Cats, Halloween costumes and yoga combine at Houston Humane Society event

Photo: Melissa Phillip/Houston Chronicle Sarah Melton plays at shelter cats after a yoga class at the...

As Pia Das began her yoga class at Houston Humane Society on Saturday, it started off a little differently.

Two grey kittens ran around in the corner. Some kittens drank water and ate food. Her class participants were dressed in the traditional yoga attire, but some wore cat ears and had tails attached to their yoga pants.

"This combines all of my favorite things," Das said as the class began.

She was talking about cats, yoga, and Halloween. El Gato Coffehouse, a cat cafe in Houston set to open in spring 2017, hosted a Halloween- and cat-themed yoga class at Houston Humane Society. The cat cafe has been holding pop-up events throughout the fall to promote its business.

Annie Nguyen plays with a cat at a yoga class at the Houston Humane Society, 14700 Almeda Road, Saturday, Oct. 29, 2016, in Houston. The event sponsored by El Gato Coffeehouse, Houston's upcoming cat cafe, was a Halloween themed cat yoga class and social with adoptable cats the Houston Humane Society. ( Melissa Phillip / Houston Chronicle ) less Annie Nguyen plays with a cat at a yoga class at the Houston Humane Society, 14700 Almeda Road, Saturday, Oct. 29, 2016, in Houston. The event sponsored by El Gato Coffeehouse, Houston's upcoming cat cafe, was ... more Photo: Melissa Phillip/Houston Chronicle Photo: Melissa Phillip/Houston Chronicle Image 1 of / 12 Caption Close Cats, Halloween costumes and yoga combine at Houston Humane Society event 1 / 12 Back to Gallery

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"I'm a huge animal rescue person. I'm constantly fostering animals," Das said. "I got involved because it's two of my passions -- yoga and animal rescue. I think it's a great way of introducing animals to potential adopters."

This is the cat cafe's third cat yoga class. Classes are usually held at Humane Society or Sharespace in downtown Houston. Renee Reed, 37, founder of El Gato Coffehouse, said she got the idea for the class from other cat cafes hosting similar events. She also does yoga in her spare time.

Vita Brawley,33, dressed in leopard print, does yoga regularly, but said having the cats around was an added benefit.

"It's going to make going back to my regular yoga studio kind of sad," Brawley said. "I really enjoyed having the cats here. They kind of make the practice a bit more fun."