El Gato Coffeehouse — Restaurant in Houston

I've had a wretched experience with the coordinator, Kirsten. She kept messing up the facts and then scrutinizing me and re-traumatizing me regarding my deceased cat whom I loved and care from when he was 3 weeks to 15 years old. I took him to Gulf Coast about a year ago when he fell ill with a low platelet count and hospitalized him for 9 days, but he was never well enough to get tested despite the Doctor having hope. He had a stroke in his brain, and I got there within 15 minutes and said goodbye to him. There is nothing shady about this. The Doctor presumed he either had an aggressive cancer or an autoimmune disease. No autopsy. Unfortunately, Kirsten wrote in her notes: Ollie died of cancer. Then she had the reviewer call the hospital and attempt to confirm he died of cancer, which was false data. Then, she scrutinizes me, and places me under suspicion, and I am asked to provide the details AGAIN (aka relive the trauma) of Ollie’s passing. This is all because she wasn’t listening. She also kept assuming Ollie was a dog, including the first time the reviewer called Gulf Coast for his vaccination records. This also made no sense – why would they call the emergency hospital for his vaccination records and not his vet? And then come at me? I had to reiterate that Ollie was not a DOG three times. Kirsten twisted facts and could not retain any information I relayed to her. Moreover, there was no accountability on her end or El Gato’s end. Ollie’s brother Mimo is still alive and well at 16.5 yrs. old so why was Kirsten so hyper-focused on my deceased cat? Shouldn't she be concerned with the cat that's alive? She treated me like I abused Ollie. Fun fact El Gato: The average lifespan of a cat is 13-15 yrs so for a cat to pass away after 15 years in my care is NOT SUSPICOUS. I asked Kirsten multiple times to reach out to my vet of over a decade because she would vouch for me. I offered Ollie and Mimo’s pet records from their vet and all of Ollie’s records from Gulf Coast, but all Kirsten kept saying via email and over the phone was, “it’s part of the process, I’m sorry you feel that way.” I told her I felt like I was being scrutinized and I didn’t want to relive the trauma of Ollie, which is why I offered 100% of his pet records, which are FACTS. There was no “my condolences;” instead I got: you’re suspicious. Kirsten CHOSE NOT to ACCEPT all their pet records, including ones from Gulf Coast. I was transparent and willing to provide these vs being re-traumatized over and over by repeating how he passed away. It was only the past couple of months was I even able to take his ashes out of a cabinet and visibly see them. My heart still aches and it’s been about a year. What's the value in your process if you can't even see the worth in the love and care of Ollie for 15 years and my continued care and love for his brother who is 16.5 years old now? It’s just absurd and unreasonable. Kirsten continued to be rude and incompetent with me, and she seemed to hold her nose up high. She's supposed to be an "expert" but it's clear she's young and inexperienced, which is also offensive. You DON’T get to tell me my worth as a person and a cat owner! What an awful experience that should've been exciting and joyful. Response to the owner: I requested to speak to a manager, and I requested a new coordinator and you never reached out, personally. Instead, you decide to be defensive and accusatory, which comes off as slander towards me on a public forum. Hence, you have no credibility. Thanks for validating my incredibly...

I used to love this place but a lot has changed. Pros are listed at the bottom. Cons: Too many people at once, no place to really sit and enjoy a cup of Joe while you watch the cats. There used to be a lot more tables for people to sit at. Two cats were obviously in distress and trying to hide. There needs to be a space where the kitties can go to be left alone. Most were exhausted. They need breaks from humans, that way they are excited to see humans when they do instead of a “completely fed up with humans” look on their face. Kids were hitting the cats in the face with toys as their parents ignored what their kids were doing. Staff didn’t stop these obnoxious kids from tormenting the ‘already fed up with humans’ cats. One kid was relentlessly pestering the cats by constantly pushing the toy in their faces and the only cats that wanted to eat treats reverted to hiding because of this kid. I no longer felt like it was a comfortable place to go and drink coffee where the cats were respected. It felt more like I had entered a forced child labor facility but instead of children it were cats that had constant toys shoved in their faces. It seems as if money has become the importance instead of helping the cats. In the past, I felt like it was definitely to help the cats, but now it feels like the owner said, “hey! This is a good business” and now we have cats that are no longer relaxed and happy as they used to be. I know they are still doing a good thing, by adopting the cats to good homes, hence the three stars. But cats have feelings too. Just like a human child wouldn’t like a toy constantly shoved in their face and chased around when you’re trying to get away, neither does a cat. Maybe give the cats a two day break in the other room without too much interaction so they can ‘reset’ and be happy to be around humans again. Rotate the cats. Give them a small space where humans aren’t allowed so when they need a small space to go to to escape annoying disrespectful children, they can go there and let their anxiety come down. Pros: their gift shop has gotten a lot better. There is a lot more wonderful things to buy that are hard to find elsewhere. They are being picky with who they adopt the cats out to. And yes, I believe they should be picky- I just wish that pickiness would leak out into their everyday customer base. Cats are EXTREMELY tolerant. Maybe too tolerant. They do enjoy the treats. For the owner: I hope you are mature enough to take constructive criticism even if it is harsh and not sugar coated and make just a few small adjustments so the cats can rest or escape to a safe place. For the customers: I suggest that if you are bringing your kids there to run wild so you don’t have to watch them- DONT. Take them to McDonalds or...

Interesting concept of a place that focuses on facilitating cat adoptions while also serving coffee, which I applaud.

When you enter, you have to pay a $15 cover that gives you 1 hour in the "cat room" which you have to pass through two doors in order to enter (so that the cats don't get out). Inside is a room that is a veritable cat paradise with lots of cat towers, toys, beds, etc. and tons of cat-themed decorations with several kitties taking full advantage of the amenities. There is also a back room which contains "less socialized" kittens that the staff encourages you to visit so as to familiarize the animals with humans so that they are eventually more adoptable. There is also a binder that contains all the cats and their names that are available for adoption. The staff is very friendly, though you can tell they are really pushing people to adopt with continual introductions to cats, their names, history, etc.

As far as menu is concerned, there is a limited selection of coffees and teas with a few cookies, bars, and cinnamon roll, but one has to exit the cat room to place an order at the house entrance. The order is then passed through a window to the cat room when it is ready. I ordered a french press coffee, which was ready after several minutes and was decent, though nothing to write home about.

While I enjoyed my experience and support the work they are doing, this is very much more a cat sanctuary and adoption facility with coffee being an afterthought. There are only two tables with chairs in the cat room, and no one was engaged in any normal coffee shop activities like reading, studying, or working while I was there. The entire focus is on interacting with the cats. Not to mention, the 1 hour time limit restricts anything that might require a longer time period. To the staff's credit, they informed me when I arrived of this and recommended 2nd Cup if I wanted a traditional coffee house, but I wanted to get the experience regardless.

For these reasons, I would highly recommend El Gato to anyone who loves cats, wants some "cat therapy", and/or is looking to adopt. If your concern is more coffee and getting work done, though, you should...