Houston’s only cat café, El Gato Coffeehouse, has second break-in in less than two years

El Gato Coffeehouse, Houston’s first and only cat café, was broken into in the early morning on Friday. El Gato Coffeehouse, Houston’s first and only cat café, was broken into in the early morning on Friday. Photo: El Gato Coffeehouse Founder Renee Reed Photo: El Gato Coffeehouse Founder Renee Reed Image 1 of / 9 Caption Close Houston’s only cat café, El Gato Coffeehouse, has second break-in in less than two years 1 / 9 Back to Gallery

Maybe it was a cat burglar.

El Gato Coffeehouse, Houston’s first and only cat café, was broken into in the early morning on Friday.

The intruder broke in by smashing a window near the entrance of the café, said El Gato’s founder, Renee Reed.

The alarm was triggered at around 12:45 a.m. by the motion detector in the café’s office, which was installed after their last break-in in February 2018, alongside security cameras and a safe, according to Reed.

Luckily intruder did not break into the safe, but did get away with approximately $200 dollars, which was the amount inside the register drawer.

Reed says the burglar did not enter the cat lounge, so thankfully all the cats were okay. "We are very grateful that this creep didn't even go into the cat lounge area so all cats were safe and secure inside," said Reed.

El Gato’s surveillance cameras captured the intruder standing outside, next to their food truck, and inside their office, but he can only be seen with a blanket over his head.

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This is the second break-in the cat café has experienced in the three years it’s been open.

These losses have been detrimental to their business since the café operates similarly to a non-profit, said Reed.

El Gato Coffeehouse is a small business located in the Heights that offers customers a cat therapy experience and fosters cats in a loving environment until they find forever homes.

After this break-in, Reed says the coffee house will take further security measures in order to stay in business and continue to help adoptable kitties.

“We won’t let these criminals stop us from making a difference in the community and in the lives of our cats and all our customers that love them,” Reed said.

Book meow to schedule a time to visit their foster cats and support the café.

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