Rick and Graham from CalStreets /BoarderLabs made a visit to Catoro on East Broadway in Vancouver to make a food donation. Fingerboarders at Blade Park have been donating to our cat food basket for exactly this purpose – to support cat rescue and adoption programs.
Founders Dan and Annah welcomed us and gave us a tour of the premises including the adventure forest where the kitties roam.
Blade Park and Catoro are working on ways to work together to help sustain their mission to find home for our feline friends.
What is Catoro ?
-Visit the Cafe & Gift Shop where coffees and cold drinks are available. Big selection of unique cat-related gifts and collectibles.
-Explore the cat forest adventure room and meet the kitties
-Adopt a cat if you meet one that seems a match for you
-Support Catoro by attending an on-site event like Cat movie night
CalStreets Boarder Labs wants to support the work of Catoro and has been forwarding your gifts of catfood left at Blade Park.
Catoro Cat Cafe is one of Vancouver’s most charming animal rescue spaces, blending the comfort of a cat lounge, the fun of a boba café, and the purpose of a rescue adoption centre into one uniquely East Van experience. Located in Vancouver, Catoro describes itself as a rescue cat café, boba shop, and cat supply store, with a forest-themed cat lounge where adoptable rescue cats are waiting to meet visitors. It is not just a cute place to take photos or sip bubble tea. It is a working rescue environment built around helping cats feel safe, cared for, and ready for the next chapter of their lives.
The heart of Catoro is the Cat Forest, a calm, cozy space designed around the cats first. The lounge is home to rescue cats who are all available for adoption, giving visitors a chance to meet them in a more relaxed setting than a traditional shelter. That matters, because cats are not one-size-fits-all animals. Some are bold and social right away, some are shy and careful, and some need time before they decide a human is worthy of their attention. By creating a space where people can sit, observe, play gently, and let the cats choose the interaction, Catoro gives adopters a better chance to connect with the right cat for their home.
Catoro also takes the adoption process seriously. Anyone interested in adopting must book a visit and meet the cat first, which helps make the decision more thoughtful and less impulsive. Their adoption information explains that the rescue partners move forward with the applicant they believe is the best fit for each individual cat, rather than treating adoption as a first-come, first-served process. That approach respects the personality, history, and needs of the cat, while also helping families understand that bringing home a rescue animal is a commitment, not just a cute afternoon idea.
What makes Catoro special is the way it turns animal rescue into a public-facing community experience without losing sight of the cats’ wellbeing. The café has clear rules designed to protect the animals from stress, including no picking up the cats, no feeding them outside food, no flash photography, and keeping the Cat Forest calm and quiet. These rules are not there to take the fun away. They are there because many rescue cats come from difficult or uncertain backgrounds, and a good rescue space has to balance human excitement with animal safety. Catoro’s whole setup encourages visitors to slow down, be gentle, and meet the cats on their terms.
The boba café side of Catoro adds another layer to the experience. Visitors can stop in for drinks, book time in the Cat Forest, browse cat supplies, and support the rescue cats at the same time. Catoro notes that every bubble tea helps support the rescue kitties living at the Cat Cafe, which makes the whole thing feel wonderfully Vancouver: part hangout, part small business, part rescue mission, part soft-chaos cat kingdom.
Catoro also relies on community support to keep things moving. Their volunteer information says they care for 20 or more cats at a given time, with numbers sometimes jumping quickly after an intake. That means food, cleaning, supplies, attention, patience, and a lot of behind-the-scenes work. A cat café may look cute from the outside, but the daily reality is much more involved. It takes staff, volunteers, rescue partners, adopters, visitors, and supporters all doing their part to keep the cats healthy, safe, comfortable, and ready for adoption.
That is why Blade Fingerboard Park is proud to support Catoro through our cat food donation admission. At Blade Park, we ask visitors to bring a donation of cat food when they come in to session, and those donations go specifically to Catoro Cat Cafe in Vancouver. It is a simple idea with a real local impact. You come in, skate the park, hang with the fingerboard community, and help feed rescue cats who are waiting for homes. One can of food may feel small, but when a whole community keeps showing up, those small donations become something much bigger.
The connection also feels natural because Blade Fingerboard Park was named in honour of Blade, the legendary CalStreets shop cat. Cats have always had a place in our story, and supporting Catoro keeps that spirit moving forward in a practical way. This is not just about loving cats from a distance. It is about helping a local rescue-focused café continue the work of feeding, caring for, socializing, and matching cats with the right people.
Catoro Cat Cafe is the kind of place that makes Vancouver better. It gives rescue cats a softer landing, gives adopters a better way to meet them, gives visitors a reason to slow down, and gives the community a chance to support animal rescue in a warm and approachable way. Whether someone visits for the boba, the Cat Forest, the adoption program, or just the joy of being silently judged by a room full of cats, Catoro is doing meaningful work behind every whisker, nap, stretch, and slow blink.
So when you visit Blade Fingerboard Park, bring a can when you can. Skate the park, support the scene, and know that your donation is headed to Catoro Cat Cafe, where it helps feed rescue cats while they wait for their forever homes. Around here, the fingerboards may be tiny, but the heart behind the donation basket is full size.
