Inga first came up with the idea of opening a cat cafe in Rock Hill in March of 2021.  She had just experienced the loss of her mother and father, and wanted to put something positive back into her community.  Christmas 2022 she revisited this idea when she took in Foster; a super friendly black cat who had been living outside in her neighborhood.  She visited the cat cafes in Charlotte NC; Mac Tabby and Daily Mews and loved her experiences there.  She started to research cat cafes online and came across popular cafes such as Crumbs and Whiskers, Shabby Tabby, and more.  In the first few months of 2023 she visited the three existing cat cafes in South Carolina; Mews and Brews, Pounce, and Purr & Pour.  She met with her investment advisors and started a partnership with the Small Business Development Center at Winthrop to develop a business plan and realize the financial potential.  Her best friend, Kallie Cromer joined the business venture and came up with the name Purrfect Pair to honor their mothers Peggy and Sharon.

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Months of hard work ensued; finding the purrfect location, learning about city zoning, revising budgets and financial forecasts, forming partnerships with Forte Legato for the coffee and Humane Society of York County for the cats.  During spring break she visited the rest of the North Carolina cat cafes that were open at the time.  Inga and Kallie started to promote the cafe at pop up vendor events, the Come See Me Parade, and gained a lot of support from the community.

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In July Inga had to say goodbye to the first location and start the search over, which also compromised the momentum of the kickstarter.  Needing some cat therapy; Inga went on a two week road trip to visit 36 different cat cafes in five states: Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, Tennessee, and Kentucky.  This was great to see so many wonderful cat cafes that were all so vastly different; learning what works well and what could be improved on was key to broadening her search for the purrfect location in Rock Hill.  Inga came back with so many new ideas and a lot of merch from each of the cat cafes she visited.  Before school started again Inga and Kallie took one last road trip to DC and visited five cat cafes there, including Crumbs and Whiskers from Inga’s early research.  

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The 2023 school year started and Inga was still searching for the purrfect spot to start the cafe.  She learned that Healthy Pets Spay and Neuter moved to a new location on Riverview Rd, and that their previous space was vacant.  Jumping at the chance to have a pet-friendly landlord she applied to rent the space and in October she signed the lease!  After completing the permits, demolition and construction of the space so it can become a cat paradise, we officially opened on May 25, 2024!