Published By: Del Rey
Publication Date: April 10, 2018
Genre: Fiction, Western, Fantasy, Horror
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If you are anything like me and you love coffee and kitties, a cat cafe is the place to go! I've been hearing about these places for some time, so we took a trip to the Orlando Cat Cafe to see just what all the fluff was about.
First, you enter through the Axum coffee shop where you can order your favorite caffeinated beverage. You may then sit in the cafe sipping your drink and watching the 20+ cats and kittens play, sleep and lounge, all through the viewing window or you can head into the cat play area and interact with all the sweet felines.
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| Prince |
The first thing you may notice upon entering are all the cat beds, toys, trees, giant kitten tent, stairs built into the wall leading to more cat beds higher up and, of course, all the cats. We were immediately greeted by a beautiful, friendly little tortie named, Callie.
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| Nap time for Callie |
This sweet kitty reminded me so much of my own torti from years ago also named, Kali. There is a bulletin board on the wall with pictures and information on all the kitties so you can easily find the names and ages of all your favorite cats.
The very first cat that was wide awake and ready to play was, Ramsey. She is 7 years old and had a bit of dental work.
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| Ramsey |
I'm not sure if the dental work had a part to play in her adorable quirk, but notice her little tongue in both pictures?
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| Ramsey the mighty huntress |
It wasn't long before we were invited to the kitten tent where the youngest members of the feline family reside. Each small group is allowed 10 minutes of play time with the babies.
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| Little Macho |
So much cuteness and sass in such small packages. Little Macho was, as you can see, exhausted from all that play time, but Big Macho was full of energy and ready for fun!
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| Big Macho |
Once our ten minutes were up we headed out of the tent and found more kitties we hadn't yet met like, Shiny.
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| Shiny |
And the lovely Miss Tiki who was a permanent fixture on this throw pillow.
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| Tiki |
We found kitties in every nook and cranny of the play room!
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| Tamatoa |
I noticed this handsome boy, Tamatoa, has what looks to be an ear tip. I wondered if he was previously part of a TNR (trap, neuter, return) program. All of the lost girls cats are either rescues or were at one time feral kittens we ourselves found and adopted. I myself feed all the community cats in our area and have recently begun having them TNR'd thanks to the wonderful cat rescues that make it possible.
Out of my first group of ferals, one kitten decided he had enough of the wild life and chose to become an indoor fur baby where he can demand all the attention he wants. With our homes already full we were not considering adopting during our visit, but if we had been, there was one special kitty that I fell in love with. His name is Donkey.
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| The Most Precious Bean Toe award goes to, Donkey! |
This little guy recently graduated from the kitten tent and he is such a purr baby! He will make the purrfect lap top model when he finds his furrever home.
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| Donkey |
All of the Axum staff and SPCA volunteers were extremely kind and helpful. The cat play area was very clean and nicely decorated with all things cat themed. You are required to sanitize your hands before entering the play area and once more before handling the kittens in the tent. They go above and beyond to keep the animals happy and healthy.
We highly recommend visiting the cafe if you are looking to adopt your new best friend. If you can't adopt, you can still support them by volunteering or donating items from their wish list.
Be sure to check out their website where you can find information on all the available cats and kittens and you can reserve your spot in the kitty play area.
If you live in western Tennessee, or are just visiting or passing through, you absolutely must take some time and visit the Tennessee Safari Park! This is such a fun and unique experience for the whole family.
The park has a 5.5 mile drive through where you can see and feed over 80 different species of animals from around the world, some that are rare and endangered. It has one of the largest collections of zoo animals in the state. The buffalo are and forever will be my favorite. Have you seen a baby buffalo? Cuteness overload!
We have visited the park every summer for the past several years and every time there has been something new. They're always expanding and adding new attractions.
When you are finished with the drive through part, you must stop and take a stroll through the 20 acre zoo area. There are primates, many species of exotic birds, a reptile area, foxes, tapirs and best of all- A petting zoo!
Tips:
If you can, go early. By the afternoon all the animals have been fed and if its very hot they will be trying to cool off in the shade and aren't that interested in coming up to your vehicle. Get there before it opens at 10am because a line will quickly start forming. It's also going to be less busy during the week than on the weekends.
Bring CASH. They do not accept cards.
You can buy 4 buckets of feed for $10. I highly suggest buying more. 4 buckets may seem like alot but trust me, it goes fast. We (a family of 5) bought 10 buckets and still could have used more.
Hold on to those buckets! Some of the animals, especially those gluttonous camels, will yank the buckets right out of your hands.
Save some feed! The drive-thru part is very, very long. You may be excited and want to feed all the animals at the beginning but then you'll be missing out on feeding those at the end, like the water buffalo and giraffe.
After the drive-thru, take a break and stop at the zoo area. There are restrooms, a Safari Grill with drinks and food, and a gift shop. You can walk around and see many other animals here and there is a petting zoo!
Obsidio (The Illuminae Files #3) by Amie Kaufman, Jay Kristoff
Published By: Knopf Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: March 13, 2018
Genre: YA, Science Fiction
