers in our audience here, I have to ask you, tell us about your affection for dogs.
467
00:29:10,570 --> 00:29:11,740
Are you a dog person too?
468
00:29:13,300 --> 00:29:15,540
I am. I do. I love all animals the same.
469
00:29:16,720 --> 00:29:22,360
I, of course, tend to love cats a little bit more, but I would love to have a dog myself.
470
00:29:22,600 --> 00:29:28,200
I only have two cats right now, but honestly, my schedule, it just would not be fair to the dog.
471
00:29:28,400 --> 00:29:31,940
I don't have a set schedule. I'm all over the place. I'm forgetful.
472
00:29:33,440 --> 00:29:40,000
But at the same time, I think to me, I don't know how to word this nicely without offending the dog people.
473
00:29:41,320 --> 00:29:49,180
To me, I think the reason cats are a little bit more pulling at my heartstrings is because when people see a cat outside, right,
474
00:29:49,660 --> 00:29:52,140
they might assume that that cat is just a stray, a feral.
475
00:29:52,680 --> 00:29:53,140
You know, it's okay.
476
00:29:53,600 --> 00:29:54,380
They're not too concerned.
477
00:29:54,700 --> 00:29:57,480
But if someone sees a dog outside, it's, well, what is this dog?
478
00:29:57,680 --> 00:29:59,140
You know, it needs help.
479
00:29:59,340 --> 00:30:01,700
Let me get, you know, let me put this online and see if I can get it help.
480
00:30:02,380 --> 00:30:06,680
So to me, it's, you know, that cat could potentially be a lost cat, but it's being overlooked.
481
00:30:07,980 --> 00:30:13,760
So I think that's honestly the only thing that makes the cats a notch above.
482
00:30:14,280 --> 00:30:15,580
Yeah, yeah, I'm with you.
483
00:30:16,500 --> 00:30:17,800
Cats as the underdog.
484
00:30:18,240 --> 00:30:20,780
Yeah, that's a good way to put it.
485
00:30:21,420 --> 00:30:23,000
Christine, you're originally from Kennett Square.
486
00:30:23,740 --> 00:30:25,960
And as we've been talking throughout this entire show,
487
00:30:27,010 --> 00:30:29,540
you work right there in the borough, right on State Street.
488
00:30:29,980 --> 00:30:32,500
And you live locally as well.
489
00:30:32,900 --> 00:30:36,680
So what do you enjoy most about living and working in and around Chester County?
490
00:30:36,820 --> 00:30:39,700
And I guess I'd kind of emphasize both living and working.
491
00:30:40,020 --> 00:30:41,440
So you're doing it both.
492
00:30:42,060 --> 00:30:42,800
Talk to us about that.
493
00:30:43,500 --> 00:30:45,020
Well, it's actually funny.
494
00:30:45,120 --> 00:30:49,840
When I was a kid, I didn't realize what I was surrounded by.
495
00:30:51,040 --> 00:30:52,760
I wanted to move away from Kennett.
496
00:30:53,080 --> 00:30:54,660
The grass is always greener on the other side.
497
00:30:55,100 --> 00:30:57,560
So I did move away, and then I realized I was a fool
498
00:30:58,160 --> 00:30:59,300
and that Kennett Square was great.
499
00:31:00,700 --> 00:31:01,740
So I love Kennett Square.
500
00:31:01,940 --> 00:31:06,259
It's between the grassy green hills for the beautiful drive
501
00:31:06,280 --> 00:31:09,120
that you have to the community, honestly.
502
00:31:09,460 --> 00:31:10,920
That's what drew me back is everyone here,
503
00:31:10,980 --> 00:31:12,320
it's very family-oriented.
504
00:31:12,660 --> 00:31:14,020
They're very proud of Kennett Square
505
00:31:14,320 --> 00:31:15,940
and being the mushroom capital of the world.
506
00:31:17,360 --> 00:31:20,520
And it's just, it's a very, very kind group of people.
507
00:31:21,320 --> 00:31:22,740
Something that I think it's very rare
508
00:31:22,750 --> 00:31:25,200
to find a cluster of people that are just so kind.
509
00:31:26,540 --> 00:31:28,000
And then of course, you know, growing up,
510
00:31:28,030 --> 00:31:29,940
I grew up a mile away from Longwood Gardens.
511
00:31:30,280 --> 00:31:31,880
How do you compete with Longwood?
512
00:31:32,130 --> 00:31:32,680
I mean, that's
513
00:31:32,930 --> 00:31:35,700
Yeah, well said, well said.
514
00:31:35,700 --> 00:31:35,960
So I love it.
515
00:31:36,080 --> 00:31:37,380
It's a great, great community.
516
00:31:37,600 --> 00:31:39,260
And especially with the Mushroom Festival,
517
00:31:40,320 --> 00:31:43,280
I think it's a great event to just spotlight the town
518
00:31:43,480 --> 00:31:44,900
and let people know what we're about.
519
00:31:45,820 --> 00:31:46,940
And do you like mushrooms?
520
00:31:47,080 --> 00:31:47,940
Do you eat them regularly?
521
00:31:49,240 --> 00:31:50,620
There's only one or two that I like.
522
00:31:50,720 --> 00:31:52,060
I'm a very, very picky eater.
523
00:31:52,160 --> 00:31:54,280
I'm kind of like a cat in a sense with food.
524
00:31:54,520 --> 00:31:55,980
I'm very picky with certain things.
525
00:31:57,760 --> 00:32:00,020
But I do like the typical white mushroom,
526
00:32:00,400 --> 00:32:01,100
whatever that name is.
527
00:32:01,560 --> 00:32:02,140
I'm all for that.
528
00:32:03,480 --> 00:32:03,880
Sounds good.
529
00:32:04,140 --> 00:32:04,580
Sounds good.
530
00:32:04,920 --> 00:32:05,740
So let me ask you,
531
00:32:06,740 --> 00:32:09,200
to tell us about a local business or nonprofit
532
00:32:09,570 --> 00:32:10,980
that more folks should know about.
533
00:32:12,620 --> 00:32:16,600
So one group we actually connected with recently,
534
00:32:17,260 --> 00:32:19,200
it's Cherry Blossoms Vacations.
535
00:32:20,160 --> 00:32:22,440
It's a group that actually will pay for,
536
00:32:23,360 --> 00:32:24,620
everything's covered, all expenses,
537
00:32:24,870 --> 00:32:26,580
for families with a disabled child.
538
00:32:27,500 --> 00:32:29,480
And they are in a few different locations,
539
00:32:29,840 --> 00:32:31,640
but I just never heard that concept before,
540
00:32:31,710 --> 00:32:32,920
and it's someone we met recently,
541
00:32:32,990 --> 00:32:35,800
and it's something I think should be spotlighted more
542
00:32:36,460 --> 00:32:40,260
families have a difficult time as it is, especially now in this economy.
543
00:32:41,180 --> 00:32:44,880
But to have a disabled child and to just think about even just a vacation,
544
00:32:45,970 --> 00:32:48,940
the things that they need to bring along and the care,
545
00:32:49,380 --> 00:32:51,080
this group provides a lot for them.
546
00:32:51,320 --> 00:32:54,120
And to have the expense covered, that's a huge help for the family.
547
00:32:54,550 --> 00:32:57,620
So it's something that's very inspiring and very,
548
00:32:58,600 --> 00:33:00,100
I'm proud to say that we met them recently.
549
00:33:01,600 --> 00:33:03,680
And can I ask if they are locally based?
550
00:33:05,380 --> 00:33:07,040
It's funny because I believe so.
551
00:33:07,100 --> 00:33:09,100
I'm not sure their exact location,
552
00:33:10,220 --> 00:33:12,340
but I don't think they're directly in Kent Square,
553
00:33:12,420 --> 00:33:15,800
but I believe they're somewhere within the half an hour radius.
554
00:33:16,740 --> 00:33:17,740
Okay, well, that's great.
555
00:33:17,920 --> 00:33:19,060
Thank you for sharing about them.
556
00:33:19,160 --> 00:33:23,980
We will be sure to link to their website over on our show notes page
557
00:33:24,060 --> 00:33:26,140
over at startlocal.co.
558
00:33:26,340 --> 00:33:28,020
That's startlocal.co.
559
00:33:30,380 --> 00:33:34,500
So I want to ask you, because having visited the Kitty Cafe,
560
00:33:35,800 --> 00:33:45,760
And not to say that I'm looking for a new job, but if I had to work somewhere else, are you hiring or are you at the very least looking for more volunteers?
561
00:33:47,220 --> 00:33:54,740
I wish we were able to afford more employees, but just being on a limited budget, we are maxed out with employees right now.
562
00:33:55,340 --> 00:33:57,980
But we are always, always, always looking for volunteers.
563
00:33:58,800 --> 00:34:01,660
Like I said before, that's the backbone of Treetops.
564
00:34:01,920 --> 00:34:06,420
And the main thing I love with the volunteers is how they build the relationship with the cats.
565
00:34:06,580 --> 00:34:09,440
So they have a familiar face every week to see them.
566
00:34:10,820 --> 00:34:16,659
So if anyone is interested for volunteering, we are always open-arm welcoming them to Treetops.
567
00:34:17,360 --> 00:34:21,639
And is there like a volunteer's information on your website that we should direct them to?
568
00:34:22,460 --> 00:34:23,379
Oh, that's a great question.
569
00:34:23,600 --> 00:34:24,340
Thank you for plugging that.
570
00:34:24,460 --> 00:34:32,080
Yep, if you go to Tree Tops website, we have different links for just making reservations, volunteering, more information.
571
00:34:32,370 --> 00:34:35,800
And of course, the cats are featured on there as well with their own profiles.
572
00:34:36,639 --> 00:34:38,220
Yes, they are, and I love their profiles.
573
00:34:39,280 --> 00:34:45,639
That's a good way to spend at least a few minutes in an afternoon is to read profiles of my cat neighbors.
574
00:34:46,500 --> 00:34:47,220
It was awesome.
575
00:34:47,290 --> 00:34:48,220
I really enjoyed that.
576
00:34:48,659 --> 00:35:12,520
So, Christine, you and your colleagues and your board members and volunteers down at the Tree Tops Kitty Cafe are doing a lot to help our little feline friends and find homes and to help the community by giving the community a place, a very peace-filled, quiet place to go in and spend time with cats, but also spend time with ourselves and our own thoughts.
577
00:35:12,720 --> 00:35:15,100
And it's a place for reflection and the like.
578
00:35:15,660 --> 00:35:19,360
So with that in mind, how can the community support Tree Tops Kitty Cafe?
579
00:35:21,060 --> 00:35:28,340
The most effective way, and every rescue will scream this, is to donate towards Tree Tops Cause.
580
00:35:29,080 --> 00:35:32,780
We have a monthly donor club, the Kitty Keeper Club.
581
00:35:34,480 --> 00:35:42,900
Outside of donations, volunteering, coming to our events, visiting the cafe, supporting the events outside of the cafe.
582
00:35:43,880 --> 00:35:49,180
Even just following the cat's journey on Facebook or social media and liking, following, sharing.
583
00:35:49,600 --> 00:35:56,920
I mean, all of that, it's just, it's great support for the cafe and just the cats and the treetop mission to help save cats.
584
00:35:58,540 --> 00:36:01,740
Christine Bainey, Executive Director of Treetops Kitty Cafe.
585
00:36:02,640 --> 00:36:08,480
Where can folks connect with you and learn more about your wonderful cafe and the cat adoption service?
586
00:36:09,800 --> 00:36:17,980
The best way to learn more is to visit our website, treetopskittycafe.com, or visit our Facebook, Instagram, TikTok page.
587
00:36:18,700 --> 00:36:23,100
We like to try and make daily posts just to keep everyone updated on the cats and their journeys.
588
00:36:24,680 --> 00:36:28,200
And we're going to be starting a live stream series soon, every Tuesday.
589
00:36:28,620 --> 00:36:33,900
And we actually do have a current series, Tales on Tour, where we take a cat out in a stroller.
590
00:36:34,600 --> 00:36:41,360
So if you live in Kennett Square and you see our stroller with our little cat flag, definitely stop by and say hi because we're out exploring.
591
00:36:42,160 --> 00:36:45,220
I love that. I love that. I'm curious, are these your ideas?
592
00:36:45,480 --> 00:36:51,260
Are these one of your team members who came up with these live streaming and taking cats on the strollers?
593
00:36:51,300 --> 00:36:53,780
I just love it. It's just great content. It's really fun.
594
00:36:53,920 --> 00:36:54,240
Thank you.
595
00:36:54,380 --> 00:36:55,300
How did you come up with that?
596
00:36:56,300 --> 00:37:01,000
So the stroller tour, I honestly was just trying to look to connect with some of our neighbor businesses.
597
00:37:01,300 --> 00:37:04,240
So the concept is we go to different businesses.
598
00:37:04,390 --> 00:37:07,820
The first one was Forage Books, which is newer to Kennett.
599
00:37:08,580 --> 00:37:14,360
Just to have exposure for the cafe and for the business and just see how the cats do, honestly.
600
00:37:15,340 --> 00:37:17,940
Especially some cats just need a little bit more enrichment.
601
00:37:18,340 --> 00:37:23,000
So taking them on these little journeys is a great way to see if they would be a great cat on a stroller.
602
00:37:23,520 --> 00:37:28,860
And that's also a great way to advertise them with adoption is, hey, this cat loves stroller walks.
603
00:37:28,940 --> 00:37:34,120
If you don't want to take your cat in a stroller walk, then I don't know who can find another cat for you, but I think that's pretty cool.
604
00:37:35,880 --> 00:37:40,080
So honestly, just anything to try and just spotlight how goofy the cats are.
605
00:37:40,180 --> 00:37:41,140
They're different personalities.
606
00:37:42,460 --> 00:37:45,760
So it's always, always in my head, just trying to think of different crazy ideas.
607
00:37:46,660 --> 00:37:47,440
Yeah, I love that.
608
00:37:47,470 --> 00:37:48,080
I love that.
609
00:37:48,180 --> 00:37:53,100
We'll be sure to link to your website and your social media outlets over on startlocal.co.
610
00:37:53,640 --> 00:37:55,480
Christine, thank you so much for joining me here today.
611
00:37:55,540 --> 00:37:58,540
It's been an absolute pleasure getting to visit the cafe,
612
00:37:58,900 --> 00:37:59,840
spend time with you there,
613
00:37:59,970 --> 00:38:02,040
and then connect with you again here on the podcast.
614
00:38:02,320 --> 00:38:02,880
Thank you so much.
615
00:38:03,560 --> 00:38:05,040
Thank you so much for having me.
616
00:38:05,140 --> 00:38:07,000
The cats and I are very grateful,
617
00:38:07,280 --> 00:38:10,340
and we hope we've inspired you to spend more time with some kitties.
618
00:38:12,020 --> 00:38:12,520
You have indeed.
619
00:38:12,770 --> 00:38:13,340
You have indeed.
620
00:38:14,520 --> 00:38:16,900
The Start Local podcast is published every fortnight.
621
00:38:17,480 --> 00:38:19,160
We invite you to subscribe to Start Local
622
00:38:19,330 --> 00:38:20,720
using your favorite podcast app,
623
00:38:21,140 --> 00:38:23,900
or ask your smart speaker to play the Start Local podcast.
624
00:38:24,620 --> 00:38:28,280
You can visit the Start Local website at startlocal.co for show notes,
625
00:38:28,800 --> 00:38:32,220
including links mentioned on the show and summaries of past episodes.
626
00:38:32,880 --> 00:38:35,460
There's also a newsletter subscription option on our site
627
00:38:35,920 --> 00:38:38,000
so you can receive announcements about the show
628
00:38:38,540 --> 00:38:41,240
and our occasional free networking events to meet your hosts,
629
00:38:41,440 --> 00:38:42,860
our guests, and other listeners.
00:00:01,940 --> 00:00:08,540
The Start Local podcast features interviews with business and nonprofit leaders from in and around Chester County, Pennsylvania.
2
00:00:10,000 --> 00:00:22,300
The Southern Chester County Chamber of Commerce partners with the Start Local podcast to promote trade, commerce, industry, and sustainable economic development while supporting a diverse, growing marketplace.
3
00:00:23,040 --> 00:00:29,500
Learn more at the Southern Chester County Chamber of Commerce website, sccccc.com.
4
00:00:30,780 --> 00:00:32,720
Hey, hey, welcome to the Start Local Podcast.
5
00:00:33,140 --> 00:00:37,000
I'm Liam Dempsey, and I am flying the podcast studio solo today.
6
00:00:37,140 --> 00:00:39,260
I have all the controls all to myself.
7
00:00:40,060 --> 00:00:46,340
My colleagues Eric Goodmanson and Joe Casabona were both called away on podcasting emergency, so to speak.
8
00:00:46,920 --> 00:00:53,220
So I am holding down the fort solo today, and I am very pleased to sit down and speak with Christine Bainey.
9
00:00:53,640 --> 00:00:57,260
Christine is the executive director of Tree Tops Kitty Cafe.
10
00:00:57,960 --> 00:00:59,240
I'm going to say that one more time.
11
00:00:59,320 --> 00:01:05,620
Tree Tops Kitty Cafe. Yes, that's a thing. And the cafe is a free roaming cat rescue
12
00:01:06,360 --> 00:01:11,140
located in the wonderful borough of Kennett Square. Christine, welcome to the Start Local Podcast.
13
00:01:12,080 --> 00:01:14,960
Hello. Thank you so much for having me. Very excited for this.
14
00:01:15,660 --> 00:01:23,479
Yeah, I am too. I am too. For folks out there listening, I should share that maybe a couple
15
00:01:23,500 --> 00:01:29,380
of weeks ago, I had the opportunity to pop down to the cafe and get to visit for the first time.
16
00:01:29,760 --> 00:01:33,720
And oh my gosh, it is a very special place, but I don't want to get ahead of myself.
17
00:01:34,880 --> 00:01:39,900
And I should be very clear that I am not a cat person. I'm not anti-cat, but I am allergic to
18
00:01:40,050 --> 00:01:47,700
cats. But I just love the place. It was fantastic on so many levels. So let's start there. I'm going
19
00:01:47,700 --> 00:01:52,780
to ask you to talk about the, and tell us about the Tree Tops Kitty Cafe. You're on State Street,
20
00:01:52,900 --> 00:01:53,720
right in Tennant Square.
21
00:01:54,190 --> 00:01:56,760
The cafe is a shelter for cats in need of adoption.
22
00:01:57,260 --> 00:01:58,420
So walk us through the cafe.
23
00:01:58,640 --> 00:02:03,060
What can folks expect when they walk through that door of the cafe?
24
00:02:04,140 --> 00:02:04,580
Absolutely.
25
00:02:05,240 --> 00:02:07,160
So when they come into Treetop's Kitty Cafe,
26
00:02:08,479 --> 00:02:11,320
best of all, they can expect to spend their time with the cats, of course.
27
00:02:11,820 --> 00:02:14,720
We are an open room, about 1,200 square feet.
28
00:02:15,200 --> 00:02:17,760
All the cats are free roaming unless they're in isolation
29
00:02:17,970 --> 00:02:20,500
due to some medical concerns or what have it.
30
00:02:21,540 --> 00:02:26,840
But we have an average of 18 to 22 cats, self-serve drinks.
31
00:02:27,160 --> 00:02:29,020
We have a small retail section.
32
00:02:29,800 --> 00:02:35,620
And most important, we just hope everyone has fun just meeting the new cats, spending time with them.
33
00:02:35,810 --> 00:02:40,100
And best of all, every visit is a donation that goes towards the cat's care.
34
00:02:41,150 --> 00:02:42,400
Yeah, let's just clarify that.
35
00:02:42,500 --> 00:02:45,940
It's not a cafe like a coffee shop where you can just pop in.
36
00:02:46,080 --> 00:02:49,660
It's much more of a make a donation, come in and visit with the cats.
37
00:02:50,260 --> 00:02:55,840
And if you want, you can put a couple of bucks in a jar to get a can of soda or buy a Keurig.
38
00:02:55,940 --> 00:03:02,100
It's not a cafe in that sense if people are looking to get a latte with their cat petting opportunities.
39
00:03:03,160 --> 00:03:03,360
Oh, yeah.
40
00:03:03,860 --> 00:03:04,820
You're 100% correct.
41
00:03:05,460 --> 00:03:07,200
It's kind of like a cat vibe.
42
00:03:07,380 --> 00:03:08,160
It's very relaxed.
43
00:03:08,320 --> 00:03:09,100
It's more of a lounge.
44
00:03:09,940 --> 00:03:15,000
But we do not have a permit to have food or beverages, to serve you beverages.
45
00:03:15,300 --> 00:03:18,880
So it's more of a lounge, I would say, just to hang out with the cats and to get to know them.
46
00:03:19,760 --> 00:03:21,500
Tree Tops Kitty Lounge.
47
00:03:21,590 --> 00:03:22,560
Now there's a vibe.
48
00:03:22,820 --> 00:03:23,460
There's a vibe.
49
00:03:25,140 --> 00:03:28,340
So the Tree Tops Kitty Cafe was founded in 2006
50
00:03:28,720 --> 00:03:32,740
as a nonprofit focused on wider animal rescue, not just cats.
51
00:03:33,460 --> 00:03:36,460
In 2017, the organization opened the kitty cafe
52
00:03:36,530 --> 00:03:38,960
and pivoted to focus really on cat adoption.
53
00:03:39,560 --> 00:03:40,560
Tell us about that evolution.
54
00:03:40,820 --> 00:03:42,540
Why did the organization open a cat cafe?
55
00:03:43,240 --> 00:03:45,960
And more specifically, why did it narrow its focus
56
00:03:46,280 --> 00:03:47,820
really just to domestic cats?
57
00:03:48,920 --> 00:03:50,360
So it actually just happened naturally.
58
00:03:51,560 --> 00:03:53,760
And they started out mostly foster base.
59
00:03:54,160 --> 00:03:57,840
And there was a pet store in our current location called Paws and Claws.
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And they had a few cats that would stay in the pet store.
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And the customers just loved coming in, spending time with them.
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So when the pet store closed down, the owner decided to make part of it a cat cafe and just evolve from there.
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And it's just a little bit easier, I would say, to have probably regulation-wise and just manual labor-wise
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of cats to care for versus dogs and other animals.
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Yeah, well, speaking of regulations,
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there's got to be rules and state guidance on running an animal shelter.
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Tell us about how many cats you can have at the,
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I won't call it a shelter, at the lounge at any one time.
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So it's funny we get that asked,
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but that's a question we get asked frequently.
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I believe we're allowed to have up to 28 cats.
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Don't quote me on that, but to be fair to the cats
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and their different personalities,
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we tend to have an average of 18 to 22 cats
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just based on who was at the cafe at the time.
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So I was reading on your website,
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reading your mission statement,
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and it's longer than we have time to read,
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so I'm going to hopefully summarize it,
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and you'll correct me if I've done a good job or not.
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But as I interpreted it,
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your mission is to rescue adoptable cats
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from high-kill shelters,
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to give them the care they need
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and help them feel safe around people
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in their cage-free cat cafe.
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So ultimately, you're working to find each cat a loving permanent home.
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But tell us how you find and take in those cats in need.
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That's a great question.
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So we work with local shelters in the area and different rescues.
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We do work with one group further down south.
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But typically, we just build a relationship with the shelter.
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They know what our deal is with the open room and free roaming cats.
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So they, especially if they have a good candidate for the cafe, they'll let us know.
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Sometimes we have no clue what type of kitty we're getting or their personality.
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And other times we, if we have a particularly, how do I say this, a spicy group of cats, we might ask for a certain personality.
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So it kind of all depends on how the group of cats are.
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More recently, we have been pulling from ACT or ACCT in Philadelphia, which is something I'm very passionate about.
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and treetopses as well, that we pull animal or cats off of the timestamp for euthanasia.
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So it's kind of their last chance, and we love stepping in and helping them,
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whether it's behavior needs, medical, whatever the timestamp is needed,
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we're there for them if we can help.
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Can I ask, are you proactively calling these different shelters,
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or are they reaching out to you, or is it some of both?
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Hey, we have some space.
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Is there anybody you'd like us to think about?
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Or are they calling you and saying, hey, do you have any space?
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We have some little feline friends that could use your help.
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So it is a mix.
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It's a mix.
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For ACT, we mostly seek the cats out from them, but we do have other shelters, the smaller rescue groups especially.
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If they do not have the capacity to help them, they might reach out to us as well.
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But it kind of all depends on what rescue and the cats.
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It's always changing.
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Yeah, I would expect.
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I would expect.
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So when I was in your shop a couple of weeks ago, I saw T-shirts at your store.
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and I've since noted that these are also available for sale on your website, folks, so listening.
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So the t-shirts are wonderful.
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They read, cheaper than therapy, and then your treetop skiddy cafe logo is right below.
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And when we were in the cafe, I had the chance to meet and chat with some of your regulars.
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You have regulars, which kind of blew my mind.
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I mean, it makes perfectly sense once I kind of got my head around it.
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But they're paying money to stop by and spend time really with the cats.
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I mean, sometimes they were chatting to you, but mostly they were talking to cats.
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So aside from those looking to adopt a kitty cat, tell us about who comes into your cafe.
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And I guess more importantly, why?
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What do they get out of it?
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So that's a great question as well.
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We do have a variety of clientels and different regulars.
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It seems like the most common would be there's an allergy in the family to cats or someone who rents and is not allowed to have cats.
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We have a few regulars that just love following the different journeys and seeing them start to being adopted.
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So that kind of all depends.
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One thing I do find very, the one thing that shocked me when I started here at Treetops was a lot of our regulars are males.
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For some reason, I kind of just assumed, and I shouldn't assume, but I thought they would be female supporters.
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But a lot of our regulars are males, and a lot of them just are not able to because of renting or allergies.
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So it's a great way for them to just kind of come in.
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Everyone can kind of go at their own pace with the cats.
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So it is very therapeutic.
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And with a variety of cat personalities, you can pick to cuddle up with a cat or just giggle and play with them.
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So it's always changing.
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It's always different.
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But it's great to see the public interact with the cats.
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That was wonderful to witness to see these people coming in off the street,
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So I literally have trying to strike up conversations and relationships with these little cats.
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So the folks that come by often enough, you're calling them regulars and the like.
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I'm wondering, what do you call your residents?
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What do you call your cats?
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Do you have a phrase or a word that you use to refer to the cats that are living with you?
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So apparently, I just learned this recently, the correct terminology for a group of cats is a clowder.
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So I tend to call them a clowder, but of course, I feel like every cat parent would agree.
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Every cat there has a nickname as well.
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So just once you learn their personalities, you just form different nicknames and attribute it to that.
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The cats at Tree Tops Kitty Cafe are literally allowed to go everywhere.
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And I was there, you showed me around all the places, both front and back.
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So where you're organizing things and cleaning supplies and food supplies
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and all the things you need to run a proper cat shelter.
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So they could go back there and then up into the retail spot
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where someone could buy a t-shirt or a little cat food
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or what have you, a little gift.
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And then, of course, the cafe area itself.
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Moreover, they have the place for themselves
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really from the time you close until you or one of your colleagues
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opens up in the morning.
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So the question is this, Christine.
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Tell us about the biggest chaos that the cats have caused in your time with the cafe.
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Because we know cats cause chaos, right?
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Absolutely.
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The question is, how bad was it?
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Tell us about it.
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So there's a few memories that pop up now.
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I would say the scariest and the largest mess they made was one of our shelves in the back rooms.
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They jumped up, and I guess the weight of the cats was just too much, and the shelf fell down.
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So that was scary, but we always do have a few cat trees toppled over sometimes.
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You can tell when they're really partying, when there's cat litter everywhere and the food is just all over the floor.
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Really partying.
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Yeah, you just, you wonder what they're doing.
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And then there's sometimes what I think is the cutest and maybe the saddest at the same time is some of the clingy cats that just really like to be cuddled.
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And you can tell they really love their human.
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They'll drag their bed or their blanket around, and you'll find them in different odd spots of the cafe.
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So you can tell that they were probably out meowing for some affection that night.
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So just a variety of different adventures for them.
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Do you have cameras so you can come in in the morning and sing,
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It's that same kitty. She's always doing that.
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I mean, we just knew where it was, but now we have video footage.
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Oh, yeah, absolutely.
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I have to make a note to stop watching the camera actually at night because it became quite addicting.
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But there was one cat in particular, because they can hear me.
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I can speak on the camera as well.
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And I like to joke there's one cat, actually two cats, their brothers, Brennan and Dale, and they like to mark the walls.
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And there have been a few times on the camera that I'll catch them getting ready to mark.
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And I just all of a sudden go, Dale, Dale, I see you.
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And he'll just stop, just stop what he's doing.
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And he knows, he knows, and he'll run away.
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That's hilarious.
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That is hilarious.
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Let's go back to your website again.
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I was looking at that in advance of our time today,
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and there's a section on the website that sets out in a very clear way
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the skills and expertise that you're seeking for in board membership,
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whether it's financial skills like accounting and the like,
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or marketing, or all sorts of different skill set.
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And it was very clear and very direct.
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We're looking for these skills to join our board.
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And it struck me as a very direct and hopefully helpful way
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to get the support you need in your board and any board needs,
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but you're being very deliberate about that.
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And I'm curious, has that straightforward approach
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helped attract good leaders to your board?
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I absolutely do believe so, yes.
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I think out of all the years Tree Tops has been open,
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I think this is our most active and supportive board.
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And I am very proud of our board.
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They're very passionate about Tree Tops mission.
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But it's something when I first joined Tree Tops,
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it's something I did want to make sure we had an active board
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because it is a lot of work and it's a lot of emotion
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and you need that group, that core to support you and the cats.
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So I'm very proud of our board.
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Can I ask if you've had board members join
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since you put up those very clear guidelines
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about what you're looking for?
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Yep, I would say I think about half of our board right now is new in the past year or so.
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And we're actually currently looking for two new members.
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Excellent.
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Well, we'll be sure to link to that specific page on your website,
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and we'll link to it on the show notes over at startlocal.co.
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That's startlocal.co.
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The cafe, as I understand it, has five employees.
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Is that right?
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And four.
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Four, she says with her fingers quietly.
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Yes, excellent.
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So do you and your colleagues and the four of you, does that include you?
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Yes, it does.
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Okay, so including you, there's four.
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So do you and your colleagues handle all of the tasks and the responsibilities for running the cafe and the adoption service?
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Are you able to rely on any volunteers to help carry out some of that workload?
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Okay, so the volunteers are the backbone of the organization.
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They come in twice a day, help with the care for the cats, the cleaning, just even building that relationship with the cats so they know a familiar face.
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That's huge to the cat.
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That means a lot.
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So they definitely help take a large load off of our shoulders.
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And a lot of our volunteers do foster and just stick with us during events, just keep up with us.
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Some of the volunteers have been volunteering for five or six years, so they definitely have stuck with treetops for a while.
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But the everyday in and outs, running the cafe, that is more of a staff position.
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And then we do have one person that's in charge of helping with fundraising.
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So a mix, but the volunteers, without them, we would not be treetops.
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So what is the funding structure for Treetops Kitty Cafe?
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How does the nonprofit raise money to support the cats?
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I know you have a little retail shop there,
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and I know folks can pay to come in and visit the cafe and get some quality cat time.
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But talk us through that.
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Oh, yeah.
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So like you said, every visitation that is a donation that helps support the cat rescue.
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We do have about two to four large fundraisers every year.
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The donations from the community are the main fuel for treetops.
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And we do have a monthly kitty keeper club.
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So you can be a monthly supporter for treetops.
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Outside of that, we have events inside the cafe and larger events outside.
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For example, the Mushroom Festival is coming up pretty quickly here.
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So based off, those are our main, outside of,
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we do have one person that does grants as well and fundraising.
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But the largest support is from the community.
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So tell me about what you do at the Mushroom Festival.
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Do you just have a table and raise awareness kind of thing?
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Or are you actually able to get some homes?
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I mean, clearly you're not going to hand them over right then and there.
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But are people coming down and starting the process right in the middle of the mushroom festival?
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Oh, yeah.
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So last year we actually, Holmes, one of the cats, he was pretty new to treetops.
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And he was adopted from a visitor from the mushroom festival.
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So it's a great exposure.
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We had a large support from the mushroom festival community that came in that weekend.
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So I can't remember how many adoptions we had from the mushroom festivals,
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but I do remember Homes was one specifically.
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But just great exposure.
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We also have a parade here in Kennett.
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Tree Tops was part of the parade last year.
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So anything to get the word out,
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we're very proud of the Tree Tops community and Kennett Square.
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It's a great, great community.
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It is a wonderful community down there, yes.
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So I'm going to ask you one more money question,
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and it's really about the cost of safely housing and feeding
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and providing medical care for a cat on a daily basis.
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And I appreciate it's a little bit of how long is a piece of string, right?
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Some cats will have more medical needs than others.
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But is there a way to kind of average it out?
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So what does it cost to maintain a cat there at the cafe?
291
00:17:48,180 --> 00:17:50,440
So it's pretty shocking, I think.
292
00:17:50,800 --> 00:17:53,920
It's about $25 per day per cat.
293
00:17:54,820 --> 00:17:57,580
And then so that averages about $750 a month.
294
00:17:58,840 --> 00:18:02,600
So in general, for all the cats currently, it's $450 a day.
295
00:18:04,120 --> 00:18:11,760
And then to break it down, so our adoption fee, which is $150, that covers about six to seven days for one cat.
296
00:18:12,140 --> 00:18:14,720
So we're not really profiting off of the adoption fee.
297
00:18:15,660 --> 00:18:17,020
Again, it's mostly community support.
298
00:18:18,400 --> 00:18:22,080
But yeah, cats can be quite picky and quite costly.
299
00:18:23,960 --> 00:18:24,540
But we love them.
300
00:18:26,580 --> 00:18:30,400
So we expect that some kitties come to you with medical issues,
301
00:18:30,560 --> 00:18:33,560
and some might even come with significant medical issues.
302
00:18:35,620 --> 00:18:38,400
And with that, we expect that you're going to rely on the services
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00:18:38,660 --> 00:18:41,520
and expertise of a local veterinary practice or two.
304
00:18:42,120 --> 00:18:46,120
If so, can you share with us who are Tree Tops' go-to vets of choice?
305
00:18:47,460 --> 00:18:51,400
So we swear by Pocopson Veterinary Station.
306
00:18:52,620 --> 00:18:56,260
They had a relationship with Tree Tops now for a couple years,
307
00:18:56,540 --> 00:19:02,820
and without them, I'm not sure we could continue with the medical care that we need for some of the cases.
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00:19:03,980 --> 00:19:10,380
Just for example, last year we had one kitty that became a tripod, so his one leg was amputated.
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And we've had, I think, one or two kitties that had to have eye removed.
310
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So it's quite a journey for those cats and it can be quite costly and Pocopson is great.
311
00:19:21,360 --> 00:19:24,120
I mean, there are times when I can text them with a question,
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00:19:24,270 --> 00:19:26,320
which I shouldn't put that out there
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00:19:26,430 --> 00:19:28,580
because they probably don't want text from all their clients.
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00:19:28,860 --> 00:19:31,960
But it's nice to have that support where I'm not sure if it's an emergency
315
00:19:32,250 --> 00:19:34,400
or if they need care, I can quickly just send a message
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and they'll get right back to me.
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And they're great. They're very supportive.
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00:19:39,280 --> 00:19:41,620
Yeah, that must be really helpful because, you know,
319
00:19:41,620 --> 00:19:44,880
I expect your knowledge of cats is pretty deep and pretty thorough,
320
00:19:45,750 --> 00:19:49,880
but cat care and cat veterinary care are different realms, aren't they?
321
00:19:50,480 --> 00:19:51,040
Oh, yeah, absolutely.
322
00:19:51,220 --> 00:19:57,760
such a variety at different times. It can be quite a lot, but like I said, thank God we have a
323
00:19:57,960 --> 00:20:05,760
Pocopson vet there. So I'm kind of curious with 18 to 22 cats, are you making daily shuttle runs
324
00:20:06,040 --> 00:20:11,640
to the vet? Is it like, oh, it's Thursday morning. Let's get all the little kitties that need to go to
325
00:20:12,320 --> 00:20:16,080
whatever it might need from the vet. How does that work? What are the logistics around
326
00:20:16,680 --> 00:20:21,180
literally herding cats to go to the vet? It's funny you ask that question because I
327
00:20:21,200 --> 00:20:27,780
I was questioning if I actually had to reschedule today's recording because there was a little bit of a cat emergency at the cat cafe today.
328
00:20:28,880 --> 00:20:29,420
He's okay.
329
00:20:29,620 --> 00:20:29,920
He's okay.
330
00:20:30,080 --> 00:20:31,680
We got word back from the vet.
331
00:20:32,660 --> 00:20:46,200
But honestly, to backtrack, when we do get a new kitty, depending on their age, if it's a senior kitty, we like to take them to the vet just to get a senior panel done to make sure everything's good, checks out for their age.
332
00:20:47,360 --> 00:20:49,080
If they're healthy, then that's great.
333
00:20:49,220 --> 00:20:53,960
If not, we might have to, you know, depend on if we can find a foster or what we can do to treat them.
334
00:20:54,580 --> 00:20:57,320
If they're younger kitties, we typically just base it off of their health.
335
00:20:58,500 --> 00:21:03,600
But on average, I would say we're there anywhere, visiting the vet two to eight times a month.
336
00:21:03,860 --> 00:21:05,800
And it's pretty regular, but they're great.
337
00:21:05,890 --> 00:21:06,780
They work with our schedules.
338
00:21:08,330 --> 00:21:11,900
And we, I mean, knock on wood, we've only had to go to emergency.
339
00:21:13,100 --> 00:21:15,180
Yeah, we've only had to go to emergency care once this year.
340
00:21:15,860 --> 00:21:20,740
So that's the scary part is because that's the financial unknown and you just don't know what's going on with the kitty.
341
00:21:23,020 --> 00:21:24,640
But, yeah.
342
00:21:25,800 --> 00:21:26,100
Thank you.
343
00:21:27,620 --> 00:21:29,300
So let's talk about you a little bit.
344
00:21:29,580 --> 00:21:32,800
You joined the cafe about 18 months ago.
345
00:21:33,460 --> 00:21:40,560
A review of your LinkedIn profile shows that you have worked in animal care and animal welfare for most, if not all, of your career, Christine.
346
00:21:41,460 --> 00:21:45,240
So the question is this, is what about caring for and supporting animals?
347
00:21:46,000 --> 00:21:47,360
speak so strongly to you?
348
00:21:51,160 --> 00:21:53,860
So I would say that was my main focus
349
00:21:54,110 --> 00:21:55,900
through my career was to stick with animals
350
00:21:56,610 --> 00:21:57,120
in that realm.
351
00:21:58,380 --> 00:21:59,880
I feel like I'm a little bit
352
00:22:00,020 --> 00:22:01,740
a hippie view in this way
353
00:22:02,500 --> 00:22:04,740
that I do believe every animal,
354
00:22:05,010 --> 00:22:06,420
every person has the right
355
00:22:06,860 --> 00:22:07,660
to live on this earth.
356
00:22:07,790 --> 00:22:09,020
I think we were born for a reason
357
00:22:09,980 --> 00:22:11,860
and I just think since humans
358
00:22:12,060 --> 00:22:12,900
are a little bit smarter,
359
00:22:13,520 --> 00:22:14,680
we got the arrogance in us
360
00:22:14,700 --> 00:22:21,500
to believe that we have certain controls over animals or, you know, labeling them a rodent,
361
00:22:21,780 --> 00:22:28,660
whatnot. So in my mind, I thought we just needed more animal welfare. We needed more
362
00:22:29,120 --> 00:22:35,560
voices for the voiceless. And at the end of the day, even when I'm tired, you know, if I'm just
363
00:22:35,680 --> 00:22:40,680
not feeling well and I see an injured animal in the back of my head, the one question that always
364
00:22:40,700 --> 00:22:42,680
goes through my head is, what if that was you?
365
00:22:43,100 --> 00:22:44,260
What if that was your mother?
366
00:22:44,360 --> 00:22:45,380
What if that was your friend?
367
00:22:46,800 --> 00:22:49,040
To me, that is someone's mother, that is someone's friend.
368
00:22:49,060 --> 00:22:50,520
We just don't know that relationship
369
00:22:50,720 --> 00:22:52,080
because we're not that specie.
370
00:22:53,300 --> 00:22:56,120
So I just very much, anyone that needs any kind of help
371
00:22:56,320 --> 00:22:59,080
or anyone to be their defender, I'm there.
372
00:22:59,380 --> 00:23:00,360
I got your back.
373
00:23:01,500 --> 00:23:03,880
Well, that leads into our next question.
374
00:23:04,020 --> 00:23:05,200
So thank you for that lead-in.
375
00:23:05,800 --> 00:23:07,080
When you and I were chatting previously,
376
00:23:07,340 --> 00:23:10,700
I asked you about your hobbies and your out-of-work interests.
377
00:23:11,120 --> 00:23:16,020
And to be candid here, your first response was just to laugh out loud.
378
00:23:16,720 --> 00:23:18,520
And you're laughing in the background now.
379
00:23:19,700 --> 00:23:28,880
You went on to explain to me that because your friends and the people in your community know you are such an animal whisperer, such an animal lover,
380
00:23:29,560 --> 00:23:35,760
that you regularly get called on to help sick and injured animals in your area, regardless of the species of the animal.
381
00:23:36,220 --> 00:23:39,340
And it sounded like regardless of the daytime or night.
382
00:23:40,280 --> 00:23:42,680
So I guess the question for you is,
383
00:23:42,860 --> 00:23:47,120
what's the cutest animal rescue you've ever supported or been involved in?
384
00:23:49,640 --> 00:23:52,820
I hate to say this, but the cutest and most memorable
385
00:23:53,300 --> 00:23:55,980
is actually a kitten stuck in the hood of a car.
386
00:23:57,360 --> 00:23:59,140
Outside of cats, though, outside of cats,
387
00:24:00,740 --> 00:24:03,240
there's one story when I did live down south.
388
00:24:03,720 --> 00:24:10,700
We were driving on a busy highway and on the side of the road was a beagle, a hunting hound, and he was a puppy.
389
00:24:11,210 --> 00:24:18,000
And so we turned around, we picked him up and come to find out that he was a hunting puppy that was being trained.
390
00:24:18,820 --> 00:24:21,160
They had driven two hours to train the pack of dogs.
391
00:24:21,810 --> 00:24:28,520
And apparently it's very common for hunters to, if the pups do not make it back in time, the hunters leave them behind.
392
00:24:30,040 --> 00:24:31,900
So we ended up taking him in.
393
00:24:31,980 --> 00:24:37,840
He was adopted out to a new family after, of course, the previous person signed off on releasing the puppy to our care.
394
00:24:39,680 --> 00:24:43,180
So to me, that sticks in my mind because it's a puppy.
395
00:24:43,780 --> 00:24:44,680
It's a baby.
396
00:24:45,760 --> 00:24:46,400
It didn't know what to do.
397
00:24:46,460 --> 00:24:47,980
It was just sitting on a highway waiting for someone.
398
00:24:49,540 --> 00:24:59,560
And then outside of the puppy, my second answer, most amazing thing I've ever experienced is a hawk, a wild hawk was injured.
399
00:25:00,720 --> 00:25:05,560
It actually ended up just healing with just some therapeutic or homeopathic drops.
400
00:25:06,920 --> 00:25:09,620
But because of that, he remembered my kindness, I'm assuming.
401
00:25:10,240 --> 00:25:11,600
And he actually befriended me.
402
00:25:11,800 --> 00:25:15,360
He followed me every day to work, would sit there and wait for food.
403
00:25:16,620 --> 00:25:19,100
So it's something that's a core memory that I'll never forget.
404
00:25:19,860 --> 00:25:21,000
Oh, my gosh.
405
00:25:21,320 --> 00:25:22,460
Yeah, that's amazing.
406
00:25:23,060 --> 00:25:23,920
That is so cool.
407
00:25:24,180 --> 00:25:25,000
It's called Littlefoot.
408
00:25:25,860 --> 00:25:26,520
Oh, you named it?
409
00:25:27,280 --> 00:25:29,300
Yeah, it looked like a little dinosaur when he was walking around.
410
00:25:29,860 --> 00:25:30,140
Yeah.
411
00:25:30,820 --> 00:25:35,500
I feel like I could start a podcast and just focus on Christine's animal rescues.
412
00:25:35,600 --> 00:25:36,440
Oh, there's so many.
413
00:25:36,600 --> 00:25:38,760
Episodes and episodes and episodes and episodes.
414
00:25:40,120 --> 00:25:44,440
If you had to break it down, and I'm asking you to kind of think anecdotally,
415
00:25:44,860 --> 00:25:48,480
how many times are you rescuing animals during reasonable hours
416
00:25:49,340 --> 00:25:52,840
versus getting called by friends and family at three in the morning that says,
417
00:25:52,960 --> 00:25:55,960
I just found, I heard this animal crying outside my house.
418
00:25:56,260 --> 00:25:57,060
And can you come help?
419
00:26:01,260 --> 00:26:06,920
because it happens all at all hours of course a lot of people do not reach out at night because
420
00:26:07,080 --> 00:26:11,260
they're afraid to wake me up and I always that's one of the things I scream over and over again is
421
00:26:11,480 --> 00:26:16,700
please do not do not worry about that I am here you know even if I'm sleeping I'm happy to wake up
422
00:26:16,760 --> 00:26:21,580
and help because the big thing is if that animal is injured and it disappears the likelihood of
423
00:26:21,600 --> 00:26:23,660
finding the animal again is very, very low.
424
00:26:25,720 --> 00:26:29,580
But oddly enough, I would say a lot of rescues have been during,
425
00:26:29,870 --> 00:26:31,380
you know, what you call like typical business hours.
426
00:26:32,040 --> 00:26:35,420
And I think that also is because people are out traveling more during those hours
427
00:26:35,820 --> 00:26:37,480
and just with the daylight, you can spot more.
428
00:26:38,600 --> 00:26:41,620
But that's a blessing in its own way because, you know,
429
00:26:41,680 --> 00:26:45,640
the other rehabbers, wildlife care centers, they're open during those hours.
430
00:26:45,750 --> 00:26:48,580
So it makes it easier for the animal to get immediate care.
431
00:26:50,480 --> 00:26:53,740
So I'm going to switch gears a little bit away from animals and talk music.
432
00:26:54,640 --> 00:26:59,580
Because you shared in our previous conversation that your favorite musician or artist is Hans Zimmer,
433
00:27:00,320 --> 00:27:02,380
the acclaimed film composer and producer.
434
00:27:03,060 --> 00:27:03,960
Two questions for you.
435
00:27:04,860 --> 00:27:09,280
What is your favorite piece of music by Hans Zimmer, if you have one, if you can narrow it down?
436
00:27:09,860 --> 00:27:10,880
And why film scores?
437
00:27:11,140 --> 00:27:14,460
What about that genre holds your attention so closely, so dearly?
438
00:27:15,040 --> 00:27:16,200
I love Hans Zimmer.
439
00:27:16,340 --> 00:27:17,600
I even named my car after.
440
00:27:18,260 --> 00:27:18,900
It's called Hans.
441
00:27:20,040 --> 00:27:20,820
It's a German car, too.
442
00:27:21,220 --> 00:27:22,680
And thank you for naming your car.
443
00:27:22,820 --> 00:27:26,560
We name our cars in our family as well, so it's nice to meet another car namer.
444
00:27:27,000 --> 00:27:27,540
Love that.
445
00:27:27,980 --> 00:27:28,080
Absolutely.
446
00:27:29,660 --> 00:27:35,940
So what caught my attention with Hans Zimmer was actually the Gladiator soundtrack back from the 2000 era.
447
00:27:37,860 --> 00:27:43,020
And even to that day, I would say that, honestly, is probably still my favorite score by him.
448
00:27:43,420 --> 00:27:47,640
My favorite song, Song, is the name of it is 503.
449
00:27:49,380 --> 00:27:58,460
But I think his music speaks to me because sometimes, you know, especially at the end of a busy day, just the voices in a song can be a little overwhelming.
450
00:27:58,820 --> 00:28:03,900
So it's to me, the music is very emotional without the lyrics.
451
00:28:04,840 --> 00:28:09,600
So you can create any kind of emotion from sad, happy anger, and you can feel that in the music.
452
00:28:10,520 --> 00:28:12,680
So to me, that reaches deep down to me.
453
00:28:12,730 --> 00:28:18,300
And it's just something I think that it's also very inspiring because, I mean, how do you create that?
454
00:28:18,600 --> 00:28:20,260
You know, that's what I'm always intrigued.
455
00:28:20,580 --> 00:28:21,660
How do you come up with that?
456
00:28:22,060 --> 00:28:23,240
You know, it's just amazing.
457
00:28:24,660 --> 00:28:29,280
So when you're listening to it, are you a headphones listener or do you have it on the speaker?
458
00:28:29,480 --> 00:28:32,320
Is it filling your home or is it just filling your ears?
459
00:28:33,720 --> 00:28:35,980
That depends on the song, actually.
460
00:28:36,860 --> 00:28:39,900
Luckily, the car that I'm driving, it has a great sound system.
461
00:28:40,760 --> 00:28:44,500
So you'll often hear just Hans Zimmer blaring through Kenneth Square.
462
00:28:45,200 --> 00:28:47,360
If you don't know that's me by now, it's me.
463
00:28:50,240 --> 00:28:53,140
But yeah, it's a great way at the end of the day for me to relax.
464
00:28:53,320 --> 00:28:59,420
So if it's not the drive home, then I usually do just play it through the sound bar at home just to get that bass going too.
465
00:29:00,740 --> 00:29:01,880
Yeah, I appreciate that.
466
00:29:03,020 --> 00:29:10,180
So perhaps to the chagrin of cat lovers in our audience here, I have to ask you, tell us about your affection for dogs.
467
00:29:10,570 --> 00:29:11,740
Are you a dog person too?
468
00:29:13,300 --> 00:29:15,540
I am. I do. I love all animals the same.
469
00:29:16,720 --> 00:29:22,360
I, of course, tend to love cats a little bit more, but I would love to have a dog myself.
470
00:29:22,600 --> 00:29:28,200
I only have two cats right now, but honestly, my schedule, it just would not be fair to the dog.
471
00:29:28,400 --> 00:29:31,940
I don't have a set schedule. I'm all over the place. I'm forgetful.
472
00:29:33,440 --> 00:29:40,000
But at the same time, I think to me, I don't know how to word this nicely without offending the dog people.
473
00:29:41,320 --> 00:29:49,180
To me, I think the reason cats are a little bit more pulling at my heartstrings is because when people see a cat outside, right,
474
00:29:49,660 --> 00:29:52,140
they might assume that that cat is just a stray, a feral.
475
00:29:52,680 --> 00:29:53,140
You know, it's okay.
476
00:29:53,600 --> 00:29:54,380
They're not too concerned.
477
00:29:54,700 --> 00:29:57,480
But if someone sees a dog outside, it's, well, what is this dog?
478
00:29:57,680 --> 00:29:59,140
You know, it needs help.
479
00:29:59,340 --> 00:30:01,700
Let me get, you know, let me put this online and see if I can get it help.
480
00:30:02,380 --> 00:30:06,680
So to me, it's, you know, that cat could potentially be a lost cat, but it's being overlooked.
481
00:30:07,980 --> 00:30:13,760
So I think that's honestly the only thing that makes the cats a notch above.
482
00:30:14,280 --> 00:30:15,580
Yeah, yeah, I'm with you.
483
00:30:16,500 --> 00:30:17,800
Cats as the underdog.
484
00:30:18,240 --> 00:30:20,780
Yeah, that's a good way to put it.
485
00:30:21,420 --> 00:30:23,000
Christine, you're originally from Kennett Square.
486
00:30:23,740 --> 00:30:25,960
And as we've been talking throughout this entire show,
487
00:30:27,010 --> 00:30:29,540
you work right there in the borough, right on State Street.
488
00:30:29,980 --> 00:30:32,500
And you live locally as well.
489
00:30:32,900 --> 00:30:36,680
So what do you enjoy most about living and working in and around Chester County?
490
00:30:36,820 --> 00:30:39,700
And I guess I'd kind of emphasize both living and working.
491
00:30:40,020 --> 00:30:41,440
So you're doing it both.
492
00:30:42,060 --> 00:30:42,800
Talk to us about that.
493
00:30:43,500 --> 00:30:45,020
Well, it's actually funny.
494
00:30:45,120 --> 00:30:49,840
When I was a kid, I didn't realize what I was surrounded by.
495
00:30:51,040 --> 00:30:52,760
I wanted to move away from Kennett.
496
00:30:53,080 --> 00:30:54,660
The grass is always greener on the other side.
497
00:30:55,100 --> 00:30:57,560
So I did move away, and then I realized I was a fool
498
00:30:58,160 --> 00:30:59,300
and that Kennett Square was great.
499
00:31:00,700 --> 00:31:01,740
So I love Kennett Square.
500
00:31:01,940 --> 00:31:06,259
It's between the grassy green hills for the beautiful drive
501
00:31:06,280 --> 00:31:09,120
that you have to the community, honestly.
502
00:31:09,460 --> 00:31:10,920
That's what drew me back is everyone here,
503
00:31:10,980 --> 00:31:12,320
it's very family-oriented.
504
00:31:12,660 --> 00:31:14,020
They're very proud of Kennett Square
505
00:31:14,320 --> 00:31:15,940
and being the mushroom capital of the world.
506
00:31:17,360 --> 00:31:20,520
And it's just, it's a very, very kind group of people.
507
00:31:21,320 --> 00:31:22,740
Something that I think it's very rare
508
00:31:22,750 --> 00:31:25,200
to find a cluster of people that are just so kind.
509
00:31:26,540 --> 00:31:28,000
And then of course, you know, growing up,
510
00:31:28,030 --> 00:31:29,940
I grew up a mile away from Longwood Gardens.
511
00:31:30,280 --> 00:31:31,880
How do you compete with Longwood?
512
00:31:32,130 --> 00:31:32,680
I mean, that's
513
00:31:32,930 --> 00:31:35,700
Yeah, well said, well said.
514
00:31:35,700 --> 00:31:35,960
So I love it.
515
00:31:36,080 --> 00:31:37,380
It's a great, great community.
516
00:31:37,600 --> 00:31:39,260
And especially with the Mushroom Festival,
517
00:31:40,320 --> 00:31:43,280
I think it's a great event to just spotlight the town
518
00:31:43,480 --> 00:31:44,900
and let people know what we're about.
519
00:31:45,820 --> 00:31:46,940
And do you like mushrooms?
520
00:31:47,080 --> 00:31:47,940
Do you eat them regularly?
521
00:31:49,240 --> 00:31:50,620
There's only one or two that I like.
522
00:31:50,720 --> 00:31:52,060
I'm a very, very picky eater.
523
00:31:52,160 --> 00:31:54,280
I'm kind of like a cat in a sense with food.
524
00:31:54,520 --> 00:31:55,980
I'm very picky with certain things.
525
00:31:57,760 --> 00:32:00,020
But I do like the typical white mushroom,
526
00:32:00,400 --> 00:32:01,100
whatever that name is.
527
00:32:01,560 --> 00:32:02,140
I'm all for that.
528
00:32:03,480 --> 00:32:03,880
Sounds good.
529
00:32:04,140 --> 00:32:04,580
Sounds good.
530
00:32:04,920 --> 00:32:05,740
So let me ask you,
531
00:32:06,740 --> 00:32:09,200
to tell us about a local business or nonprofit
532
00:32:09,570 --> 00:32:10,980
that more folks should know about.
533
00:32:12,620 --> 00:32:16,600
So one group we actually connected with recently,
534
00:32:17,260 --> 00:32:19,200
it's Cherry Blossoms Vacations.
535
00:32:20,160 --> 00:32:22,440
It's a group that actually will pay for,
536
00:32:23,360 --> 00:32:24,620
everything's covered, all expenses,
537
00:32:24,870 --> 00:32:26,580
for families with a disabled child.
538
00:32:27,500 --> 00:32:29,480
And they are in a few different locations,
539
00:32:29,840 --> 00:32:31,640
but I just never heard that concept before,
540
00:32:31,710 --> 00:32:32,920
and it's someone we met recently,
541
00:32:32,990 --> 00:32:35,800
and it's something I think should be spotlighted more
542
00:32:36,460 --> 00:32:40,260
families have a difficult time as it is, especially now in this economy.
543
00:32:41,180 --> 00:32:44,880
But to have a disabled child and to just think about even just a vacation,
544
00:32:45,970 --> 00:32:48,940
the things that they need to bring along and the care,
545
00:32:49,380 --> 00:32:51,080
this group provides a lot for them.
546
00:32:51,320 --> 00:32:54,120
And to have the expense covered, that's a huge help for the family.
547
00:32:54,550 --> 00:32:57,620
So it's something that's very inspiring and very,
548
00:32:58,600 --> 00:33:00,100
I'm proud to say that we met them recently.
549
00:33:01,600 --> 00:33:03,680
And can I ask if they are locally based?
550
00:33:05,380 --> 00:33:07,040
It's funny because I believe so.
551
00:33:07,100 --> 00:33:09,100
I'm not sure their exact location,
552
00:33:10,220 --> 00:33:12,340
but I don't think they're directly in Kent Square,
553
00:33:12,420 --> 00:33:15,800
but I believe they're somewhere within the half an hour radius.
554
00:33:16,740 --> 00:33:17,740
Okay, well, that's great.
555
00:33:17,920 --> 00:33:19,060
Thank you for sharing about them.
556
00:33:19,160 --> 00:33:23,980
We will be sure to link to their website over on our show notes page
557
00:33:24,060 --> 00:33:26,140
over at startlocal.co.
558
00:33:26,340 --> 00:33:28,020
That's startlocal.co.
559
00:33:30,380 --> 00:33:34,500
So I want to ask you, because having visited the Kitty Cafe,
560
00:33:35,800 --> 00:33:45,760
And not to say that I'm looking for a new job, but if I had to work somewhere else, are you hiring or are you at the very least looking for more volunteers?
561
00:33:47,220 --> 00:33:54,740
I wish we were able to afford more employees, but just being on a limited budget, we are maxed out with employees right now.
562
00:33:55,340 --> 00:33:57,980
But we are always, always, always looking for volunteers.
563
00:33:58,800 --> 00:34:01,660
Like I said before, that's the backbone of Treetops.
564
00:34:01,920 --> 00:34:06,420
And the main thing I love with the volunteers is how they build the relationship with the cats.
565
00:34:06,580 --> 00:34:09,440
So they have a familiar face every week to see them.
566
00:34:10,820 --> 00:34:16,659
So if anyone is interested for volunteering, we are always open-arm welcoming them to Treetops.
567
00:34:17,360 --> 00:34:21,639
And is there like a volunteer's information on your website that we should direct them to?
568
00:34:22,460 --> 00:34:23,379
Oh, that's a great question.
569
00:34:23,600 --> 00:34:24,340
Thank you for plugging that.
570
00:34:24,460 --> 00:34:32,080
Yep, if you go to Tree Tops website, we have different links for just making reservations, volunteering, more information.
571
00:34:32,370 --> 00:34:35,800
And of course, the cats are featured on there as well with their own profiles.
572
00:34:36,639 --> 00:34:38,220
Yes, they are, and I love their profiles.
573
00:34:39,280 --> 00:34:45,639
That's a good way to spend at least a few minutes in an afternoon is to read profiles of my cat neighbors.
574
00:34:46,500 --> 00:34:47,220
It was awesome.
575
00:34:47,290 --> 00:34:48,220
I really enjoyed that.
576
00:34:48,659 --> 00:35:12,520
So, Christine, you and your colleagues and your board members and volunteers down at the Tree Tops Kitty Cafe are doing a lot to help our little feline friends and find homes and to help the community by giving the community a place, a very peace-filled, quiet place to go in and spend time with cats, but also spend time with ourselves and our own thoughts.
577
00:35:12,720 --> 00:35:15,100
And it's a place for reflection and the like.
578
00:35:15,660 --> 00:35:19,360
So with that in mind, how can the community support Tree Tops Kitty Cafe?
579
00:35:21,060 --> 00:35:28,340
The most effective way, and every rescue will scream this, is to donate towards Tree Tops Cause.
580
00:35:29,080 --> 00:35:32,780
We have a monthly donor club, the Kitty Keeper Club.
581
00:35:34,480 --> 00:35:42,900
Outside of donations, volunteering, coming to our events, visiting the cafe, supporting the events outside of the cafe.
582
00:35:43,880 --> 00:35:49,180
Even just following the cat's journey on Facebook or social media and liking, following, sharing.
583
00:35:49,600 --> 00:35:56,920
I mean, all of that, it's just, it's great support for the cafe and just the cats and the treetop mission to help save cats.
584
00:35:58,540 --> 00:36:01,740
Christine Bainey, Executive Director of Treetops Kitty Cafe.
585
00:36:02,640 --> 00:36:08,480
Where can folks connect with you and learn more about your wonderful cafe and the cat adoption service?
586
00:36:09,800 --> 00:36:17,980
The best way to learn more is to visit our website, treetopskittycafe.com, or visit our Facebook, Instagram, TikTok page.
587
00:36:18,700 --> 00:36:23,100
We like to try and make daily posts just to keep everyone updated on the cats and their journeys.
588
00:36:24,680 --> 00:36:28,200
And we're going to be starting a live stream series soon, every Tuesday.
589
00:36:28,620 --> 00:36:33,900
And we actually do have a current series, Tales on Tour, where we take a cat out in a stroller.
590
00:36:34,600 --> 00:36:41,360
So if you live in Kennett Square and you see our stroller with our little cat flag, definitely stop by and say hi because we're out exploring.
591
00:36:42,160 --> 00:36:45,220
I love that. I love that. I'm curious, are these your ideas?
592
00:36:45,480 --> 00:36:51,260
Are these one of your team members who came up with these live streaming and taking cats on the strollers?
593
00:36:51,300 --> 00:36:53,780
I just love it. It's just great content. It's really fun.
594
00:36:53,920 --> 00:36:54,240
Thank you.
595
00:36:54,380 --> 00:36:55,300
How did you come up with that?
596
00:36:56,300 --> 00:37:01,000
So the stroller tour, I honestly was just trying to look to connect with some of our neighbor businesses.
597
00:37:01,300 --> 00:37:04,240
So the concept is we go to different businesses.
598
00:37:04,390 --> 00:37:07,820
The first one was Forage Books, which is newer to Kennett.
599
00:37:08,580 --> 00:37:14,360
Just to have exposure for the cafe and for the business and just see how the cats do, honestly.
600
00:37:15,340 --> 00:37:17,940
Especially some cats just need a little bit more enrichment.
601
00:37:18,340 --> 00:37:23,000
So taking them on these little journeys is a great way to see if they would be a great cat on a stroller.
602
00:37:23,520 --> 00:37:28,860
And that's also a great way to advertise them with adoption is, hey, this cat loves stroller walks.
603
00:37:28,940 --> 00:37:34,120
If you don't want to take your cat in a stroller walk, then I don't know who can find another cat for you, but I think that's pretty cool.
604
00:37:35,880 --> 00:37:40,080
So honestly, just anything to try and just spotlight how goofy the cats are.
605
00:37:40,180 --> 00:37:41,140
They're different personalities.
606
00:37:42,460 --> 00:37:45,760
So it's always, always in my head, just trying to think of different crazy ideas.
607
00:37:46,660 --> 00:37:47,440
Yeah, I love that.
608
00:37:47,470 --> 00:37:48,080
I love that.
609
00:37:48,180 --> 00:37:53,100
We'll be sure to link to your website and your social media outlets over on startlocal.co.
610
00:37:53,640 --> 00:37:55,480
Christine, thank you so much for joining me here today.
611
00:37:55,540 --> 00:37:58,540
It's been an absolute pleasure getting to visit the cafe,
612
00:37:58,900 --> 00:37:59,840
spend time with you there,
613
00:37:59,970 --> 00:38:02,040
and then connect with you again here on the podcast.
614
00:38:02,320 --> 00:38:02,880
Thank you so much.
615
00:38:03,560 --> 00:38:05,040
Thank you so much for having me.
616
00:38:05,140 --> 00:38:07,000
The cats and I are very grateful,
617
00:38:07,280 --> 00:38:10,340
and we hope we've inspired you to spend more time with some kitties.
618
00:38:12,020 --> 00:38:12,520
You have indeed.
619
00:38:12,770 --> 00:38:13,340
You have indeed.
620
00:38:14,520 --> 00:38:16,900
The Start Local podcast is published every fortnight.
621
00:38:17,480 --> 00:38:19,160
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622
00:38:19,330 --> 00:38:20,720
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623
00:38:21,140 --> 00:38:23,900
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624
00:38:24,620 --> 00:38:28,280
You can visit the Start Local website at startlocal.co for show notes,
625
00:38:28,800 --> 00:38:32,220
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626
00:38:32,880 --> 00:38:35,460
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627
00:38:35,920 --> 00:38:38,000
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628
00:38:38,540 --> 00:38:41,240
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629
00:38:41,440 --> 00:38:42,860
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