What’s the absolutely best way to lay down your weary burden and immerse your spirit in carefree joy?

Why, in a roomful of cats! Whether you have your own home clowder or can’t have any but need a feline fix, the Feline Good Social Club, curled up Downtown on Atlantic Avenue and Third Street, is your bowl of tuna. Hep cats in huge sunglasses rendered by Long Beach artist WhosVlad liven up every wall, and whimsy pervades every room, including the bathroom. Toys and tchotchkes fill shelves, walls and floorspace, and all the furniture is either exclusively for the cats or intended for humans to share with them. The lounge’s motto is “Get giddy with a kitty.”

three cats lie in a line on a white sofa with bright windows behind
The Feline Good Social Club is a cat lounge in every sense. These three won’t share, but hey. Photo courtesy of Feline Good Social Club.

 

Oh, yes, the cats—about 25 of them, both resident and adoptable—will join you in living up to the motto. The kitties were rescued from various situations, some of them pretty dire, but they’re living the life at the lounge while they wait for forever homes.

“The lounge is an ideal place to get to know a cat because guests are meeting the cats in their home, and just like with humans and our homes, the lounge is their comfort zone,” said Feline Good Social Club business manager Mikki Motley. “As a result, they are much more relaxed and social without the normal challenges they might experience being transported to an adoption location and having to not only contend with a stressful car ride but an unfamiliar environment as well as being placed in a cage. Since cats are creatures of comfort, they crave consistency, and the lounge provides a stable, safe home as well as nonstop love and affection from many guests, who are always commenting on how incredibly social and affectionate our kitties are.”

The volunteer-managed lounge books regular cat-happy sessions and special events. Pandemic restrictions have made it difficult to host them, particularly during 2020 when the club had to close for a long period. All the cats went to fosters, and a few, as is often the case, stayed permanently in the homes. The following year, things greatly improved.

“Some minor blips and challenges were experienced here and there, but for the most part, the lounge hosted a steady stream of guests and adoptions—62 adopted during 2021,” Motley said.

The 2022 events season is starting a little late, but with a healthy pounce. In February, the lounge will continue to present the favorites and one new event (see Just fur fun and fur-ther education). You can book bimonthly episodes of Comedy & Cats presented by Salty AF Comedy Show and monthly Sound Healings from IlluminateLife, both of which share the spotlight (and sometimes have it stolen) by the little slinkers. From Feb. 11 through Feb. 14, from 4–5 p.m. and 5–6 p.m., a four-day Valentine’s Day Happy Meower will combine wine, chocolate and cats in two one-hour sessions per day. Besides the goodies and cat cuddling, an hourly raffle will offer merchandise from the club.

 “The Happy Meower event is a first for us—we chose to tie it into Valentine’s weekend so that we could share some love with our guests by offering some treats along with our main attractions—the cats, of course!” Motley said. “And both of our partnerships for [the regularly scheduled] events are really effortless and wonderful because IlluminateLife and SaltyAF both love cats just as much as we do!”

Motley said that she’s hopeful for the return of monthly Cats & Mats yoga this summer and Paint & Purrs a few times during 2022. The volunteers are looking forward to more guests, more interaction and, of course, more cats finding their forever Valentines.

To book any session at Long Beach’s only cat lounge, follow this link. Here’s hoping for a match for both of you for nine lives or longer.

 

Virtually pets

Adoption fees run from $160 to $200 for a spayed or neutered fully vetted cat. Check out the candidates and complete an adoption form here.

brown tabby with white mouth and chest stares into the camera as she meat-loafs on a pad. The Retreat Room label is on the wall in the back.
EEEEEE! Brown-tabby alert! Queenie was a delight from the beginning and so grateful to the volunteers at the lounge for helping her leave future motherhood behind. She walked right up to the staff and greeted them and then went off to play. Queenie loves to play, but note that she isn’t a cuddler—two pats is quite enough. But she’s spunky and playful and will make a great companion.
big, fat orange cat with white muzzle sits in a yellow chair, seemingly oblivious to a colorful party hat and neck decoration he's wearing.
Mochi will apparently put up with anything. He’s a 3-year-old people kitty, and the volunteers at the cat lounge say he’s “large and in charge.” Mochi was adopted two years ago but was returned, another sad victim of a family moving. It would be nice if he could stay in one place. He’s interested in other cats but can be annoying, so it may be best for him to be the one-and-only. He’s big enough to take up the space for two anyway.
tortoiseshell cat peeping out of a hole shaped like a cat head and standing on a wooden plank
“Did someone call my name?” Pretty little Goldie, 3 years old, spent the first couple of years of her life outdoors as a community cat. People noticed how friendly she was and helped her out. After her third litter, her mentors decided that she needed a better life. She was an excellent mom, and now she’s ready to be a house cat. She loves humans and toys, and doesn’t mind other cats at all.

 

woman in black face mask wearing a checked blouse and sitting on a yellow chair, flaked out, has a huge calico medium-hair cat on her jeans.
Is this you after a day of hard work—the human, that is? Can you see yourself flaked out at home after an exhausting day with a great, big calico cat sprawled on your lap? Then, Xanthe is your match! Xanthe, 3 years old, is described as a Cymric—a rare type of Manx cat. She’s as playful and friendly as she is beautiful and is ready to be your lap warmer.

 

Just fur fun and fur-ther education

Young man plays six white drums as several cats look on.
Sound-healer Santiago Rodriguez plays some pet sounds as the cats try to be cool about it. Courtesy of Feline Good Social Club

 

Sound Healing event: 5:30–7 p.m., Friday, Feb. 4, Feline Good Social Club, 301 Atlantic Ave., Long Beach, $30.

Anyone who’s had a cat purring on their lap or stomach knows how good those vibrations are. The only cat lounge in Long Beach is upping the healing by presenting a healing sound bath—with cats! As humans work the ancient instruments, kitties will weave around, over and on you as you lie down taking it all in. Wear loose clothing, and bring a face mask, as COVID-19 precautions are enforced there. Order your tickets here.

Happy Meower: 4–6 p.m., Friday, Feb. 11–Monday, Feb. 14, 4–6 p.m., Feline Good Social Club, 301 Atlantic Ave., Long Beach, $25 for a pair of tickets.

The town’s only cat lounge celebrates guests by offering a reduced price ticket for two to visit their special cats and also complimentary wine and chocolate as well, and all the kitties you can amuse yourself with. There will also be a drawing on each of these four days and times for one guest per hour to receive a special FGSC goodie bag. Spaces are limited, so book your spot for two right meow!

Comedy & Cats: 8–9 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 12, Feline Good Social Club, 301 Atlantic Ave., Long Beach, $25.

They’re back at it again! Enjoying a night of laughter and comedy has never been this su-purr! Not only will there be funny people entertaining you but also 30 cats and kittens will be joining in the fun! Doors will open at 7:30 p.m. to give you more quality time with the Feline Good kitties! Buy tickets here.

Help wanted, help given

Volunteers of many stripes needed at Helen Sanders CatPAWS

The best labors are those of love, and such work comprises Helen Sanders CatPAWS. One of the most gratifying aspects of animal rescue—the reward that makes all the work and tears and sleepless nights worthwhile—is sending cats and kittens off to their new lives and homes. CatPAWS has an immediate need for people who can help their adoptables pack up their kit bags and go to their forever homes! The CatPAWS Adoption Center is located inside PetSmart at 12341 Seal Beach Blvd., Seal Beach, and if you want to be part of making smiles and that magical moment when a previously homeless cat becomes a cherished family member, please fill out a short online application. Thank you for wanting to volunteer and save lives!

Spay/neuter appointments available at SNP/LA

The Spay/Neuter Project of Los Angeles (SNP/LA) offers free and low-cost spay/neuter services, and they’re extending the hours of their vaccination clinics. Make an appointment here at any of their three locations—San Pedro, Los Angeles and Mission Hills, and check the mobile clinic button for their schedule as well.

Volunteer walkers needed for senior citizens’ dogs

Ida’s Walkers is a program of The Heart of Ida, a 501c3 nonprofit organization serving the older-adult population in and around Long Beach. Ida’s Walkers offers dog-walking services to low-to-moderate-income seniors who are hospitalized, have limited mobility, or are at risk of falling. If you want to help senior citizens keep their beloved pets as long as they are able to live at home, call 562-370-3548.

Fix Long Beach low-cost pet-services clinics: selected days and times, 1749 Magnolia Ave., Long Beach, services available by appointment at www.fixlongbeachpets.com.

Fix Long Beach is taking appointments for low-cost spay/neuter, dental, vaccines and other vet needs for cats and dogs. Vaccination clinics take place on the second and fourth Thursday of each month. Visit their webpage or Facebook page for details.

DIY Kitten Care Kits available free at Long Beach Animal Care Services

Kitten season is still in bloom, and shelters and rescues are scrambling to save little lives, get them fixed, get them adopted. It isn’t unusual to find nests of young, seemingly abandoned kittens during kitten season. It is a natural reaction to want to help, to save them. If you are interested in obtaining a Kitten Care Kit made possible by Helen Sanders CatPAWS, please email [email protected].

Spay/neuter vouchers available at shelter

Long Beach Animal Care Services has spay/neuter vouchers available. They’ll take a healthy nip out of the cost of a procedure. Residents of any of the five cities served by the shelter can telephone the general number at 562-570–7387 to request a voucher.

 If you can see the bottom of the kibble bag

a pile of pet food and pet accessories
Photo courtesy of Friends of Long Beach Animals.

 

Pets of the Homeless’s home page gives a self-description as the only organization focusing only on providing food and care for pets belonging to homeless people. Businesses and other organizations across the country receive in-kind donations of food and other needs that the dogs and cats’ human families can pick up at outreach locations. The following businesses will accept your donations:

Trendi Pawz, 3726 E. Seventh St., Long Beach.

Belmont Heights Animal Hospital, 255 Redondo Ave., Long Beach.

Paw Shoppe Pet Center, Inc., 6416 E. Spring St., Long Beach.

Food and supplies are available Mondays from 9 a.m. to noon and Saturdays from noon to 3 p.m. at Beacon for Him Ministries, 1535 Gundry Ave. Long Beach; and Thursdays from 9 to 11 a.m. at Christian Outreach in Action, 515 E. Third St., Long Beach, Donations will be gratefully accepted at these locations as well.

Adopt, adopt, adopt

shelter volunteer with peaked cap and blue longsleeve shirt smiles at camera hugging a gray and white pitbull. They sit on the grass.
Long Beach Animal Care Services volunteer Jo Ellen’s big smile shows the love that she feels for Griffin. The shelter is bursting with dogs that no one wanted. Please help change that.

In-furson events, etc.

Pet Food Express Cat Adoption Center: 10 a.m.–8 p.m. weekdays and Saturdays, and 10 a.m.–7 p.m. .Sundays., Pet Food Express, 4220 Long Beach Blvd., Long Beach, adoption fees apply.

This adoption center is a much-needed satellite operation of Long Beach Animal Care Services. Julie and her team pull adoptable cats—”adoptable,” to these guys, means any cat in a shelter kennel! The team socializes the kitties until they’re adopted, which takes less time than you could imagine!

Helen Sanders CatPAWS adoption centers: viewable daily during store hours, playtime Saturdays and Sundays between noon and 3 p.m., PetSmart, 12341 Seal Beach Blvd., Seal Beach; Petco Marina Shores, 6500 Pacific Coast Highway, third Saturday of every month between 1 and 3 p.m., Long Beach, adoption fees apply.

Window-shopping’s a neat pastime and likely has become more common during the pandemic. Helen Sanders CatPAWS has applied window-shopping to cat adoption; you can peer at several of the fine felines through the windows of the PetSmart adoption center in Seal Beach, and now, you can finally visit with them, scratch their little ears, and rub them under their chinny-chin-chins on Saturdays from noon to 3 p.m. Visitors to Petco Marina Shores every third Saturday of the month can see them running around their playpens and cuddle them, too. Volunteers will answer questions and provide you with adoption information! Be sure to wear a mask. You can find adoption applications and all the kitties here.

Nota bon-e—fosters are needed everywhere!

two dogs and a cat on one border, two cats and two dogs on other. Caption says, "May we couch-surf at your place?"
May we couch-surf at your place?

If you’ve always wanted a pet but aren’t sure if you’re ready for a lifetime (the animal’s) commitment, or if you’re past the pet-roommate days for any reason, fostering might be a great way to go, especially with one or more of the kittens popping up during kitten season. Every one of the organizations listed below is in desperate need of fosters who’ll social them and help save their little lives. Who knows—maybe one of those lives will change your mind about the not-ready-for-roommate thing!

These nonprofits also regularly feature cat, dog and rabbit adoptions. As of now, adoptions are mainly by appointment. Click on the links for each rescue in case of updates or changes. These organizations operate through donations and grants, and anything you can give would be welcome. Please suggest any Long Beach-area rescues to add to the list.