WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WXYZ) — Macomb County has a cat lady, her name is Heather.
She told 7 News Detroit, "They call me the cat lady, which at first I was like, ‘aww, I don’t want to be called that,’ but I guess it fits."
Heather is the owner of Rosie's Kitty Catfe, a catfe which opened in 2022 and operated out of the Mall at Partridge Creek in Macomb County.
2022 report: 'Kitty Catfé,' the first cat cafe in Macomb County, opening this weekend
"We have a super loyal following," said Heather.
She said the community response to opening was, "Huge, it was huge, we grew really quickly."
Michigan is facing a severe overpopulation of cats. Rosie's Kitty Catfe, though simply cute on the surface, played an integral role in fighting this.
Heather takes in cats from situations where they were abandoned, freezing to death, or injured, then fund-raises the money to get them care. After that, she adopts them out through the catfe.
"Somebody would contact me at least four times a day," said Heather. " We get calls, texts, emails from people saying, 'I found this cat, or I’m surrendering this cat, can you help?'"
FULL INTERVIEW: Owner of Rosie's Kitty Catfe talks about reopening
In 2023, the number of cats that Heather took in quickly grew from 11 to over 100. Unfortunately the catfe grew too large for the mall, in March of 2023 Heather was told she'd need to leave and find a new location.
She said, "We’ve been looking ever since."
As far as why it's taken so long to find a new location?
"The zoning is always an issue," said Heather.
In the two years without a brick-and-mortar, Heather has been working around the clock, finding over 50 foster families to take care of the cats while she searches.
"We tried Romeo, Shelby Township, Clinton Township," said Heather.
Her daughter Jo shared, "I don’t know if she sleeps or when she does."
However... finally! All those sleepless nights and the help from dozens of fosters are paying off. Tuesday we met with Heather inside what will be Rosie’s Kitty Catfé's new location!
"So nobody knows this yet, just you," said Heather. "We do have a cat catfe, and you’re sitting in it now!"
The new location is inside a closing bike store at 26 Mile and Mount Road in Washington Township. Heather said that someone who remembered her last location helped her get the space over the weekend. It's double the size of her previous store. They'll be able to save double the cats.
Macomb County's cat lady has finally found her new home.
Heather said that they will officially open sometime between April and July.
"If we can help, we’re going to help," said Heather. "A cat's a cat."
