By Thomas K. Pendergast

Cats have a civilizing influence, from ancient Egypt down to modern times, so humans honor them as special partners in our own social development. An Inner Richmond/Laurel Heights cat lounge and adoption center called Whiskerwood Haven connects these species to help them evolve together.

Located at the corner of Geary Boulevard and Blake Street, Whiskerwood Haven is essentially a foster shelter for rescued cats. It connects the animals with people seeking feline friends.

John Ngo, who runs the cat lounge, did not start out with ambitions of being a cat-dad. For more than 15 years he worked in cyber security. Although the money was good, he had another dream to pursue.

So, he learned how to fly an airplane and got his pilot license.

“It was one of the dream hobbies of mine,” Ngo said. “I achieved that by buying my own plane from a farmer in Iowa, taking lessons in my own plane and eventually getting my license in my own plane.”

This enabled him to find an even greater purpose for his life, when he started using his airplane for animal rescue flights.

“After an animal rescue flight, I feel really good about myself, that I just made a difference in that animal’s life,” he explained. “Whereas, when I’m doing a cyber security job, at the end of the day I feel my time was wasted even though I’m making money and the money was good.

“But after 15 years of doing it, it stops becoming about the money and it starts becoming more about fulfillment of your soul. So, when I discovered the animal rescue flights, how fulfilling that was, that’s when I decided to make moves for my next career to be animal orientated.”

Through this he found a service industry for saving cats and decided to open up his own cat lounge.

“There’s a whole system, a network, of volunteer fosters and they have nearly a hundred cats in the foster systems,” he said. “The cats have already been vaccinated, microchipped, spayed and neutered, flea medicated; they are ready to become adopted. They are eligible to come here to the lounge and when they’re here they get more exposure to the public,” he said. “Customers can come in, play with them, socialize with them. They get socialized with other cats. When someone comes in and is ready to adopt a cat, they can get a much more accurate adoption because they can see the cat’s true personality here.”

When the cats first arrive, they are kept in “acclimation crates” where other cats can interact with them and get their scent.

Once they become comfortable in these cages and feel more secure, the door will be left open for them to come out and explore on their own time.

Although cats are territorial in the wild, Ngo said this is not the case here.

“Because this is not their home and they are coming into new territory, they can’t really claim the territory as their own, so they’re not going to be territorial,” he said. “They are going to be very cautious where they’re at.

“Maybe they’ll get territorial about a toy but never really anything that would cause them to get into a huge fight. They’ll play fight once in a while but never a real fight.”

And then there’s the most important part – finding the right person for each cat.

“I get to play matchmaker, get to get a feel of the customer and try to match them up with a cat based on their personality and their needs. That way they can leave here with a more accurate adoption,” Ngo said. “If they prefer a more mellow cat I try to advertise an adult cat. Whereas if they’re looking for a kitten, I can definitely advertise for a younger cat or possibly a pair of kittens.”

Part of this is vetting people to make sure they have good intentions, and that they are prepared for the responsibility of taking on these furry dependents.

“Sometimes you’ll get someone who really loves cats, but they have zero experience of owning a cat and they’ll ask questions that raise red flags,” he said.

“Typically, if you’re ready to adopt a cat, you’re going to do your research first,” Ngo said. “So, you have some sort of information or background information; that way when you come here, you’re not asking the most basic of questions. It’s kind of like a job interview. If you’re coming here and you’re not able to answer questions on basic job functions, then why should we hire you? Why should we let you adopt a cat knowing that it’s not going to its best home?”

Andrea Duque is a student at the University of San Francisco, and she has never owned a cat, yet she has been thinking about it for a while now.

“This morning I woke up and I saw an ad for this on Instagram, and I was like, this is on my way to school,” Duque said. “I can only stop here before I go to school because I have a lot of work to do today because it’s nearing the end of the semester. And I thought I’d come and look, and also, I know that it’s an adoption place.

“So, I was just thinking to hang out with cats and maybe one I want to take home one day. Maybe not today but hopefully soon.”

She says she has done some research about owning a cat.

“I’ve been thinking about it for a year and a half. I’ve babysat my friend’s cat before. I call him my nephew; his name is Jerry. And my roommate owns two back at home, so she’s willing to help me out. I’ve been thinking about it for a while and doing a lot of research. I think I would love to do it.”

She already has a name for it in mind.

“I like black cats a lot but whatever cat it is, no matter what gender or what it looks like, it’s going to be named Bjork. I have that one figured out. I’m going to name it Bjork and then hopefully when I’m older I’ll get another one and I’m going to name it Johnny, after Patti Smith’s song Horses. I’m a big fan.”

Laura Lutzke is not looking to adopt a cat at the moment; she just wants to hang out with a few of them.

She is on a national tour as a violinist supporting Sigur Ros, an internationally famous band from Iceland, although Lutzke is from New York.

“I love cats. I foster cats back in New York but I travel too much for work and just my lifestyle, it’s really hard for me to own a cat and have a cat,” Lutzke said. “So, I just try to support rescues and shelters in whatever way that I can.

“It makes me feel good to be around cats. It’s kind of like therapy for me, especially when on a long tour,” she said. “I grew up with cats, so I know what it’s like to have them, but at this point in my life and career it’s just kind of impossible. One day I would love to adopt.”

“And they are such fascinating creatures. I just love how independent they are and how they are so much more like us than we think, than we realize. I love that.”

Whiskerwood Haven is located at 3000 Geary Blvd. and is open daily from 11a.m. to 7 p.m. Find rates and additional information at whiskerwoodhaven.com.