The Casual Cat Cafe in Richland Hills, a small adoption-focused hangout that opened in 2017, is staring down an uncertain future as its landlord prepares to sell and the cafe's lease end date of July 1, 2026, creeps closer. Owner Cindy Pennington has launched a fundraising push to try to buy the building so the business can stay put while staff keep working with local rescues to place adoptable cats.
Pennington started a GoFundMe campaign that had raised roughly $7,400 toward a $9,000 goal, as reported by Fort Worth Report. That reporting also notes the building had been listed for sale until the landlord pulled the listing in early April, leaving the cafe in limbo over whether it can lock in a longer lease before July.
Adoptions and partnerships
The cafe functions as a temporary home for adoptable cats and partners with local shelters, with its website keeping a running archive of the animals placed over the years. The Casual Cat Cafe reports it typically houses about a dozen to 15 cats at a time and routes adoption fees back to the sponsoring rescues.
Nine years of rescue work and local support
In the years since it opened, the business has become a neighborhood fixture. Fort Worth Report counted about 892 adoptions since 2017 and noted that Pennington has come close to shutting the cafe down more than once because of short, one-year leases and tight margins. Regulars with long-held monthly memberships told the outlet they drop in multiple times a week, and reporting shows the cafe pulls its biggest crowds on Saturdays and Sundays. For a look back at how it all started, Fort Worth Weekly covered the opening in 2017.
What comes next
With the July 1, 2026, lease deadline looming, Pennington says buying the building would finally give the operation the stability it has lacked under year-to-year renewals. Until any sale or extended lease is on paper, the cafe plans to keep hosting adoption events and posting updates on its website and fundraiser while staff and volunteers continue placing cats with partner rescues.
