What’s better than curling up with a good book and a cup of coffee? Adding a kitten to the mix! You don’t have a kitten, you say? No problem, now there’s a place you can go and have all those things at once. Otis and Clementine’s Books in Nova Scotia has created the perfect, most wholesome atmosphere.
The kittens are provided by South Paw Conservation Nova Scotia rescue group, with the hopes that Otis and Clementine’s customers will fall in love with the furry felines and take one home.
This is not only good news for customers, but for the kittens as well. The book store is helping them learn to get along with other kittens and socializing them with humans as well.
The store’s owner, Ellen Helmke, set up the adoption program last year after realising she had space in her store which could be put to good use – aka, by filling it with cats.
There are several kittens and usually a mama cat as well in the bookstore at all times.
If you happen to be in Upper Tantallon and visit Otis & Clementine’s and see a feline friend whom you absolutely adore, then you’d better act fast. “All the kittens are in and out fairly quickly, as they are adopted,” Helmke explained.
Of course, there is an adoption fee associated with each kitty; 255 Canadian dollars ($194 US).
The adoption fee covers everything, including any medical expenses.
Interested adopters will also need to provide references before taking their new furry friend home.
The bookstore has adopted out over 30 kittens so far.
They have a 100% adoption rate!
“People come here specifically to see the cats, and then some people just wander in to look at books and discover there are kittens,” says Helmke. “Either way, the response has been really great—I mean, who doesn’t love kittens, right?”
“I’m so happy to make my customers happy when they come in and they’re just thrilled to see a kitten they weren’t expecting… It’s amazing and makes me happy to come to work.”
South Paw Conservation loves their relationship with the bookstore. They say “South Paw Conservation rescued 30 puppies in 2019 from the Bahamas and Antigua and well over 50 kittens and cats locally. Really hoping the platform of attention we receive from Otis & Clementine’s will help us to find loving homes, provide proper medical care, food and litter through donations and spay/neuter even more kitties within the province in 2020.”
According to the rescue group’s rep, all of their cats and kittens are “vet checked, vaccinated, feline leukemia tested, treated with revolution, and dewormed within the first few days of arrival or when healthy/old enough.”
“Some of our kittens require to be bottle-fed or even just be in a space where they can be monitored 24 hours a day. We have an amazing foster network that helps us to meet all their needs. All of this is made possible through donations and adoption fees.”
The people working with South Paw Conservation help animals and people outside of Nova Scotia as well.
“We just did a conservation trip to Antigua earlier this month. We took 5 people. We spent time in a psychiatric hospital doing crafts with residents, worked in a soup kitchen, rescued 7 puppies and dogs which we will provide shelter and medical care for until they are able to return to Canada with us. We took 5 bags of humanitarian supplies and brought 3 puppies home with us.”
“We are headed back to Antigua on March 4th to bring home 6 of the puppies we rescued and one 10-month-old we have had in foster since August. We are fundraising like crazy to pay all the medical and travel costs.”
Sounds like South Paw Conservation and Otis and Clementine’s have the purrrr-fect relationship.
More info: Otis & Clementine’s Books and Coffee
I don’t know how it can get any better than playing with kittens and reading a book.