Crumbs and Whiskers
American cat café operator
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Crumbs and Whiskers is a cat café that foster rescue cats and offer cafe amenities in Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles, California. Crumbs & Whiskers partners with rescues who save cats at risk of euthanasia in high kill shelters and cats facing homelessness on the streets.
- • 3211 M St NW, Washington, D.C. 20007
• 7924 Melrose Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90048
| |
 Crumbs and Whiskers' Georgetown location | |
| Formation | June 20, 2015[1] |
|---|---|
| Founder | Kanchan Singh[1] |
| Type | Cat café |
| Location(s) |
|
Region served | Washington metropolitan area Los Angeles metropolitan area |
| Products | |
| Services | Cat interaction • Cat adoption
|
| Owner | Kanchan Singh (Co-owner)[1] Chetan Singh (Co-owner)[citation needed] |
| Affiliations | • Homeward Trails Animal Rescue • Stray Cat Alliance |
| Website | www.crumbsandwhiskers.com |
| Remarks | Financed via Kickstarter: Link |
Crumbs and Whiskers opened its first cat café in Washington on June 20, 2015; this was the first cat café to open in the Washington metropolitan area.[2][3][4][5] The Washington, D.C., café is partnered with Homeward Trails Animal Rescue, and provides a living space for around 20 to 25 cats at a time.[6][7] Through the partnership arrangement, the Homeward Trails provides vaccinated and vetted cats to Crumbs and Whiskers, which functions as a foster home for the cats until they are adopted.[6][8]
The Los Angeles café opened on September 30, 2016, and was the first cat café to open in the Los Angeles metropolitan area.[9][10] The Los Angeles café is partnered with Stray Cat Alliance, a Los Angeles–based animal rescue which provides cats for the café.[9][10] Similar to the Washington, D.C., café, the Los Angeles café offers a living space for the cats until they are adopted.[9][10]
Crumbs and Whiskers uses an online booking system for scheduling visits and offers a fixed admission price per visit.[11][1][12]
In January 2026, employees at the Washington location began petitioning for a union alleging unsafe working conditions, low wages, and inadequate cat medical care.[13] The location closed in February 2026 amidst allegations by staff of union busting by ownership[14] but reopened in March 2026 after employees successfully unionized.[15][13][16]
Startup funding
The business founder, Kanchan Singh, opted to finance the venture by crowdfunding through a Kickstarter project with a US$15,000 target, an amount which she was initially uncertain that she could raise.[1] The Crumbs and Whiskers Kickstarter project reached its funding target less than a day after it launched, and doubled this amount prior to the project deadline.[6][8] The campaign ended with 705 backers and raised a total of $35,881 for the café.[17]