“I adopted a teenager from Russia when she was 13 [years old] out of an orphanage," she said. "I wanted to give an older child an opportunity. When she came here and became a citizen, she missed her cat and wanted a cat. I had three dogs.”
Freed discovered cats are nurturing while watching the joy her newly adopted daughter found while taking care of her newly adopted cat.
The inspiration
One thing led to another, and in 2008, Freed founded Kitty Save, a nonprofit cat rescue organization. After toting the cats back and forth from foster homes to pet stores for adoption, she realized this wasn’t the healthiest plan for the cats.
“They’re put into a cage with dogs barking and people sticking their fingers in, and they would get sick,” Freed said. “I knew they loved their foster homes and foster caretakers, so I decided to build a huge foster home/adoption center for them.”
What happened
She opened The Charming Cat Corner in 2015, located at The Vista, formerly Music City Mall, in Lewisville. Freed paired her vast feline knowledge with design elements meant to attract guests when creating this eclectic business.
“I chose to make it more like a home,” she said. “I have rooms with different levels of light because that’s how cats think. They want to go into a brightly lit room and nap or a dark room to nap—they nap a lot. I could have just put some furniture in there, but for the visitors, I chose to make it an immersive experience. There is a forest room, gothic room and a tropical room.”
In a nutshell
Freed said the business's purpose is two-fold.
“We have two types of people who come here: the type who just want to engage with the cats and others who are interested in adopting,” she said.
Freed said on average, there are 15,000 guests a year resulting in 200 cat adoptions. She added that between 20 to 50 cats, whose ages range from 14 weeks to 14 years, live on-site. Visitors will find many types of cats, such as tuxedo, tabby, solid gray, solid black, solid orange, calicos, tortoise and more.
A veterinarian, vet tech and staff members maintain all cat health needs.
Quote of note
“We know the kittens will be adopted, but the ones with the snaggletooth or missing ear or a leg, ... we want [guests] to know these cats will be companions in the home,” Freed said. “It’s great seeing those broken ones get adopted.”
- 2401 S. Stemmons Freeway, Lewisville
- www.thecharmingcatcafe.com