CLOSURE: Cat cafe closing its doors after less than two years of operation in Toronto
Published January 15, 2025 at 10:00 am
A cat cafe that just opened a couple of years ago in Toronto has posted to social media letting people know they’ve been struggling and that they’re closing their downtown location.
Lazy Cat Cafe has been dealing with a lot, and is currently grappling with the decision to close down their newly opened downtown location. This week, they posted that they were going to move forward with closing in the coming months.
“This is a deeply sorrowful message for us, and although we hoped this day would never come, it is a reality we must face,” reads a social media post from Lazy Cat Cafe.
“Reflecting on the less than two years of operation, our mission has always been clear—to provide a platform for overlooked cats, giving them the exposure and love they need to increase their chances of being adopted.”
View this post on Instagram
The post goes on to detail the financial struggles the cafe has been experiencing including spending thousands of dollars on veterinary care and tens of thousands on rent. They also say they’ve been unfairly criticized, but appreciate the understanding of their supporters, and that they’re continuing to adopt out cats until they close and hope to continue helping cats in need after that.
That post has almost 800 likes and almost 200 comments on Instagram. Lazy Cat Cafe later followed up with another post showing receipts for their bills.
View this post on Instagram
“In the past few days, we’ve been reflecting on whether we should continue with what we’re doing. Our staff has been intimidated and threatened,” reads the caption to the post showing the bills.
“We’ve only compiled the bills for purchasing supplements and various medications for the cats, which total $3,500 CAD. And this is just a part of it. The cat litter we buy is expensive tofu-based litter, and the $2,700 CAD worth of litter was used up in just one month. To ensure all the cats are fed, we spend $800 CAD each month buying suitable food for different cats. These numbers are staggering, and even though many people question us, these bills don’t lie.”
View this post on Instagram
Now, the cafe has started up a petition or survey of sorts asking a simple question: “Do you want Lazy Cat Cafe to stay in Downtown Toronto?”
For now, it seems the North York location of Lazy Cat Cafe will continue operation.
They’re waiting to hear the thoughts of respondents, but for now, their first Instagram post about the closure officially announced Lazy Cat Cafe’s downtown location should be closing around May.