Cat café cross-breeds animal love and pop culture

Cats. Lattes. Star Wars trivia. While it might be hard to imagine, yes, there is a place in Lansing where you can partake in all three of those things, and more, simultaneously. Since opening in October, Constellation Cat Café has grown into a popular hangout for cat enthusiasts. The cat room fills with parents and their rambunctious toddlers for storytelling gatherings. On trivia nights, which regularly sell out, the place is packed with people bonding over pop-culture fanaticism and, well, cats.

“It was really chaotic in the beginning. I didn’t really feel like I knew what I was doing,” executive director Kelsey Maccombs said. “Now we’ve evened out and we have our routine down. We are running more events in the cat room and having a lot of success with that.”

Lansing cat owner Taylor Anderson attended Star Wars trivia night with a group of friends and took home the top prize: drink coupons and free entry to the cat room, which normally costs $8, upon a return visit.

“I’m a huge Star Wars fan. I knew as soon as I saw the event posted on their Facebook page, my friends and I had to compete,” Anderson said. “We had never been there before, but when I got there I was pleasantly surprised. It is an adorable café.”

Constellation Cat Café is only the fourth cat café to open in Michigan. The concept is popular overseas, especially in Japan. Maccombs decided to pursue the idea after reading a Facebook comment that asked, “Is there a cat café in Lansing?”

“Nobody was saying there was one coming, so I was like, ‘OK, I’ll just do it.’ Like, ha ha, what a cute joke,” Maccombs said. “And slowly, once I had the idea formed in my head, I said, ‘Now I have to do this, for mysterious reasons.’”

Constellation Cat Café’s foster rescue partner is Saved by Zade. All the cats in the cat room are available for adoption, a process that requires payment of a single $125 adoption fee and a screening process There have been 126 adoptions so far, a number “way higher” than Maccombs originally anticipated.

“We were aiming for 100 in the first year we were open. To get there so quickly is just insane,” she said. “A lot of people come in not planning to adopt, and then they fall in love and go home with a cat.”

Upcoming events at Constellation Cat Café include Guided Knitting with Cats Feb. 3, Marvel Trivia Night Feb. 13 and Galentine’s Day at the Cat Café Feb. 13.

“I want everyone to feel welcome here and have a thing that interests them,” Maccombs said. ”Lots of people can benefit from being around cats, even if they don’t want to take one home.”

Constellation Cat Café

Sunday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Monday-Friday, 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Saturday, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.

3320 E. Lake Lansing Road, East Lansing

(517) 918-4919, constellationcatcafe.com