In Business: SoHoCats Luxury Feline Hotel

By BROOKLYN LOWERY (Patch Staff)

Photo contributed: Sharon Ramos (left) and Alissa Mead

Alissa Mead and Sharon Ramos are cat ladies in the best possible way.

Mead, who grew up in Hamilton and still lives there, joined up with Ramos in 2014 to open the SoHoCats Luxury Feline Hotel to make their love of cats a full-on business venture. Apparently, there are lots of cat people in the area as the business partners and co-owners have already relocated their business to a larger location.

The business offers boarding and daycare for pets of the feline variety, specifically, “SoHoCats has brought a new boarding experience to cats and their owners. We strive not only to actively care for our feline guests throughout the day, but to also individually treat each cat as we would treat our own,” according to the business’ website.

From Bird TV to specialty care for geriatric and diabetic cats, SoHoCats also gives Mead and Ramos a new outlet for their combined 35-plus years of experience working in feline-only environments, including years in a feline veterinary hospital.

1) What made you decide to open this type of business?

There are so few places that cater exclusively to cats, and we recognized the need for exceptional care. We developed a business model quite different from most out there. We focus on really treating our guests as individuals and as if they were our own. We both have an extensive background in feline-only care and we wanted to put our skills to good use in a fun and beneficial way. Plus, we both just really love cats!

2) What do you like best about it?

We have had a lot of fun building connections with our clients - human and feline. We take pride in knowing that we are able to provide the best care for our guests and do what we love at the same time. Cats do silly things and make us both laugh on a regular basis, so it’s good therapy too.

3) What’s the biggest struggle for a business like this?

Alissa: “Coming in first thing in the morning to cats who think they’ve done and excellent job of ‘rearranging’ their condos for us. They must think litter is confetti and throw delightful parties overnight.”

Sharon: “Trying to get any paperwork or data entry done with a cat sprawled across the computer keyboard. Cats become jealous of ANYTHING that is receiving your undivided attention – prevailing over the computer becomes a lot like an Olympic event.”

Seriously though, the unpredictability of our “busy” seasons is kind of a challenge. For instance, this past October we were at capacity for the majority of the month with really no rhyme or reason. We always tell clients to book far in advance to avoid any sad “No Vacancy” issues. Also, owning any kind of business is a full time commitment so making sure our feline guests and clients are soothed 24/7 while also maintaining personal time is something we are working on. Currently we are both almost always in “SoHo Mode”!

4) What do you see for the future of your business?

We just opened our new location on Cabot Street this past month and yes, we are already talking about the future! Given how much we have already grown in not even 2 years, we will most likely expand a bit again. We want to always stay as involved in the business as possible so finding that balance will be something we will also be taking into consideration, no matter what the future may bring. SoHoCats isn’t just about playing with cats all day and making silly FaceBook posts, it’s also a standard of care we strive to always be able to provide.

5) Politics and small business: How does government, local and otherwise affect your business?

When we first decided we wanted to open a cat hotel, we thought it would be fairly easy! Not so much. There was quite a bit of red tape to get through before we actually were given a green light and then finding an understanding landlord was another story all together. Luckily though, after everything was settled and we opened up shop we think everyone could clearly see our vision and we’ve received a lot of support. We have many people pass by on a daily basis who are very interested in what we do whether they have a cat or not. It’s nice to see peoples’ expressions when they get the mini SoHo tour!

6) Can you provide a basic profile of your background in the industry (when did you get started, what are your credentials, etc.)

Between the two of us, we have over 30 years experience in a broad range of feline-only care. We were both very young when we started working with cats and it just seemed natural to carry it over to something new and fresh and to something we could put our own quirky spin on. With many fostering experiences, volunteering at catteries and working at a cat-only veterinary office we both learned quite a bit about cat behavior and cat health so we’ve got this cat boarding thing pretty much down to a science. We are, however, still trying to figure out QuickBooks!

SoHoCats Luxury Feline Hotel is located at 100 Cabot St., in Beverly.