The Purrfect Cup Cat Cafe in downtown Saskatoon is dealing with the aftermath of yet another act of vandalism.
Owner Syndey Sylvester says the incident left more than $1,000 in damage and theft. She has been dealing with vandalism since 2024, but this is the first break in she’s experienced.
“We came inside and seen that the garbage and recycle was thrown around our cash register was gone,” she said. “We didn’t realize the phone and our iPad was gone until 10 to 15 minutes later.”
She says they see an incident at their cafe about every six months since December 2024.
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Some neighbouring businesses on 2nd Avenue told Global News they don’t see crime as often as this, with one store saying they haven’t had anything happen to their stores in years.
Slyvester says she’s heard of other downtown businesses dealing with the same thing, like the Perk and CountertopArt who have closed their downtown store.
The Perk has since put up shutters and says increased police has helped lessen the vandalism they see.
North Saskatoon Business Association executive director Keith Moen says while he doesn’t hear about vandalism downtown often, it’s easy to see the impacts with boarded up windows. Still, he’s unsure why the Cat Cafe is being targeted so often.
“It’s just strange to me why this particular business is finding, you know, challenges on an ongoing basis,” he said. “I don’t know if there is someone who has a thing about cats, for instance.”
Sylvester is hoping to cut down on the frequent problem by moving to 1st Avenue across from the Midtown Mall. The Cafe is raising money for the move.
Watch the video above for footage of the break in and how the cafe is reacting.
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