GARDINER — Totoro, an 8-month-old male tabby cat, rolled onto his back on the couch at The Cat’s Familiar, a new cat café, relaxing on a cold November day in between café owner Bonnie Caspersen and volunteer Abby Porter, his tiny paws in the air, looking for love and scratches.

He got them, but that’s not all.

He also got a new home with Porter, who plans to adopt him. The cats are there as part of a partnership with Kennebec Valley Humane Society. Totoro, once Porter completes the adoption paperwork , will be the second cat adopted since the Water Street business opened in early November, and its first “foster fail” adopted by a volunteer there.

“I told myself I wouldn’t fall in love, but how could I not?” Porter, of Pittston, said as Totoro stretched out his front paws next to her in apparent total comfort. “He’s such a cuddle bug. He’s too perfect to pass up.”

Fellow tabbies Sweet Pea and Grumpy — who despite her name has a sweet disposition — both around a year old, strolled around the homey, living-room like cat room. Totoro occupied the couch, while black and white Oreo, a 3-year-old male, dozed by the window on a blanket in an open crate.

Sweet Pea has since been adopted, and Amber, an 8-year-old female, has joined the group. Since opening, three cats have been adopted.

Caspersen, who lives in Gardiner, has two of her own cats at home.

The café is believed to be the second such operation in Maine. The Meow Lounge in Westbrook opened in 2023, and in its first year, 258 cats were adopted.

The two parts of the business are separated by a wall with a door to comply with food safety rules. The food side of the operation is take-out only, although nothing prevents customers from purchasing food or a coffee and taking it into the cat room with them.

The cat room has places for the cats to climb, sleep, hide, eat, play, look out the window, and socialize with each other and their human visitors. It has carpets, furniture, cat tunnels and toys, climbing and scratching posts, a radio, and other amenities, giving it a home-like feel Porter described as very “chill.”

“I wanted to create an environment like a big living room where folks can come and sit and pet cats and relax,” Caspersen said. “A place where people can be laid back and comfortable.”

Hillary Roberts, executive director of Kennebec Valley Humane Society in Augusta, said shelter workers checked out the cat café space to make sure it was an appropriate space for their adoptable cats.

The shelter chooses cats that get along well with others. Roberts said shy cats aren’t necessarily ruled out, as a different home-like environment outside the shelter may be good for them, and offer more exposure to potential adopters.

“They came to us and were looking for a shelter partner, and we’re happy to have them,” Roberts said. “It’s a win-win for us, if someone in the community wants to help us showcase adoptable cats and find them homes. It’s exciting.”

The shelter, which serves the central Maine area, has about 239 cats total; 130 are at its Leighton Road shelter, the rest in area foster homes. It also has 48 dogs. It’s free to visit animals at the shelter.

The Cat’s Familiar, like the cat lounge in Westbrook, charges a fee to visit the cat room. Fees for a 45-minute visit are $15 for adults, $12 for those 65 or older, $10 for teenagers, and is free for children 12 and younger with an adult.

The fees help offset the costs of running the business and do not go to the animal shelter. However, Caspersen said if someone adopts a cat they met at the café, she will return the fee to the adopter to help with adoption fees.

Caspersen, 57, said her career was in legal work, and involved sitting behind a desk in Augusta for a real estate and title law firm. After a bad day, she was feeling burned out, and her husband, Todd Caspersen, said,”You’ve talked about this cat café idea for years now, why don’t you just do it?”

So she did, setting up at 318 Water St.

On one side she sells homemade comfort foods, like beef stew, mac and cheese, sandwiches and baked goods including whoopie pies, puff pastries and cookies and craft items made by her and her crafty friends such as numerous crocheted items including cat-themed crafts.

The Cat’s Familiar is open from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday.

Appointments to hang out with the cats can be made through the shop’s website. While appointments are preferred, customers can stop in to visit the cats, as long as the room is not booked, and someone is available at the shop. Caspersen said they’re limiting the number of people in the cat room to six visitors at a time.