Consider a chat over coffee at Rock Hill's new cafe

ROCK HILL — Years ago, it all started with Whiskers.

It continues with Sketcher, Tipper, Pepper and Mr. Foster.

Today, Inga Carey of Rock Hill is expanding her love of cats and creating a way to care for felines beyond her home. In late May, she opened a café on North Anderson Road near Cherry Road that also serves as a kennel-free shelter for cats available for adoption through the Humane Society of York County.

In just one month, the Purrfect Pair Cat Cafe has found new homes for 10 cats. Carey hopes the setting, a purple-themed cafe and treat shop overlooking a cat lounge filled with couches, plush toys and scratching posts, will be enough to draw visitors. From there, the goal is to find homes for 100 cats in total by the end of the year.

“Both of my parents passed away between 2020 and 2021,” said Carey, 39, a music teacher at India Hook Elementary School. “I felt like I had to do something good for the community, something positive in the midst of all this negativity.”

Here’s a look inside Inga Carey’s Purrfect Pair Cat Cafe, Rock Hill’s new spot for coffee and cat lovers.

Lamaur Stancil/staff

Logistically, centralized placement of pets could make a difference for some York County residents. The Humane Society is located in Fort Mill, while York County Animal Services is located in the city of York.

There’s also the idea that a coffee shop may be more appealing to a potential pet owner than a shelter, Carey said.

“It’s a great idea to have cats adopted,” she said. “It helps the cats get used to life outside of a cage.”

Pride Becomes “Purride” at New Rock Hill Cafe — The staff at Purrfect Pair Cat Cafe, Rock Hill’s newest coffee shop, celebrated Pride Month with a cat-themed commemoration of important figures and moments in LGBT history.

Lamaur Stancil/Staff

Carey started his business at a time when shelters are running out of space. According to the University of Florida Shelter Medicine Program, euthanasia is up at shelters for the first time in decades. Inflation is forcing some families to give up their pets or avoid adopting new animal companions.