Reservations Now Available for Purrington's, Portland's First Cat Cafe

It's official: Purrington's Cat Lounge, Portland's first cat cafe, is opening its doors January 24. The kitties themselves are due to arrive from the Cat Adoption Team in Sherwood this weekend, and they'll all be available for adoption. "We won't have kittens," says owner Kristen Castillo. "They'll send us cats that have been in the shelter for a while. It'll be way better than the shelter — a great stopover for them before they find a new home."

To ensure you get a chance to hang with the kitties, you can now make a reservation for the "cat lounge," which has seats for up to 20 people at a time. Entry costs $8 per hour, which helps cover the cost of maintaining the cats. And, yes, you can bring your food and drink from the cafe into the cat lounge if you get it to-go.

The cafe itself will serve pastries from Fleur de Lis, coffee from Extracto, tea from The Jasmine Pearl, as well as a few snacks, like a meat and cheese plate, a vegan cheese and cracker plate, and deviled eggs. Plus there's beer by the bottle, wine by the glass, and weekend "Meowmosas."

Allergic? Don't want to pay the entry fee? You can still get your kitty fix while in the cafe. "There's a huge window that looks from the cafe into the lounge," says Castillo. "And in front of it is a counter that seats six."

The grand opening celebration is Saturday January 24, with free 30-minute visits to the cat lounge on a first-come, first-served basis. The cafe will officially open January 25.

Purrington's Cat Lounge: 3529 NE Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., Portland; 503-334-3570.

Hours: Tuesday through Sunday from 12 p.m. to 8 p.m.