BERKELEY SPRINGS, W.Va. — George Farnham paused at the top of the staircase and motioned to the wall, one lined with photos of cats who have been adopted from Give Purrs a Chance over the last year.
As the photos stretched from the landing, up the steps to the second floor and down the hall, it showcased just a snippet of the work the nonprofit has done over the last four years, albeit that snippet still being a large impact.
Since its opening, Give Purrs a Chance has adopted out more than 1,300 cats, the nonprofit’s success and uniqueness seeming to go hand in hand.
“Our original goal was 100 a year, and we did 250 the first year,” Farnham said. “It’s gone up since then. In terms of adoptions, we’re probably one of the leading cat cafes in the country.”
Farnham calls the location the country’s first rural cat cafe, seemingly every other of the more than 200 across the nation being located in a college town, major city or suburb. Despite the moniker, most cat cafes don’t actually involve food, Give Purrs a Chance included. They instead act as adoption centers and places for cat lovers to enjoy a couple hours…