WILLIAMSBURG— Schwartzy’s Cat Cove, which is a part of the Nautical Dog pet store in New Town, is celebrating in a big way as the Cove officially had its 600th adoption over the weekend.
Since the opening of the Cove in July of 2022, cats have been brought in from various local shelters to help them flourish and socialize with not only other cats, but humans as well.
“The whole goal was to give cats that had a harder time being adopted a place that they could come where their true personalities could come out,” Amanda Wilbourne, owner of Nautical Dog and Schwartzy’s Cat Cove, said. “People can see them in a different environment and things like that. It’s the closest thing to replicate a home without having a home.”
Wilbourne also takes in cats that have special needs or cats that are FIV+.
“It’s been a good way to get cats adopted out that might have an issue. Local shelters also send us older cats for adoption. At shelters, kittens are what go so fast. People don’t care about the personality, they just want a tiny kitten. The adults tend to sit a lot longer in a shelter environment. We very rarely get kittens in the cove, and if we do, they get adopted out right away, but we’ve had a huge success rate with adults and seniors getting adopted out,” Wilbourne said.
The cove will be celebrating its fourth anniversary in July and has attracted almost 90,000 visitors within that time.
“We knew that the cove would be popular when we opened it, I did not know that it would be as popular as it was. It’s all done in memory of the first shop cat I ever had named Schwartzy,” Wilbourne says.
The lucky 600th cat was one-year-old domestic shorthair Sergio. The milestone adoption reminded Wilbourne why she does what she does.
“Anytime you get to those numbers in the hundreds, it’s such a big moment. Every 100 cats we adopt out, it’s still 100 cats whose lives have been saved. 600 cats in four years in this size space is just pretty remarkable,” Wilbourne said.
To learn more about Nautical Dog and Schwartzy’s Cat Cove, visit nauticaldogwilliamsburg.com/catcove.