GRAND RAPIDS, Mich — What was a normal Saturday morning at the Happy Cat Café, quickly turned into a disturbing one.
A person strolled into the business, waited for a barista to turn their head; they snagged a donation jar. Right off the counter, in front of a couple of cat patrons.
“I felt really violated in a way,” explained Kati Quarto, owner and founder of Happy Cat Café.
The jar in question is not tips. It’s a designated donation jar for the café’s partnered fostering agency, Fig and Friends.
“All donations go directly to Fig and Friends to support the rescue efforts,” emphasized Quarto.
A non-profit, where donations go to helpless cats. “Just losing the money that goes to the actual cat rescue kind of hurt a little deeper,” said Quarto.
To make up for the lost money, an online fundraiser was created. Coined, refill the tip jar.
“When the video came out, we put a Facebook fundraiser on the video. And we were able to raise $600 on the first night," explained Quarto.
With posting the theft on video, the post got over 2 million views. “Fortunately, we were able to raise almost $1,000. So far, the video got over two and a half million views so far. So that is crazy," said Quarto.
Refill the tip jar will be accepting donations for Fig and Friends until August 10. To donate, click here.
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