Thirsty kitten floods cat cafe, forcing temporary closure

RICHMOND, Va. (WWBT/Gray News) - A five-month-old feline caused a flood at a cat cafe in Virginia, forcing it to temporarily close.

A tuxedo cat named Roller was identified as the culprit behind the flooding at the Purrfect Bean, forcing the cat cafe to close for the time being.

“It was like just like a monsoon,” said the owner, Michelle Langham.

While most might assume plumbing issues, Langham knew the cause was Roller.

While most cats appear to hate water, Roller is quite the water bug. Since his arrival at the cafe, he’s made it known that he likes to splash around.

Staff have noticed he has a habit of hanging out in the sink and apparently knows how to turn it on.

“We had seen him sort of playing with the faucet and we were working on coming up with a way to turn it off,” Langham said.

About a week and a half ago, when the cafe was closed overnight, Roller got into the bathroom. The staff thinks he used a towel left in the bathroom to block the drain while he turned on the faucet.

Water from the faucet flooded the second level and eventually rained down onto the cafe below.

“The towel plugged the drain, the faucet could not drain out, and everything just overflowed from here into the whole rest of the building,” Langham said.

And Roller was found by a volunteer splashing around in the flood he’s suspected of causing.

“He was water skiing. A lot of the other cats climbed on the high spots to stay dry, and they were not happy, but he was having a grand time,” Langham said.

The flooding ruined a portion of the cafe, which just opened in mid-August.

While some parts of the cafe can be saved, floors and walls have been ripped out and need to be reinstalled. The hope is to open before the new year.

The Purrfect Bean is Richmond’s only cat cafe, where customers can pay to hang out with the adoptable cats.

The cafe is not only a business, but it’s also a home for felines until they’re adopted.

“When they come here, it opens space in those foster homes to take in more cats and kittens,” Langham said. “This is set up like a home environment, so the cats are more comfortable. They can socialize with each other. They can socialize with people.”

The cats stay at the cafe even when it’s closed, which is how Roller had his watery adventure.

“We definitely will be turning the water off and putting a valve in, so that will be off from now on,” Langham said. “We have video cameras also to check in.”

The Purrfect Bean has been holding fundraisers and is taking donations to keep its employees paid in the meantime. They have also made T-shirts with Roller’s “mugshot” and are selling them online.

“It’s pretty overwhelming, but we have had so much support from the community,” Langham said. “We have so many awesome people who have offered to help us that we’ve just felt so much love and we’re just so lucky to be in such an awesome place like Richmond.”

The cafe’s cats are all in foster homes until it reopens. That includes Roller, who is still finding his way into sinks but avoiding floods.

He is also available for adoption and is looking for his forever home.