{"id":131647,"date":"2024-06-10T22:08:28","date_gmt":"2024-06-11T02:08:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/?p=131647"},"modified":"2024-06-10T22:08:28","modified_gmt":"2024-06-11T02:08:28","slug":"customers-and-their-cats-buoy-lehigh-valley-business-amid-slumping-economy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/?p=131647","title":{"rendered":"Customers- and their cats – buoy Lehigh Valley business amid slumping economy"},"content":{"rendered":"

Contributed Photo:\u00a0 Laurie and recent Purr Haus guest Ethel from Feline Good Cat Rescue. Ethel and her sister Lucy were adopted after staying at \u201cHotel Purr Haus\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Emmaus, PA-<\/strong>\u00a0Purr Haus of Emmaus, Pennsylvania\u2019s only cat-themed boutique and adoption showcase, received an unexpected sales boost this month from customers eager to celebrate the store\u2019s upcoming 200th cat adoption.<\/p>\n

Purr Haus owner Laurie Mason Schroeder invited shoppers to purchase a $10 gift card to donate to the local cat rescue of their choice when the adoption milestone is reached. She noted in her\u00a0Facebook post<\/a>\u00a0about the initiative that business had been slow during April and May and that she was considering reducing the store\u2019s hours so she could pick up a part-time job.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of small businesses are struggling, and I completely understand why sales had dropped,\u201d Schroeder said. \u201cI\u2019ve been to the grocery store. If people have to pay more to feed their family they\u2019re not going to be able to spend money on new cat toys and treats.\u201d<\/p>\n

Purr Haus customers responded immediately, purchasing more than 100 gift cards in the first three days of the campaign. Most chose the rescue that they\u2019d adopted their cats from or dedicated their donation to a pet who has crossed the rainbow bridge.<\/p>\n

Schroeder said many customers sent emails and messages expressing concern that she wouldn\u2019t be able to continue her \u201cHotel Purr Haus\u201d program, in which rescues send hard-to-adopt cats to the store during the week so Schroeder can promote them on social media. One of her videos, which showed her and a rescue cat simultaneously reacting to the April 5 earthquake, garnered 37,000 views on TikTok.<\/p>\n

Cat rescuers took to social media to urge their followers to support the store, noting that it\u2019s one of the few places small nonprofits can bring cats to meet potential adopters.<\/p>\n

\u201cAunt Helen’s (Cats in Need) alone has adopted probably 20+ kittens and cats through Purr Haus. The latest was sweet Leo, an adult cat that was handsome, docile and quiet but didn’t get ONE application until Purr Haus made their video with him while hosting him as part of Hotel Purr Haus. He found his dad in less than 48 hours! Laurie makes raffle baskets, is always ready for any of our crazy kitten event ideas (Kittenpalooza with Mermaids or Pumpkin Spice Kitten Event, Meowmosas anyone?) and rescues in the Lehigh Valley have been able to raise hundreds of dollars and pounds of food in donations.,\u201d Aunt Helen\u2019s Cats in Need volunteers wrote on their\u00a0Facebook page<\/a>.<\/p>\n

So far, 185 cats have found homes while visiting Purr Haus. The shop at 27 S. 7th Street in Emmaus opened in Nov. 2021 with one rescue partner. Currently, 15 cat rescues utilize the store\u2019s free-roam adoption room on weekends, including The Sanctuary at Haafsville, The Lehigh Valley Humane Society and Feline Finish Line. The gift card drive comes\u00a0as rescues are grappling with so-called kitten season<\/a>, the months in which the valley\u2019s stray and feral cat population increases, leading to an influx of kittens, many which need expensive veterinary care.<\/p>\n

Purr Haus adoptions also increase during kitten season. Schroeder noted that 13 adoptions were processed in one day alone last July.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m confident and very proud that we\u2019ll be reaching 200 adoptions very soon,\u201d she said. \u201cI started this business with the goal of helping cats and supporting cat rescuers, and I\u2019m humbled that they\u2019re returning that support.\u201d<\/p>\n

For more information contact Laurie at\u00a0 purrhaus@gmail.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Information provided to TVL by:
\nHayden Rinde<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Contributed Photo:\u00a0 Laurie and recent Purr Haus guest Ethel from Feline Good Cat Rescue. Ethel and her sister Lucy were adopted after staying at \u201cHotel Purr Haus\u201d Emmaus, PA-\u00a0Purr Haus … Continue reading Customers- and their cats – buoy Lehigh Valley business amid slumping economy<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":131648,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[69,482],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-131647","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-in-the-valley","category-press-release-2"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/purr-house.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/131647"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=131647"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/131647\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/131648"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=131647"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=131647"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=131647"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}