A downtown Toronto cat cafe will be closing its doors this spring following numerous claims that the business is “abusing” the animals.
Lazy Cat Cafe, located on Queen St. near Spadina Ave., announced on Instagram that it’s closing up shop in May 2025. The cafe allows visitors to grab a drink or treat and cuddle with adoptable cats on site.
The cafe told Now Toronto that it’s shutting down because it wants “to take some time and reconsider whether what we are doing is right.”
The independent business, which initially opened in Scarborough in September 2023 and relocated downtown in July last year, says the exorbitant amount of money to run the cafe and care for the cats is one big reason for closing.
“Renting in downtown Toronto is extremely difficult, our monthly rent is $12,000 CAD, and our monthly utility bill is approximately $3500 CAD. For other essentials like vet checks, medications, spay/neuter procedures, cat food (kibble and canned food), cat litter, cat toys and cat trees, and paying our staff, we are looking at another $10,000 CAD monthly,” the cafe told Now Toronto in an email statement on Saturday.
The cafe adds that the revenue it makes barely covers the expenses that go into rescuing the cats, but that it’s “worth it so long as the cats are living in a warm, safe place and have a chance to find a new home.”
Since it opened, the cafe has found homes for more than 200 cats. Currently, there are about 30 cats living at the cafe and they’re all available for adoption.
“We are strictly against euthanasia, so even when the cats have a difficult time finding a new home and end up staying at the cafe for months or even a year long, we had never given up and continued to provide care and sanctuary for them,” the cafe said.
SURGE OF NEGATIVE REVIEWS
In addition to financial struggles, the cafe says it has been facing increasing criticism and accusations of mistreating the animals.
The cafe noted a recent TikTok video where a customer said they had a bad experience during their first visit to the cafe after witnessing a cat “foaming at the mouth.”
In the TikTok video, the user says they also noticed that a lot of the felines were lethargic and sneezing.
“The environment was so deeply upsetting that myself and everyone I came with was out of this cafe within 20 minutes and we had made a reservation for an hour,” the TikToker said.
“I am all for a rehoming initiative but they don’t care about the cats here, that was made very apparent,” they concluded the video.
The following morning after the video was posted, the cafe says it woke up to numerous one-star ratings from people.
The cafe posted a TikTok video responding to the claims saying it is committed to the well-being of every cat in its care.
“It seems that a certain individual, without understanding the full facts, exaggerated the situation and used online influence to tarnish our reputation,” the cafe’s TikTok video caption said.
The cafe did confirm to Now Toronto that there was a cat who was foaming at the mouth when the TikToker visited the establishment, and that the cat did have gingivitis and was given an antibiotic pill.
“Cat owners may know how much of a hassle it can be to tuck a pill down a cat’s throat, and when the pill starts to dissolve, it will turn bitter, causing the cat to salivate profusely and foam at the mouth,” the cafe said.
The cafe adds that it’s “deeply disheartened and discouraged” by the negative reviews and comments it’s receiving, and that ultimately led to its decision to close.
“We did not want to close the store at first because, who cares what others say, right? However it is starting to get out of hand and we are getting spam phone calls cursing at our staff, people are cancelling their reservations and opposing all those who want to visit, and even claiming that we are abusing the cats. This is why we came to the final decision. Although we are sad that we can no longer help, we feel that there is no point if we are trying to help and people end up calling us abusers,” it said.
Over the next five months until it closes, the cafe says it will try to find homes for the cats in its care, but if they are not adopted they will be returned to the shelter.
“We are uncertain what will happen to them then, but the shelter will consider euthanasia if they are still unable to find new homes,” the cafe says.
There is another Lazy Cat Cafe located in North York which operates independently from the downtown location and will remain open.
As it winds down operations, the cafe hopes people will consider visiting to see how it cares for the animals.
“We have received good reviews because they have witnessed in person how hard we have worked for our name. We hope these actions can stop and that people can turn their attention towards these cats that are in desperate need,” the cafe said.
