{"id":174908,"date":"2025-08-25T17:51:09","date_gmt":"2025-08-25T17:51:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/174908\/"},"modified":"2025-08-25T17:51:09","modified_gmt":"2025-08-25T17:51:09","slug":"the-cat-lounge-celebrates-major-milestone-cats","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/174908\/","title":{"rendered":"The Cat Lounge celebrates major milestone, cats"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>A cat from The Cat Lounge Rescue and Adoption Center. (Courtesy The Cat Lounge)<\/p>\n

The Cat Lounge Rescue and Adoption Center<\/a> in La Jolla has been quietly doing its job since it first opened in 2019.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

One might even say it\u2019s purring right along.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The organization, which is the only nonprofit cat cafe in San Diego, just passed its 6,000th adoption as it rounds out its sixth year in operation.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a huge milestone,\u201d said founder and executive director Renee Shamloo<\/a>, the Cat Lounge\u2019s founder and executive director. She is also a lawyer<\/a> who specializes in \u2013 among other things \u2013 animal welfare cases.<\/p>\n

That work, as well as her great love of animals, was what initially led her to open the Cat Lounge, which originally only aimed to reduce the rate of euthanasia of adoptable animals across the region.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we first opened we only pulled cats from high kill shelters throughout Southern California,\u201d Shamloo said.\u201dIt was our mission to reduce the euthanasia rate.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Pops<\/a>Pops the Cat before he was adopted. (Photo courtesy Renee Shamloo)<\/p>\n

But the timing of the lounge\u2019s opening \u2013 November 2019 \u2013 permanently changed their model. Three months in, everything had begun to shut down due to the global COVID-19 pandemic.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe still pull from shelters but we shifted our focus more to cats on the street, strays,\u201d Shamloo said, working with smaller established rescues and shelters to do so. That way, they intervene well before the cats are at risk of being put down.<\/p>\n

But the nature of the work has changed beyond where their cats are rescued. For example, in 2025, more people are surrendering their pets due to housing issues, financial problems, or both. <\/p>\n

Shamloo says that they do everything they can to help. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re a small team, we\u2019re only six people,\u201d she said. \u201cWe get inundated with requests and we really do our best, but as others are struggling we\u2019re struggling too.\u201d <\/p>\n

But the work is as rewarding as it can be difficult. The cat that had the honor of being the six-thousandth adoptee was a sweet old street cat named Pops, said Shamloo.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Pops was a former street cat with some pre-existing health issues who was ultimately adopted by his foster.<\/p>\n

\"Pops<\/a>Pops the Cat after he was adopted. (Photo courtesy Renee Shamloo)<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a perfect ending,\u201d she said. \u201cI think we had him for six months,\u00a0 so we were really jhonored that he was our 6000th. It kind of showed what we\u2019re all about and what our mission is.<\/p>\n

\u201cHitting this milestone was incredible, but we really need community support,\u201d Shamloo added. <\/p>\n

Because they are a nonprofit, all the money they raise goes back to their work. But Shamloo said that community support doesn\u2019t necessarily have to take the form of financial donations<\/a>. <\/p>\n

It could also simply be spreading the world about the Cat Lounge Rescue and Adoption Center and what they do \u2013 and, of course, simply dropping by for a visit. <\/p>\n

Anyone can visit the Cat Lounge<\/a>, which is at 1006 Torrey Pines Road in La Jolla. <\/p>\n

Admission is $25 per person and offers access to the cats and kitten nursery and goes directly to animal care. For more, visit thecatlounge.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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