The Collegio Pittsburg's student voice since 1916
Alyssa Tyler editor in chief
A new small business has opened its doors, The Literary Cat Co., an indie bookstore that also serves as a foster home for adoptable cats.
“I thought it would be the coolest thing in the world to combine my 2 passions when I was ready to leave my teaching career,” said business owner Jennifer Mowdy. “I searched around and there’s not really any bookstore cat lounges that operate like this. There are a couple that started off like either as a rescue facility and then they added on like a small used bookstore to try to bring in money for the cats. And then it formed from there… I’m winging it through trial and error. I thought it would be best to try to do the bookstore where the cats were loose and roaming free so that they could socialize and become more adaptable rather than sitting in a kennel in a shelter.”
As well as hosting cats for adoption, the store also offers new books and other book related merchandise for purchase.
“So, we are a new bookstore that also happens to be a foster home for rescued and adoptable cats,” Mowdy said. “We operate and have everything that your typical new bookstore has. Large, curated variety of new books, bookstore type merchandise like T-shirts and stationary stickers, journals, reading cards, things like that, all of my merchandise like that is sourced from other small businesses, nothing from big box stores or Amazon or anything like that. And all of that is for sale. And then the cats live here 24/7 and have the run of the place. And there are profiles for them on our social media pages and links to apply and to adopt them.
Mowdy said that bookstores are a hub for the community, not just a place to shop but a place for the community to gather for events.
“The more literacy, the better. It’s just very needed. Not just around here, but I would prefer to see bookstores on every corner,” Mowdy said. “The more books that I can get into hands and the more books into homes, the better. The small rural communities like Pittsburg and Southeast Kansas tend to have less access to books and literature of a wide variety. Then of course, you know when our go to these days is to order everything online and get things from Amazon and a couple of days that has kind of put a dent in the indie bookstore, which it’s sad because bookstores used to be such a hub of the community. And they provide so many more books. There are all kinds of events that that go on and a community feeling and the social aspect of it all, not to mention the sharing of ideas and cultures from all over the world that don’t normally get in the hands or in the minds of people in small rural communities. And I just think that’s super important, not to mention the stray cat population is just exploding around here and we don’t have many resources to help with that. So, to be able to help with both of those things is super important to me.
Mowdy homes anywhere from 5-10 cats at a time, all of which are fostered through Pawprints on the Heartland.
“I’m basically just another foster home,” said Mowdy.” We hang on to kitties and love and care for them while they are waiting for adoption while they’re waiting on their forever home waiting on someone to fall in love with them and adopt them. When I started this, I told PawPrints that I would generally like to kind of stay away from the kittens that are usually more adoptable and adopted more quickly. I would rather go with the older adults and maybe even the ones that are less social. So that they won’t have to spend their days in cramped cages because that does the opposite for their adoptability. And my hope is that while they’re here, they get time to learn how to be a house cat. They get loved on and they get attention on their terms. They can. Hide as much as they want, and they can slowly come out and start to socialize as much as they want. And I’ve seen, you know, the ones that I started off with. And I worried that they were not going to be at all adoptable because they were so skittish and unsocialized. And now they’re completely different and. I I hope to be able to do that with more of them.
Mowdy went to the Kansas Small Business Development Center (SBDC) at Pittsburg State University which then helped her get on the right track.
“I’m a teacher,” Mowdy said. “I’m not a business owner. I’m not an entrepreneur. I don’t even think I’ve ever taken any accounting classes or business classes. I’d literally do not know where to begin, so she was able to point me in the right direction and guide me step by step from my first unit business plan. Here’s how a business plan works. Here’s how to get started. Here are some resources to help fill in the blanks with this business plan. And then was also available to answer all of my gazillion questions when I got stuck not know if what I was doing was right or if I was on the right track or where to go. Now we set up regular meetings and she was always able to guide me and keep me going in the right direction and assure me that I was on the right track and that I wasn’t completely off in and where I was heading.”
The SBDC serves as the regional consulting resource for multiple counties within Kansas. Director Dacia Clark said that they help current or prospective business owners and can help with the following resources: helping startups, registration basics, advice for obtaining loans, guidance for marketing strategy, strategic planning, and training events, both online, in person, or through a video library.
“Whether it’s an existing business looking to boost sales or a start-up trying to get off the ground, we provide our clients with quality professional and personal care,” Clark said in an interview with Pitt State News.
Mowdy described the process unbelievable but is thankful that she gets to spend every day at the Literary Cat.
It’s been unbelievable, just a whirlwind to go from having this crazy idea in my head that I kept thinking this would never work and that it’s not possible,” said Mowdy. “Then to get the courage to make the first steps to step outside of my box and try learning about how to start it all and put it all together. It was so out of my element and then getting the space, seeing it come together, and designing it. (Getting to design it) how I want and literally watching my stupid cut and paste vision board come to life. It’s incredible, and I’m overjoyed every day that I wake up and think it’s real, and I get to work in it again today and see what craziness will happen today.”
More information about the business can be found on the corresponding social media. Instagram: @theliterarycatco Facebook: The Literary Cat Co.
More information concerning the SBDC can be found at: pittstatesmallbusiness.com