HOUSTON – If you’re a lover of cats, then you probably have heard of El Gato Coffeehouse on Pecore Street in the Heights. It‘s a hidden gem where you can snack and play with a bunch of cute kittens, but that’s not what this story is about. If you want to learn more about it, click here to see the report my friend Sabiha at Houston Life did.
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Before we get into the journey, please let me take you into my world for a moment and provide you with some context. This isn‘t a story of me just wanting a cat. The truth is, I actually didn‘t want to get a cat, let alone adopt from a cafe, but here we are, and here’s why:
I grew up with dogs but my first actual pet, that I could actually call my own, was a cat. Her name was Scratchy and she passed away in October from kidney failure.
My wife and I loved Scratchy with all our hearts and she was first diagnosed with renal/kidney failure back in 2021, so we are fortunate we got to have her for three more years before her health started declining. My friends and loved ones — even coworkers, who got the chance to know her, know how much she meant to me. One of my sisters ended up getting/fostering cats over the years after her kids fell in love with Scratchy.
We found her (and our other cat, Raja) on the streets of San Antonio‘s west side back in 2016 when she was about 1 or 2 years old. We also recently took in my sister‘s 10-year-old dog Sofia.
Still, Scratchy was the first cat my wife and I took in together when we were still fresh in our relationship. And don‘t get me wrong, we love all our babies and are dreading the day we lose them too but I don‘t know how else to explain it — Scratchy just left a hole in both of our hearts and our home feels incomplete with her gone.
Some days are easier than others, but on this particular Saturday, my wife was feeling the depression horribly. We put the finishing touches on Scratchy‘s memorial, and the sinking feeling came in again.
We haven‘t wanted to leave the house except for work, because we just wanted to capitalize on the time we have with our other two furbabies. But it just wasn’t healthy for us, to stay cooped up, so I thought it might be nice to just check out El Gato Coffeehouse because we’d seen it on Instagram but never actually saw the joint.
I was worried seeing all the cats would trigger my wife and me, but we went in anyway. We went in and saw a bunch of cats (naturally) but I want to say about 5 minutes or so later — who just so happened to look like Scratchy — came up to my wife and after finishing the treat, stayed by her side.
Every other cat left once they finished the treats we gave them, but this one stayed, then sat in my wife‘s lap and started showing similar mannerisms Scratchy would. She took a nap and then when my wife put her hand near her face, the cat buried her head in my wife’s hand and got real comfortable.
I went to get coffee and when I returned, saw the cat was still there, sleeping comfortably when my wife got up, the cat kept following her. It was instant love.
There was a binder full of the cat‘s biographies, but for some reason, her name wasn’t in there. I took a photo and went to the front desk to find out and they said her name was Cholula.
She recently arrived from an animal hospital on Richmond Avenue but was adoptable. I asked how much the fee was, and they said it was $95.
I don‘t make THAT much, to where I can be as impulsive as I am, but I was ready to drop the money. That‘s when management was quick to tell me about the process. I had to fill out an application first, then I’d have to do an interview and finally have her for a week to see how she does in my home before we fully commit to her.
Bear in mind, for the last 9 years, my fur babies were taken in off the streets of San Antonio. So, I wasn’t familiar with all of this but I was still in it, especially cause my wife had already fallen in love with Cholula.
You can also find a fur baby through KPRC 2’s Pet Project
The application was not just any kind of form. They wanted my address, my employer, how many animals lived in my home, how old everyone was who lived in my home — I was going “Yo, what‘s with the 20 questions?” And again, I am super impulsive, so I was doing all this through my phone and it just seemed like the longest form I’d ever filled out. It almost felt as if I was in the process of adopting a human child. But I did it.
At 3 p.m. Monday, Nov. 11, is my interview with one of the adoption coordinators.
My wife and I were not expecting to get this far, because we can never replace Scratchy. But when we went home that Saturday after leaving the cafe, we felt a sort of calmness, that we hadn‘t since Scratchy was with us. Even Raja has been sad knowing his sister is gone and can‘t play fight with Sofia cause she’s not used to that. So maybe he could use another friend.
Wish me luck and if you‘ve come this far, then check out part two of this story, to find out what happened next.