March 13, 2025

The Cattitude Cafe is dropping sandwiches, wraps and salads from its menu to make room for more Siamese, calicos, gingers and other cats.

The cafe, which opened in July 2023 at 225 E. 11th St., has decided to focus on its main goal: finding permanent homes for kittens and cats, owner Heather Wendlandt said Thursday.

“Our food got positive feedback,” she said. “People love our food, but they aren’t coming here for food. They’re coming for the kitties, and they grab food while they’re here. There’ve been three to four hours’ wait for the kitties on the weekend, and we’re turning away.”

While The Cattitude Cafe will still serve coffee, smoothies and other drinks, along with desserts from Sioux Falls baker The Cake Lady, the kitchen will be remodeled into another sanctuary for cats waiting to be petted, admired and adopted.

Kitchen manager Sara Wendlandt will move to general manager.

The original cat-visitation room usually contains 15 to 20 cats from the Sioux Falls Area Humane Society, along with permanent residents Darla and Chocolate Mousse. With the second space, Wendlandt expects to increase the total number of cats to 40.

“It will be like a 14-plus room,” she said of plans to put an age limit on visitors. “It will be more adult-focused and calming and relaxing. Now the room is more lively and active.”

While the cats will share the support room to the rear, customers will be able to access only one of the two visiting areas when they buy a ticket.

Since The Cattitude Cafe opened, 415 cats have been adopted. One of the more recent departures was Iggy, who had spent more than 200 days there. Often, though, cats are adopted within hours of making their first appearance, Wendlandt said.

That leaves Cheyenne as the cat with the most seniority.

“When she goes, it will be bittersweet,” Wendlandt said. Darla has been at the cafe since it opened while Chocolate Mousse, another brown cat who is 4 or 5 months old, joined recently.

Wendlandt hopes to open the second cat-visitation room in about a month. The cafe will continue to serve a limited menu for the next week or so until all supplies are gone. Wendlandt will sell the kitchen appliances and smaller items such as silverware, plates and cutting boards. The speed of their departure will permit the kitchen’s renovation.

Wendlandt said she is looking forward to the new focus.

“The food menu’s gone over really well with customers; they’ve thoroughly enjoyed it,” she said. “We don’t get complaints on our food, but we’re excited to have more space for kitties. Our main mission is to find cats forever homes.”