Meghan Cassaday moved from Wisconsin to Los Angeles for a man. She ended up staying for the cats.
It was scary to leave her hometown, but she envisioned California as a magical place and was in love. The relationship didn’t last, but the move led her down an unexpected new path shaped by two of her passions: cats and vintage wares.
Meghan “Cass” Cassady poses for a portrait with her shop cat, Nigel. When she opened her collective of vintage stalls, she knew she wanted it to also be a way to support cats.
Cassaday, who goes by Cass, turned her “crazy idea” for a collective of vintage stalls with a cat focus into Catnip Coalition Vintage Mall in 2023. The store, with its eye-catching cat sculpture overlooking the entrance, is hard to miss on a bustling stretch of Magnolia Avenue in Burbank. This is especially true if there happen to be adoptable felines playing and snoozing in the shop’s showcase windows.
Inside, the store is full of cat-themed goods and art, two shop cats and anywhere between two and eight adoptable rescue cats at a time. You can find quirky kitty tchotchkes, funny feline-themed mugs and hats with cats on them, as well as a vast array of vintage pop culture items, clothing and jewelry sans cats.
Vendors rent stalls at Catnip Coalition Vintage Mall, and many go heavy on the cat accessories, but not all.
“I feel like pet loving is on steroids out here compared to Wisconsin,” she says. “Just the fact that I’m able to create something like this is a testament to it.”
The shop wasn’t Cassaday’s first dip into selling vintage goods. A few months after moving here, Cassaday met her future business partner, Cory Jacob, at a podcast taping. They’d later drive around L.A. to pick up discarded furniture and flip it. It wasn’t long before the upcycling duo opened a vintage shop in North Hollywood named Yes Baby! Vintage in December 2020.
At the same time, Cassaday, worked as a vet tech, a gig she’d had off and on for a decade when she lived in Wisconsin. “Being from Wisconsin, I wasn’t used to seeing colonies of stray cats everywhere because that’s a very real problem that’s going on in L.A.,” she says. “So, I already had this sense of just wanting to do something to help.” Cat euthanasia rates at Los Angeles shelters have climbed this year, partially due to limited spay and neuter vouchers and the high cost of veterinary care, animal advocates say.
A hefty rent increase for Yes Baby! Vintage in 2021 prompted a search for a more affordable space. Friend and owner of Phoebe Peacock, a boutique gift shop and perfumery, Jennifer Hardaway, encouraged Cassaday and Jacob to reopen near her on Magnolia Avenue. It worked out. Then another space four doors down became available, which is where Catnip Coalition is now. Jacob now solely owns Yes Baby! Vintage and Cassaday, Catnip Coalition.
Shop cat Nigel hangs out near the register alongside employee, Alyssa Harrel.
“I love vintage, but animals and cats are my passion,” Cassaday says. “I’ve learned in life: If you can turn your passion into your career, that’s it — that’s happiness.”
Beyond cat vibes, Cassaday knew she wanted shop cats and to help furballs in need of a home. She reached out to her friend Lori Fusaro, a staff photographer for Best Friends Animal Society in Los Angeles, about adopting two cats. There, she met a bonded pair who were difficult to place due to behavioral issues and one’s chronic health problems. She wasn’t deterred. She’d lean into her experience as a vet tech to take care of the neglected duo and quickly “fell in love.”
The pair, Franklin and Nigel, moved into Catnip Coalition a month after opening. “They’re like little neighborhood celebrities, and they both have big attitudes, or cattitudes,” she says.
In addition to shop cats, Cassaday cares for adoptable cats from Kitten Rescue, Northeast L.A. Cats and Stray Cat Alliance at Catnip Coalition Vintage Mall.
The store donates a portion of proceeds to local cat rescues, such as Kitten Rescue Los Angeles, Northeast L.A. Cats and Stray Cat Alliance, and works closely with the groups to highlight adoptable cats in the storefront’s showcase windows. To date, the vintage mall has helped over 120 cats find forever homes.
The quirky storefront invites passersby to stop and have a look, almost like curious cats themselves. Among those captivated during a recent visit was first-time shopper Kevin Smith, a librarian and cat lover.
The adoptable kittens like to hang out in the shop window.
“It really does feel like all of Burbank encapsulated in one building,” he says. “If you love quirky things or some eclectic things, some retro things, I think this is the place to find it.”
Returning customer Mia Takara says her love of cats and nostalgic goods from the 1990s and 2000s keep her coming back to the shop whenever the Hawaii resident visits her partner every couple of months. Meanwhile, other browsers chitchat about cats, weird vintage finds and their eccentric animal obsessions from childhood. Some spot Franklin and Nigel and smile and swoon.
“We’re in such times where people are just desperate for positivity,” Cassaday says. “And to me, these cats are that.”
She considers the shop the foundation of her life’s work. “Now, I know what I should be doing because I’m doing it right now, and it feels right.”
Nigel and the other cats in the store bring brightness to shoppers’ days.
Meghan Cassaday moved from Wisconsin to Los Angeles for a man. She ended up staying for the cats.
It was scary to leave her hometown, but she envisioned California as a magical place and was in love. The relationship didn’t last, but the move led her down an unexpected new path shaped by two of her passions: cats and vintage wares.
Meghan “Cass” Cassady poses for a portrait with her shop cat, Nigel. When she opened her collective of vintage stalls, she knew she wanted it to also be a way to support cats.
Cassaday, who goes by Cass, turned her “crazy idea” for a collective of vintage stalls with a cat focus into Catnip Coalition Vintage Mall in 2023. The store, with its eye-catching cat sculpture overlooking the entrance, is hard to miss on a bustling stretch of Magnolia Avenue in Burbank. This is especially true if there happen to be adoptable felines playing and snoozing in the shop’s showcase windows.
Inside, the store is full of cat-themed goods and art, two shop cats and anywhere between two and eight adoptable rescue cats at a time. You can find quirky kitty tchotchkes, funny feline-themed mugs and hats with cats on them, as well as a vast array of vintage pop culture items, clothing and jewelry sans cats.
Vendors rent stalls at Catnip Coalition Vintage Mall, and many go heavy on the cat accessories, but not all.
“I feel like pet loving is on steroids out here compared to Wisconsin,” she says. “Just the fact that I’m able to create something like this is a testament to it.”
The shop wasn’t Cassaday’s first dip into selling vintage goods. A few months after moving here, Cassaday met her future business partner, Cory Jacob, at a podcast taping. They’d later drive around L.A. to pick up discarded furniture and flip it. It wasn’t long before the upcycling duo opened a vintage shop in North Hollywood named Yes Baby! Vintage in December 2020.
At the same time, Cassaday, worked as a vet tech, a gig she’d had off and on for a decade when she lived in Wisconsin. “Being from Wisconsin, I wasn’t used to seeing colonies of stray cats everywhere because that’s a very real problem that’s going on in L.A.,” she says. “So, I already had this sense of just wanting to do something to help.” Cat euthanasia rates at Los Angeles shelters have climbed this year, partially due to limited spay and neuter vouchers and the high cost of veterinary care, animal advocates say.
A hefty rent increase for Yes Baby! Vintage in 2021 prompted a search for a more affordable space. Friend and owner of Phoebe Peacock, a boutique gift shop and perfumery, Jennifer Hardaway, encouraged Cassaday and Jacob to reopen near her on Magnolia Avenue. It worked out. Then another space four doors down became available, which is where Catnip Coalition is now. Jacob now solely owns Yes Baby! Vintage and Cassaday, Catnip Coalition.
Shop cat Nigel hangs out near the register alongside employee, Alyssa Harrel.
“I love vintage, but animals and cats are my passion,” Cassaday says. “I’ve learned in life: If you can turn your passion into your career, that’s it — that’s happiness.”
Beyond cat vibes, Cassaday knew she wanted shop cats and to help furballs in need of a home. She reached out to her friend Lori Fusaro, a staff photographer for Best Friends Animal Society in Los Angeles, about adopting two cats. There, she met a bonded pair who were difficult to place due to behavioral issues and one’s chronic health problems. She wasn’t deterred. She’d lean into her experience as a vet tech to take care of the neglected duo and quickly “fell in love.”
The pair, Franklin and Nigel, moved into Catnip Coalition a month after opening. “They’re like little neighborhood celebrities, and they both have big attitudes, or cattitudes,” she says.
In addition to shop cats, Cassaday cares for adoptable cats from Kitten Rescue, Northeast L.A. Cats and Stray Cat Alliance at Catnip Coalition Vintage Mall.
The store donates a portion of proceeds to local cat rescues, such as Kitten Rescue Los Angeles, Northeast L.A. Cats and Stray Cat Alliance, and works closely with the groups to highlight adoptable cats in the storefront’s showcase windows. To date, the vintage mall has helped over 120 cats find forever homes.
The quirky storefront invites passersby to stop and have a look, almost like curious cats themselves. Among those captivated during a recent visit was first-time shopper Kevin Smith, a librarian and cat lover.
The adoptable kittens like to hang out in the shop window.
“It really does feel like all of Burbank encapsulated in one building,” he says. “If you love quirky things or some eclectic things, some retro things, I think this is the place to find it.”
Returning customer Mia Takara says her love of cats and nostalgic goods from the 1990s and 2000s keep her coming back to the shop whenever the Hawaii resident visits her partner every couple of months. Meanwhile, other browsers chitchat about cats, weird vintage finds and their eccentric animal obsessions from childhood. Some spot Franklin and Nigel and smile and swoon.
“We’re in such times where people are just desperate for positivity,” Cassaday says. “And to me, these cats are that.”
She considers the shop the foundation of her life’s work. “Now, I know what I should be doing because I’m doing it right now, and it feels right.”
Nigel and the other cats in the store bring brightness to shoppers’ days.
Meghan Cassaday moved from Wisconsin to Los Angeles for a man. She ended up staying for the cats.
It was scary to leave her hometown, but she envisioned California as a magical place and was in love. The relationship didn’t last, but the move led her down an unexpected new path shaped by two of her passions: cats and vintage wares.
Meghan “Cass” Cassady poses for a portrait with her shop cat, Nigel. When she opened her collective of vintage stalls, she knew she wanted it to also be a way to support cats.
Cassaday, who goes by Cass, turned her “crazy idea” for a collective of vintage stalls with a cat focus into Catnip Coalition Vintage Mall in 2023. The store, with its eye-catching cat sculpture overlooking the entrance, is hard to miss on a bustling stretch of Magnolia Avenue in Burbank. This is especially true if there happen to be adoptable felines playing and snoozing in the shop’s showcase windows.
Inside, the store is full of cat-themed goods and art, two shop cats and anywhere between two and eight adoptable rescue cats at a time. You can find quirky kitty tchotchkes, funny feline-themed mugs and hats with cats on them, as well as a vast array of vintage pop culture items, clothing and jewelry sans cats.
Vendors rent stalls at Catnip Coalition Vintage Mall, and many go heavy on the cat accessories, but not all.
“I feel like pet loving is on steroids out here compared to Wisconsin,” she says. “Just the fact that I’m able to create something like this is a testament to it.”
The shop wasn’t Cassaday’s first dip into selling vintage goods. A few months after moving here, Cassaday met her future business partner, Cory Jacob, at a podcast taping. They’d later drive around L.A. to pick up discarded furniture and flip it. It wasn’t long before the upcycling duo opened a vintage shop in North Hollywood named Yes Baby! Vintage in December 2020.
At the same time, Cassaday, worked as a vet tech, a gig she’d had off and on for a decade when she lived in Wisconsin. “Being from Wisconsin, I wasn’t used to seeing colonies of stray cats everywhere because that’s a very real problem that’s going on in L.A.,” she says. “So, I already had this sense of just wanting to do something to help.” Cat euthanasia rates at Los Angeles shelters have climbed this year, partially due to limited spay and neuter vouchers and the high cost of veterinary care, animal advocates say.
A hefty rent increase for Yes Baby! Vintage in 2021 prompted a search for a more affordable space. Friend and owner of Phoebe Peacock, a boutique gift shop and perfumery, Jennifer Hardaway, encouraged Cassaday and Jacob to reopen near her on Magnolia Avenue. It worked out. Then another space four doors down became available, which is where Catnip Coalition is now. Jacob now solely owns Yes Baby! Vintage and Cassaday, Catnip Coalition.
Shop cat Nigel hangs out near the register alongside employee, Alyssa Harrel.
“I love vintage, but animals and cats are my passion,” Cassaday says. “I’ve learned in life: If you can turn your passion into your career, that’s it — that’s happiness.”
Beyond cat vibes, Cassaday knew she wanted shop cats and to help furballs in need of a home. She reached out to her friend Lori Fusaro, a staff photographer for Best Friends Animal Society in Los Angeles, about adopting two cats. There, she met a bonded pair who were difficult to place due to behavioral issues and one’s chronic health problems. She wasn’t deterred. She’d lean into her experience as a vet tech to take care of the neglected duo and quickly “fell in love.”
The pair, Franklin and Nigel, moved into Catnip Coalition a month after opening. “They’re like little neighborhood celebrities, and they both have big attitudes, or cattitudes,” she says.
In addition to shop cats, Cassaday cares for adoptable cats from Kitten Rescue, Northeast L.A. Cats and Stray Cat Alliance at Catnip Coalition Vintage Mall.
The store donates a portion of proceeds to local cat rescues, such as Kitten Rescue Los Angeles, Northeast L.A. Cats and Stray Cat Alliance, and works closely with the groups to highlight adoptable cats in the storefront’s showcase windows. To date, the vintage mall has helped over 120 cats find forever homes.
The quirky storefront invites passersby to stop and have a look, almost like curious cats themselves. Among those captivated during a recent visit was first-time shopper Kevin Smith, a librarian and cat lover.
The adoptable kittens like to hang out in the shop window.
“It really does feel like all of Burbank encapsulated in one building,” he says. “If you love quirky things or some eclectic things, some retro things, I think this is the place to find it.”
Returning customer Mia Takara says her love of cats and nostalgic goods from the 1990s and 2000s keep her coming back to the shop whenever the Hawaii resident visits her partner every couple of months. Meanwhile, other browsers chitchat about cats, weird vintage finds and their eccentric animal obsessions from childhood. Some spot Franklin and Nigel and smile and swoon.
“We’re in such times where people are just desperate for positivity,” Cassaday says. “And to me, these cats are that.”
She considers the shop the foundation of her life’s work. “Now, I know what I should be doing because I’m doing it right now, and it feels right.”
Nigel and the other cats in the store bring brightness to shoppers’ days.
Meghan Cassaday moved from Wisconsin to Los Angeles for a man. She ended up staying for the cats.
It was scary to leave her hometown, but she envisioned California as a magical place and was in love. The relationship didn’t last, but the move led her down an unexpected new path shaped by two of her passions: cats and vintage wares.
Meghan “Cass” Cassady poses for a portrait with her shop cat, Nigel. When she opened her collective of vintage stalls, she knew she wanted it to also be a way to support cats.
Cassaday, who goes by Cass, turned her “crazy idea” for a collective of vintage stalls with a cat focus into Catnip Coalition Vintage Mall in 2023. The store, with its eye-catching cat sculpture overlooking the entrance, is hard to miss on a bustling stretch of Magnolia Avenue in Burbank. This is especially true if there happen to be adoptable felines playing and snoozing in the shop’s showcase windows.
Inside, the store is full of cat-themed goods and art, two shop cats and anywhere between two and eight adoptable rescue cats at a time. You can find quirky kitty tchotchkes, funny feline-themed mugs and hats with cats on them, as well as a vast array of vintage pop culture items, clothing and jewelry sans cats.
Vendors rent stalls at Catnip Coalition Vintage Mall, and many go heavy on the cat accessories, but not all.
“I feel like pet loving is on steroids out here compared to Wisconsin,” she says. “Just the fact that I’m able to create something like this is a testament to it.”
The shop wasn’t Cassaday’s first dip into selling vintage goods. A few months after moving here, Cassaday met her future business partner, Cory Jacob, at a podcast taping. They’d later drive around L.A. to pick up discarded furniture and flip it. It wasn’t long before the upcycling duo opened a vintage shop in North Hollywood named Yes Baby! Vintage in December 2020.
At the same time, Cassaday, worked as a vet tech, a gig she’d had off and on for a decade when she lived in Wisconsin. “Being from Wisconsin, I wasn’t used to seeing colonies of stray cats everywhere because that’s a very real problem that’s going on in L.A.,” she says. “So, I already had this sense of just wanting to do something to help.” Cat euthanasia rates at Los Angeles shelters have climbed this year, partially due to limited spay and neuter vouchers and the high cost of veterinary care, animal advocates say.
A hefty rent increase for Yes Baby! Vintage in 2021 prompted a search for a more affordable space. Friend and owner of Phoebe Peacock, a boutique gift shop and perfumery, Jennifer Hardaway, encouraged Cassaday and Jacob to reopen near her on Magnolia Avenue. It worked out. Then another space four doors down became available, which is where Catnip Coalition is now. Jacob now solely owns Yes Baby! Vintage and Cassaday, Catnip Coalition.
Shop cat Nigel hangs out near the register alongside employee, Alyssa Harrel.
“I love vintage, but animals and cats are my passion,” Cassaday says. “I’ve learned in life: If you can turn your passion into your career, that’s it — that’s happiness.”
Beyond cat vibes, Cassaday knew she wanted shop cats and to help furballs in need of a home. She reached out to her friend Lori Fusaro, a staff photographer for Best Friends Animal Society in Los Angeles, about adopting two cats. There, she met a bonded pair who were difficult to place due to behavioral issues and one’s chronic health problems. She wasn’t deterred. She’d lean into her experience as a vet tech to take care of the neglected duo and quickly “fell in love.”
The pair, Franklin and Nigel, moved into Catnip Coalition a month after opening. “They’re like little neighborhood celebrities, and they both have big attitudes, or cattitudes,” she says.
In addition to shop cats, Cassaday cares for adoptable cats from Kitten Rescue, Northeast L.A. Cats and Stray Cat Alliance at Catnip Coalition Vintage Mall.
The store donates a portion of proceeds to local cat rescues, such as Kitten Rescue Los Angeles, Northeast L.A. Cats and Stray Cat Alliance, and works closely with the groups to highlight adoptable cats in the storefront’s showcase windows. To date, the vintage mall has helped over 120 cats find forever homes.
The quirky storefront invites passersby to stop and have a look, almost like curious cats themselves. Among those captivated during a recent visit was first-time shopper Kevin Smith, a librarian and cat lover.
The adoptable kittens like to hang out in the shop window.
“It really does feel like all of Burbank encapsulated in one building,” he says. “If you love quirky things or some eclectic things, some retro things, I think this is the place to find it.”
Returning customer Mia Takara says her love of cats and nostalgic goods from the 1990s and 2000s keep her coming back to the shop whenever the Hawaii resident visits her partner every couple of months. Meanwhile, other browsers chitchat about cats, weird vintage finds and their eccentric animal obsessions from childhood. Some spot Franklin and Nigel and smile and swoon.
“We’re in such times where people are just desperate for positivity,” Cassaday says. “And to me, these cats are that.”
She considers the shop the foundation of her life’s work. “Now, I know what I should be doing because I’m doing it right now, and it feels right.”
Nigel and the other cats in the store bring brightness to shoppers’ days.
Meghan Cassaday moved from Wisconsin to Los Angeles for a man. She ended up staying for the cats.
It was scary to leave her hometown, but she envisioned California as a magical place and was in love. The relationship didn’t last, but the move led her down an unexpected new path shaped by two of her passions: cats and vintage wares.
Meghan “Cass” Cassady poses for a portrait with her shop cat, Nigel. When she opened her collective of vintage stalls, she knew she wanted it to also be a way to support cats.
Cassaday, who goes by Cass, turned her “crazy idea” for a collective of vintage stalls with a cat focus into Catnip Coalition Vintage Mall in 2023. The store, with its eye-catching cat sculpture overlooking the entrance, is hard to miss on a bustling stretch of Magnolia Avenue in Burbank. This is especially true if there happen to be adoptable felines playing and snoozing in the shop’s showcase windows.
Inside, the store is full of cat-themed goods and art, two shop cats and anywhere between two and eight adoptable rescue cats at a time. You can find quirky kitty tchotchkes, funny feline-themed mugs and hats with cats on them, as well as a vast array of vintage pop culture items, clothing and jewelry sans cats.
Vendors rent stalls at Catnip Coalition Vintage Mall, and many go heavy on the cat accessories, but not all.
“I feel like pet loving is on steroids out here compared to Wisconsin,” she says. “Just the fact that I’m able to create something like this is a testament to it.”
The shop wasn’t Cassaday’s first dip into selling vintage goods. A few months after moving here, Cassaday met her future business partner, Cory Jacob, at a podcast taping. They’d later drive around L.A. to pick up discarded furniture and flip it. It wasn’t long before the upcycling duo opened a vintage shop in North Hollywood named Yes Baby! Vintage in December 2020.
At the same time, Cassaday, worked as a vet tech, a gig she’d had off and on for a decade when she lived in Wisconsin. “Being from Wisconsin, I wasn’t used to seeing colonies of stray cats everywhere because that’s a very real problem that’s going on in L.A.,” she says. “So, I already had this sense of just wanting to do something to help.” Cat euthanasia rates at Los Angeles shelters have climbed this year, partially due to limited spay and neuter vouchers and the high cost of veterinary care, animal advocates say.
A hefty rent increase for Yes Baby! Vintage in 2021 prompted a search for a more affordable space. Friend and owner of Phoebe Peacock, a boutique gift shop and perfumery, Jennifer Hardaway, encouraged Cassaday and Jacob to reopen near her on Magnolia Avenue. It worked out. Then another space four doors down became available, which is where Catnip Coalition is now. Jacob now solely owns Yes Baby! Vintage and Cassaday, Catnip Coalition.
Shop cat Nigel hangs out near the register alongside employee, Alyssa Harrel.
“I love vintage, but animals and cats are my passion,” Cassaday says. “I’ve learned in life: If you can turn your passion into your career, that’s it — that’s happiness.”
Beyond cat vibes, Cassaday knew she wanted shop cats and to help furballs in need of a home. She reached out to her friend Lori Fusaro, a staff photographer for Best Friends Animal Society in Los Angeles, about adopting two cats. There, she met a bonded pair who were difficult to place due to behavioral issues and one’s chronic health problems. She wasn’t deterred. She’d lean into her experience as a vet tech to take care of the neglected duo and quickly “fell in love.”
The pair, Franklin and Nigel, moved into Catnip Coalition a month after opening. “They’re like little neighborhood celebrities, and they both have big attitudes, or cattitudes,” she says.
In addition to shop cats, Cassaday cares for adoptable cats from Kitten Rescue, Northeast L.A. Cats and Stray Cat Alliance at Catnip Coalition Vintage Mall.
The store donates a portion of proceeds to local cat rescues, such as Kitten Rescue Los Angeles, Northeast L.A. Cats and Stray Cat Alliance, and works closely with the groups to highlight adoptable cats in the storefront’s showcase windows. To date, the vintage mall has helped over 120 cats find forever homes.
The quirky storefront invites passersby to stop and have a look, almost like curious cats themselves. Among those captivated during a recent visit was first-time shopper Kevin Smith, a librarian and cat lover.
The adoptable kittens like to hang out in the shop window.
“It really does feel like all of Burbank encapsulated in one building,” he says. “If you love quirky things or some eclectic things, some retro things, I think this is the place to find it.”
Returning customer Mia Takara says her love of cats and nostalgic goods from the 1990s and 2000s keep her coming back to the shop whenever the Hawaii resident visits her partner every couple of months. Meanwhile, other browsers chitchat about cats, weird vintage finds and their eccentric animal obsessions from childhood. Some spot Franklin and Nigel and smile and swoon.
“We’re in such times where people are just desperate for positivity,” Cassaday says. “And to me, these cats are that.”
She considers the shop the foundation of her life’s work. “Now, I know what I should be doing because I’m doing it right now, and it feels right.”
Nigel and the other cats in the store bring brightness to shoppers’ days.
Meghan Cassaday moved from Wisconsin to Los Angeles for a man. She ended up staying for the cats.
It was scary to leave her hometown, but she envisioned California as a magical place and was in love. The relationship didn’t last, but the move led her down an unexpected new path shaped by two of her passions: cats and vintage wares.
Meghan “Cass” Cassady poses for a portrait with her shop cat, Nigel. When she opened her collective of vintage stalls, she knew she wanted it to also be a way to support cats.
Cassaday, who goes by Cass, turned her “crazy idea” for a collective of vintage stalls with a cat focus into Catnip Coalition Vintage Mall in 2023. The store, with its eye-catching cat sculpture overlooking the entrance, is hard to miss on a bustling stretch of Magnolia Avenue in Burbank. This is especially true if there happen to be adoptable felines playing and snoozing in the shop’s showcase windows.
Inside, the store is full of cat-themed goods and art, two shop cats and anywhere between two and eight adoptable rescue cats at a time. You can find quirky kitty tchotchkes, funny feline-themed mugs and hats with cats on them, as well as a vast array of vintage pop culture items, clothing and jewelry sans cats.
Vendors rent stalls at Catnip Coalition Vintage Mall, and many go heavy on the cat accessories, but not all.
“I feel like pet loving is on steroids out here compared to Wisconsin,” she says. “Just the fact that I’m able to create something like this is a testament to it.”
The shop wasn’t Cassaday’s first dip into selling vintage goods. A few months after moving here, Cassaday met her future business partner, Cory Jacob, at a podcast taping. They’d later drive around L.A. to pick up discarded furniture and flip it. It wasn’t long before the upcycling duo opened a vintage shop in North Hollywood named Yes Baby! Vintage in December 2020.
At the same time, Cassaday, worked as a vet tech, a gig she’d had off and on for a decade when she lived in Wisconsin. “Being from Wisconsin, I wasn’t used to seeing colonies of stray cats everywhere because that’s a very real problem that’s going on in L.A.,” she says. “So, I already had this sense of just wanting to do something to help.” Cat euthanasia rates at Los Angeles shelters have climbed this year, partially due to limited spay and neuter vouchers and the high cost of veterinary care, animal advocates say.
A hefty rent increase for Yes Baby! Vintage in 2021 prompted a search for a more affordable space. Friend and owner of Phoebe Peacock, a boutique gift shop and perfumery, Jennifer Hardaway, encouraged Cassaday and Jacob to reopen near her on Magnolia Avenue. It worked out. Then another space four doors down became available, which is where Catnip Coalition is now. Jacob now solely owns Yes Baby! Vintage and Cassaday, Catnip Coalition.
Shop cat Nigel hangs out near the register alongside employee, Alyssa Harrel.
“I love vintage, but animals and cats are my passion,” Cassaday says. “I’ve learned in life: If you can turn your passion into your career, that’s it — that’s happiness.”
Beyond cat vibes, Cassaday knew she wanted shop cats and to help furballs in need of a home. She reached out to her friend Lori Fusaro, a staff photographer for Best Friends Animal Society in Los Angeles, about adopting two cats. There, she met a bonded pair who were difficult to place due to behavioral issues and one’s chronic health problems. She wasn’t deterred. She’d lean into her experience as a vet tech to take care of the neglected duo and quickly “fell in love.”
The pair, Franklin and Nigel, moved into Catnip Coalition a month after opening. “They’re like little neighborhood celebrities, and they both have big attitudes, or cattitudes,” she says.
In addition to shop cats, Cassaday cares for adoptable cats from Kitten Rescue, Northeast L.A. Cats and Stray Cat Alliance at Catnip Coalition Vintage Mall.
The store donates a portion of proceeds to local cat rescues, such as Kitten Rescue Los Angeles, Northeast L.A. Cats and Stray Cat Alliance, and works closely with the groups to highlight adoptable cats in the storefront’s showcase windows. To date, the vintage mall has helped over 120 cats find forever homes.
The quirky storefront invites passersby to stop and have a look, almost like curious cats themselves. Among those captivated during a recent visit was first-time shopper Kevin Smith, a librarian and cat lover.
The adoptable kittens like to hang out in the shop window.
“It really does feel like all of Burbank encapsulated in one building,” he says. “If you love quirky things or some eclectic things, some retro things, I think this is the place to find it.”
Returning customer Mia Takara says her love of cats and nostalgic goods from the 1990s and 2000s keep her coming back to the shop whenever the Hawaii resident visits her partner every couple of months. Meanwhile, other browsers chitchat about cats, weird vintage finds and their eccentric animal obsessions from childhood. Some spot Franklin and Nigel and smile and swoon.
“We’re in such times where people are just desperate for positivity,” Cassaday says. “And to me, these cats are that.”
She considers the shop the foundation of her life’s work. “Now, I know what I should be doing because I’m doing it right now, and it feels right.”
Nigel and the other cats in the store bring brightness to shoppers’ days.
Meghan Cassaday moved from Wisconsin to Los Angeles for a man. She ended up staying for the cats.
It was scary to leave her hometown, but she envisioned California as a magical place and was in love. The relationship didn’t last, but the move led her down an unexpected new path shaped by two of her passions: cats and vintage wares.
Meghan “Cass” Cassady poses for a portrait with her shop cat, Nigel. When she opened her collective of vintage stalls, she knew she wanted it to also be a way to support cats.
Cassaday, who goes by Cass, turned her “crazy idea” for a collective of vintage stalls with a cat focus into Catnip Coalition Vintage Mall in 2023. The store, with its eye-catching cat sculpture overlooking the entrance, is hard to miss on a bustling stretch of Magnolia Avenue in Burbank. This is especially true if there happen to be adoptable felines playing and snoozing in the shop’s showcase windows.
Inside, the store is full of cat-themed goods and art, two shop cats and anywhere between two and eight adoptable rescue cats at a time. You can find quirky kitty tchotchkes, funny feline-themed mugs and hats with cats on them, as well as a vast array of vintage pop culture items, clothing and jewelry sans cats.
Vendors rent stalls at Catnip Coalition Vintage Mall, and many go heavy on the cat accessories, but not all.
“I feel like pet loving is on steroids out here compared to Wisconsin,” she says. “Just the fact that I’m able to create something like this is a testament to it.”
The shop wasn’t Cassaday’s first dip into selling vintage goods. A few months after moving here, Cassaday met her future business partner, Cory Jacob, at a podcast taping. They’d later drive around L.A. to pick up discarded furniture and flip it. It wasn’t long before the upcycling duo opened a vintage shop in North Hollywood named Yes Baby! Vintage in December 2020.
At the same time, Cassaday, worked as a vet tech, a gig she’d had off and on for a decade when she lived in Wisconsin. “Being from Wisconsin, I wasn’t used to seeing colonies of stray cats everywhere because that’s a very real problem that’s going on in L.A.,” she says. “So, I already had this sense of just wanting to do something to help.” Cat euthanasia rates at Los Angeles shelters have climbed this year, partially due to limited spay and neuter vouchers and the high cost of veterinary care, animal advocates say.
A hefty rent increase for Yes Baby! Vintage in 2021 prompted a search for a more affordable space. Friend and owner of Phoebe Peacock, a boutique gift shop and perfumery, Jennifer Hardaway, encouraged Cassaday and Jacob to reopen near her on Magnolia Avenue. It worked out. Then another space four doors down became available, which is where Catnip Coalition is now. Jacob now solely owns Yes Baby! Vintage and Cassaday, Catnip Coalition.
Shop cat Nigel hangs out near the register alongside employee, Alyssa Harrel.
“I love vintage, but animals and cats are my passion,” Cassaday says. “I’ve learned in life: If you can turn your passion into your career, that’s it — that’s happiness.”
Beyond cat vibes, Cassaday knew she wanted shop cats and to help furballs in need of a home. She reached out to her friend Lori Fusaro, a staff photographer for Best Friends Animal Society in Los Angeles, about adopting two cats. There, she met a bonded pair who were difficult to place due to behavioral issues and one’s chronic health problems. She wasn’t deterred. She’d lean into her experience as a vet tech to take care of the neglected duo and quickly “fell in love.”
The pair, Franklin and Nigel, moved into Catnip Coalition a month after opening. “They’re like little neighborhood celebrities, and they both have big attitudes, or cattitudes,” she says.
In addition to shop cats, Cassaday cares for adoptable cats from Kitten Rescue, Northeast L.A. Cats and Stray Cat Alliance at Catnip Coalition Vintage Mall.
The store donates a portion of proceeds to local cat rescues, such as Kitten Rescue Los Angeles, Northeast L.A. Cats and Stray Cat Alliance, and works closely with the groups to highlight adoptable cats in the storefront’s showcase windows. To date, the vintage mall has helped over 120 cats find forever homes.
The quirky storefront invites passersby to stop and have a look, almost like curious cats themselves. Among those captivated during a recent visit was first-time shopper Kevin Smith, a librarian and cat lover.
The adoptable kittens like to hang out in the shop window.
“It really does feel like all of Burbank encapsulated in one building,” he says. “If you love quirky things or some eclectic things, some retro things, I think this is the place to find it.”
Returning customer Mia Takara says her love of cats and nostalgic goods from the 1990s and 2000s keep her coming back to the shop whenever the Hawaii resident visits her partner every couple of months. Meanwhile, other browsers chitchat about cats, weird vintage finds and their eccentric animal obsessions from childhood. Some spot Franklin and Nigel and smile and swoon.
“We’re in such times where people are just desperate for positivity,” Cassaday says. “And to me, these cats are that.”
She considers the shop the foundation of her life’s work. “Now, I know what I should be doing because I’m doing it right now, and it feels right.”
Nigel and the other cats in the store bring brightness to shoppers’ days.
Meghan Cassaday moved from Wisconsin to Los Angeles for a man. She ended up staying for the cats.
It was scary to leave her hometown, but she envisioned California as a magical place and was in love. The relationship didn’t last, but the move led her down an unexpected new path shaped by two of her passions: cats and vintage wares.
Meghan “Cass” Cassady poses for a portrait with her shop cat, Nigel. When she opened her collective of vintage stalls, she knew she wanted it to also be a way to support cats.
Cassaday, who goes by Cass, turned her “crazy idea” for a collective of vintage stalls with a cat focus into Catnip Coalition Vintage Mall in 2023. The store, with its eye-catching cat sculpture overlooking the entrance, is hard to miss on a bustling stretch of Magnolia Avenue in Burbank. This is especially true if there happen to be adoptable felines playing and snoozing in the shop’s showcase windows.
Inside, the store is full of cat-themed goods and art, two shop cats and anywhere between two and eight adoptable rescue cats at a time. You can find quirky kitty tchotchkes, funny feline-themed mugs and hats with cats on them, as well as a vast array of vintage pop culture items, clothing and jewelry sans cats.
Vendors rent stalls at Catnip Coalition Vintage Mall, and many go heavy on the cat accessories, but not all.
“I feel like pet loving is on steroids out here compared to Wisconsin,” she says. “Just the fact that I’m able to create something like this is a testament to it.”
The shop wasn’t Cassaday’s first dip into selling vintage goods. A few months after moving here, Cassaday met her future business partner, Cory Jacob, at a podcast taping. They’d later drive around L.A. to pick up discarded furniture and flip it. It wasn’t long before the upcycling duo opened a vintage shop in North Hollywood named Yes Baby! Vintage in December 2020.
At the same time, Cassaday, worked as a vet tech, a gig she’d had off and on for a decade when she lived in Wisconsin. “Being from Wisconsin, I wasn’t used to seeing colonies of stray cats everywhere because that’s a very real problem that’s going on in L.A.,” she says. “So, I already had this sense of just wanting to do something to help.” Cat euthanasia rates at Los Angeles shelters have climbed this year, partially due to limited spay and neuter vouchers and the high cost of veterinary care, animal advocates say.
A hefty rent increase for Yes Baby! Vintage in 2021 prompted a search for a more affordable space. Friend and owner of Phoebe Peacock, a boutique gift shop and perfumery, Jennifer Hardaway, encouraged Cassaday and Jacob to reopen near her on Magnolia Avenue. It worked out. Then another space four doors down became available, which is where Catnip Coalition is now. Jacob now solely owns Yes Baby! Vintage and Cassaday, Catnip Coalition.
Shop cat Nigel hangs out near the register alongside employee, Alyssa Harrel.
“I love vintage, but animals and cats are my passion,” Cassaday says. “I’ve learned in life: If you can turn your passion into your career, that’s it — that’s happiness.”
Beyond cat vibes, Cassaday knew she wanted shop cats and to help furballs in need of a home. She reached out to her friend Lori Fusaro, a staff photographer for Best Friends Animal Society in Los Angeles, about adopting two cats. There, she met a bonded pair who were difficult to place due to behavioral issues and one’s chronic health problems. She wasn’t deterred. She’d lean into her experience as a vet tech to take care of the neglected duo and quickly “fell in love.”
The pair, Franklin and Nigel, moved into Catnip Coalition a month after opening. “They’re like little neighborhood celebrities, and they both have big attitudes, or cattitudes,” she says.
In addition to shop cats, Cassaday cares for adoptable cats from Kitten Rescue, Northeast L.A. Cats and Stray Cat Alliance at Catnip Coalition Vintage Mall.
The store donates a portion of proceeds to local cat rescues, such as Kitten Rescue Los Angeles, Northeast L.A. Cats and Stray Cat Alliance, and works closely with the groups to highlight adoptable cats in the storefront’s showcase windows. To date, the vintage mall has helped over 120 cats find forever homes.
The quirky storefront invites passersby to stop and have a look, almost like curious cats themselves. Among those captivated during a recent visit was first-time shopper Kevin Smith, a librarian and cat lover.
The adoptable kittens like to hang out in the shop window.
“It really does feel like all of Burbank encapsulated in one building,” he says. “If you love quirky things or some eclectic things, some retro things, I think this is the place to find it.”
Returning customer Mia Takara says her love of cats and nostalgic goods from the 1990s and 2000s keep her coming back to the shop whenever the Hawaii resident visits her partner every couple of months. Meanwhile, other browsers chitchat about cats, weird vintage finds and their eccentric animal obsessions from childhood. Some spot Franklin and Nigel and smile and swoon.
“We’re in such times where people are just desperate for positivity,” Cassaday says. “And to me, these cats are that.”
She considers the shop the foundation of her life’s work. “Now, I know what I should be doing because I’m doing it right now, and it feels right.”
Nigel and the other cats in the store bring brightness to shoppers’ days.
Meghan Cassaday moved from Wisconsin to Los Angeles for a man. She ended up staying for the cats.
It was scary to leave her hometown, but she envisioned California as a magical place and was in love. The relationship didn’t last, but the move led her down an unexpected new path shaped by two of her passions: cats and vintage wares.
Meghan “Cass” Cassady poses for a portrait with her shop cat, Nigel. When she opened her collective of vintage stalls, she knew she wanted it to also be a way to support cats.
Cassaday, who goes by Cass, turned her “crazy idea” for a collective of vintage stalls with a cat focus into Catnip Coalition Vintage Mall in 2023. The store, with its eye-catching cat sculpture overlooking the entrance, is hard to miss on a bustling stretch of Magnolia Avenue in Burbank. This is especially true if there happen to be adoptable felines playing and snoozing in the shop’s showcase windows.
Inside, the store is full of cat-themed goods and art, two shop cats and anywhere between two and eight adoptable rescue cats at a time. You can find quirky kitty tchotchkes, funny feline-themed mugs and hats with cats on them, as well as a vast array of vintage pop culture items, clothing and jewelry sans cats.
Vendors rent stalls at Catnip Coalition Vintage Mall, and many go heavy on the cat accessories, but not all.
“I feel like pet loving is on steroids out here compared to Wisconsin,” she says. “Just the fact that I’m able to create something like this is a testament to it.”
The shop wasn’t Cassaday’s first dip into selling vintage goods. A few months after moving here, Cassaday met her future business partner, Cory Jacob, at a podcast taping. They’d later drive around L.A. to pick up discarded furniture and flip it. It wasn’t long before the upcycling duo opened a vintage shop in North Hollywood named Yes Baby! Vintage in December 2020.
At the same time, Cassaday, worked as a vet tech, a gig she’d had off and on for a decade when she lived in Wisconsin. “Being from Wisconsin, I wasn’t used to seeing colonies of stray cats everywhere because that’s a very real problem that’s going on in L.A.,” she says. “So, I already had this sense of just wanting to do something to help.” Cat euthanasia rates at Los Angeles shelters have climbed this year, partially due to limited spay and neuter vouchers and the high cost of veterinary care, animal advocates say.
A hefty rent increase for Yes Baby! Vintage in 2021 prompted a search for a more affordable space. Friend and owner of Phoebe Peacock, a boutique gift shop and perfumery, Jennifer Hardaway, encouraged Cassaday and Jacob to reopen near her on Magnolia Avenue. It worked out. Then another space four doors down became available, which is where Catnip Coalition is now. Jacob now solely owns Yes Baby! Vintage and Cassaday, Catnip Coalition.
Shop cat Nigel hangs out near the register alongside employee, Alyssa Harrel.
“I love vintage, but animals and cats are my passion,” Cassaday says. “I’ve learned in life: If you can turn your passion into your career, that’s it — that’s happiness.”
Beyond cat vibes, Cassaday knew she wanted shop cats and to help furballs in need of a home. She reached out to her friend Lori Fusaro, a staff photographer for Best Friends Animal Society in Los Angeles, about adopting two cats. There, she met a bonded pair who were difficult to place due to behavioral issues and one’s chronic health problems. She wasn’t deterred. She’d lean into her experience as a vet tech to take care of the neglected duo and quickly “fell in love.”
The pair, Franklin and Nigel, moved into Catnip Coalition a month after opening. “They’re like little neighborhood celebrities, and they both have big attitudes, or cattitudes,” she says.
In addition to shop cats, Cassaday cares for adoptable cats from Kitten Rescue, Northeast L.A. Cats and Stray Cat Alliance at Catnip Coalition Vintage Mall.
The store donates a portion of proceeds to local cat rescues, such as Kitten Rescue Los Angeles, Northeast L.A. Cats and Stray Cat Alliance, and works closely with the groups to highlight adoptable cats in the storefront’s showcase windows. To date, the vintage mall has helped over 120 cats find forever homes.
The quirky storefront invites passersby to stop and have a look, almost like curious cats themselves. Among those captivated during a recent visit was first-time shopper Kevin Smith, a librarian and cat lover.
The adoptable kittens like to hang out in the shop window.
“It really does feel like all of Burbank encapsulated in one building,” he says. “If you love quirky things or some eclectic things, some retro things, I think this is the place to find it.”
Returning customer Mia Takara says her love of cats and nostalgic goods from the 1990s and 2000s keep her coming back to the shop whenever the Hawaii resident visits her partner every couple of months. Meanwhile, other browsers chitchat about cats, weird vintage finds and their eccentric animal obsessions from childhood. Some spot Franklin and Nigel and smile and swoon.
“We’re in such times where people are just desperate for positivity,” Cassaday says. “And to me, these cats are that.”
She considers the shop the foundation of her life’s work. “Now, I know what I should be doing because I’m doing it right now, and it feels right.”
Nigel and the other cats in the store bring brightness to shoppers’ days.
Meghan Cassaday moved from Wisconsin to Los Angeles for a man. She ended up staying for the cats.
It was scary to leave her hometown, but she envisioned California as a magical place and was in love. The relationship didn’t last, but the move led her down an unexpected new path shaped by two of her passions: cats and vintage wares.
Meghan “Cass” Cassady poses for a portrait with her shop cat, Nigel. When she opened her collective of vintage stalls, she knew she wanted it to also be a way to support cats.
Cassaday, who goes by Cass, turned her “crazy idea” for a collective of vintage stalls with a cat focus into Catnip Coalition Vintage Mall in 2023. The store, with its eye-catching cat sculpture overlooking the entrance, is hard to miss on a bustling stretch of Magnolia Avenue in Burbank. This is especially true if there happen to be adoptable felines playing and snoozing in the shop’s showcase windows.
Inside, the store is full of cat-themed goods and art, two shop cats and anywhere between two and eight adoptable rescue cats at a time. You can find quirky kitty tchotchkes, funny feline-themed mugs and hats with cats on them, as well as a vast array of vintage pop culture items, clothing and jewelry sans cats.
Vendors rent stalls at Catnip Coalition Vintage Mall, and many go heavy on the cat accessories, but not all.
“I feel like pet loving is on steroids out here compared to Wisconsin,” she says. “Just the fact that I’m able to create something like this is a testament to it.”
The shop wasn’t Cassaday’s first dip into selling vintage goods. A few months after moving here, Cassaday met her future business partner, Cory Jacob, at a podcast taping. They’d later drive around L.A. to pick up discarded furniture and flip it. It wasn’t long before the upcycling duo opened a vintage shop in North Hollywood named Yes Baby! Vintage in December 2020.
At the same time, Cassaday, worked as a vet tech, a gig she’d had off and on for a decade when she lived in Wisconsin. “Being from Wisconsin, I wasn’t used to seeing colonies of stray cats everywhere because that’s a very real problem that’s going on in L.A.,” she says. “So, I already had this sense of just wanting to do something to help.” Cat euthanasia rates at Los Angeles shelters have climbed this year, partially due to limited spay and neuter vouchers and the high cost of veterinary care, animal advocates say.
A hefty rent increase for Yes Baby! Vintage in 2021 prompted a search for a more affordable space. Friend and owner of Phoebe Peacock, a boutique gift shop and perfumery, Jennifer Hardaway, encouraged Cassaday and Jacob to reopen near her on Magnolia Avenue. It worked out. Then another space four doors down became available, which is where Catnip Coalition is now. Jacob now solely owns Yes Baby! Vintage and Cassaday, Catnip Coalition.
Shop cat Nigel hangs out near the register alongside employee, Alyssa Harrel.
“I love vintage, but animals and cats are my passion,” Cassaday says. “I’ve learned in life: If you can turn your passion into your career, that’s it — that’s happiness.”
Beyond cat vibes, Cassaday knew she wanted shop cats and to help furballs in need of a home. She reached out to her friend Lori Fusaro, a staff photographer for Best Friends Animal Society in Los Angeles, about adopting two cats. There, she met a bonded pair who were difficult to place due to behavioral issues and one’s chronic health problems. She wasn’t deterred. She’d lean into her experience as a vet tech to take care of the neglected duo and quickly “fell in love.”
The pair, Franklin and Nigel, moved into Catnip Coalition a month after opening. “They’re like little neighborhood celebrities, and they both have big attitudes, or cattitudes,” she says.
In addition to shop cats, Cassaday cares for adoptable cats from Kitten Rescue, Northeast L.A. Cats and Stray Cat Alliance at Catnip Coalition Vintage Mall.
The store donates a portion of proceeds to local cat rescues, such as Kitten Rescue Los Angeles, Northeast L.A. Cats and Stray Cat Alliance, and works closely with the groups to highlight adoptable cats in the storefront’s showcase windows. To date, the vintage mall has helped over 120 cats find forever homes.
The quirky storefront invites passersby to stop and have a look, almost like curious cats themselves. Among those captivated during a recent visit was first-time shopper Kevin Smith, a librarian and cat lover.
The adoptable kittens like to hang out in the shop window.
“It really does feel like all of Burbank encapsulated in one building,” he says. “If you love quirky things or some eclectic things, some retro things, I think this is the place to find it.”
Returning customer Mia Takara says her love of cats and nostalgic goods from the 1990s and 2000s keep her coming back to the shop whenever the Hawaii resident visits her partner every couple of months. Meanwhile, other browsers chitchat about cats, weird vintage finds and their eccentric animal obsessions from childhood. Some spot Franklin and Nigel and smile and swoon.
“We’re in such times where people are just desperate for positivity,” Cassaday says. “And to me, these cats are that.”
She considers the shop the foundation of her life’s work. “Now, I know what I should be doing because I’m doing it right now, and it feels right.”
Nigel and the other cats in the store bring brightness to shoppers’ days.
Meghan Cassaday moved from Wisconsin to Los Angeles for a man. She ended up staying for the cats.
It was scary to leave her hometown, but she envisioned California as a magical place and was in love. The relationship didn’t last, but the move led her down an unexpected new path shaped by two of her passions: cats and vintage wares.
Meghan “Cass” Cassady poses for a portrait with her shop cat, Nigel. When she opened her collective of vintage stalls, she knew she wanted it to also be a way to support cats.
Cassaday, who goes by Cass, turned her “crazy idea” for a collective of vintage stalls with a cat focus into Catnip Coalition Vintage Mall in 2023. The store, with its eye-catching cat sculpture overlooking the entrance, is hard to miss on a bustling stretch of Magnolia Avenue in Burbank. This is especially true if there happen to be adoptable felines playing and snoozing in the shop’s showcase windows.
Inside, the store is full of cat-themed goods and art, two shop cats and anywhere between two and eight adoptable rescue cats at a time. You can find quirky kitty tchotchkes, funny feline-themed mugs and hats with cats on them, as well as a vast array of vintage pop culture items, clothing and jewelry sans cats.
Vendors rent stalls at Catnip Coalition Vintage Mall, and many go heavy on the cat accessories, but not all.
“I feel like pet loving is on steroids out here compared to Wisconsin,” she says. “Just the fact that I’m able to create something like this is a testament to it.”
The shop wasn’t Cassaday’s first dip into selling vintage goods. A few months after moving here, Cassaday met her future business partner, Cory Jacob, at a podcast taping. They’d later drive around L.A. to pick up discarded furniture and flip it. It wasn’t long before the upcycling duo opened a vintage shop in North Hollywood named Yes Baby! Vintage in December 2020.
At the same time, Cassaday, worked as a vet tech, a gig she’d had off and on for a decade when she lived in Wisconsin. “Being from Wisconsin, I wasn’t used to seeing colonies of stray cats everywhere because that’s a very real problem that’s going on in L.A.,” she says. “So, I already had this sense of just wanting to do something to help.” Cat euthanasia rates at Los Angeles shelters have climbed this year, partially due to limited spay and neuter vouchers and the high cost of veterinary care, animal advocates say.
A hefty rent increase for Yes Baby! Vintage in 2021 prompted a search for a more affordable space. Friend and owner of Phoebe Peacock, a boutique gift shop and perfumery, Jennifer Hardaway, encouraged Cassaday and Jacob to reopen near her on Magnolia Avenue. It worked out. Then another space four doors down became available, which is where Catnip Coalition is now. Jacob now solely owns Yes Baby! Vintage and Cassaday, Catnip Coalition.
Shop cat Nigel hangs out near the register alongside employee, Alyssa Harrel.
“I love vintage, but animals and cats are my passion,” Cassaday says. “I’ve learned in life: If you can turn your passion into your career, that’s it — that’s happiness.”
Beyond cat vibes, Cassaday knew she wanted shop cats and to help furballs in need of a home. She reached out to her friend Lori Fusaro, a staff photographer for Best Friends Animal Society in Los Angeles, about adopting two cats. There, she met a bonded pair who were difficult to place due to behavioral issues and one’s chronic health problems. She wasn’t deterred. She’d lean into her experience as a vet tech to take care of the neglected duo and quickly “fell in love.”
The pair, Franklin and Nigel, moved into Catnip Coalition a month after opening. “They’re like little neighborhood celebrities, and they both have big attitudes, or cattitudes,” she says.
In addition to shop cats, Cassaday cares for adoptable cats from Kitten Rescue, Northeast L.A. Cats and Stray Cat Alliance at Catnip Coalition Vintage Mall.
The store donates a portion of proceeds to local cat rescues, such as Kitten Rescue Los Angeles, Northeast L.A. Cats and Stray Cat Alliance, and works closely with the groups to highlight adoptable cats in the storefront’s showcase windows. To date, the vintage mall has helped over 120 cats find forever homes.
The quirky storefront invites passersby to stop and have a look, almost like curious cats themselves. Among those captivated during a recent visit was first-time shopper Kevin Smith, a librarian and cat lover.
The adoptable kittens like to hang out in the shop window.
“It really does feel like all of Burbank encapsulated in one building,” he says. “If you love quirky things or some eclectic things, some retro things, I think this is the place to find it.”
Returning customer Mia Takara says her love of cats and nostalgic goods from the 1990s and 2000s keep her coming back to the shop whenever the Hawaii resident visits her partner every couple of months. Meanwhile, other browsers chitchat about cats, weird vintage finds and their eccentric animal obsessions from childhood. Some spot Franklin and Nigel and smile and swoon.
“We’re in such times where people are just desperate for positivity,” Cassaday says. “And to me, these cats are that.”
She considers the shop the foundation of her life’s work. “Now, I know what I should be doing because I’m doing it right now, and it feels right.”
Nigel and the other cats in the store bring brightness to shoppers’ days.
Meghan Cassaday moved from Wisconsin to Los Angeles for a man. She ended up staying for the cats.
It was scary to leave her hometown, but she envisioned California as a magical place and was in love. The relationship didn’t last, but the move led her down an unexpected new path shaped by two of her passions: cats and vintage wares.
Meghan “Cass” Cassady poses for a portrait with her shop cat, Nigel. When she opened her collective of vintage stalls, she knew she wanted it to also be a way to support cats.
Cassaday, who goes by Cass, turned her “crazy idea” for a collective of vintage stalls with a cat focus into Catnip Coalition Vintage Mall in 2023. The store, with its eye-catching cat sculpture overlooking the entrance, is hard to miss on a bustling stretch of Magnolia Avenue in Burbank. This is especially true if there happen to be adoptable felines playing and snoozing in the shop’s showcase windows.
Inside, the store is full of cat-themed goods and art, two shop cats and anywhere between two and eight adoptable rescue cats at a time. You can find quirky kitty tchotchkes, funny feline-themed mugs and hats with cats on them, as well as a vast array of vintage pop culture items, clothing and jewelry sans cats.
Vendors rent stalls at Catnip Coalition Vintage Mall, and many go heavy on the cat accessories, but not all.
“I feel like pet loving is on steroids out here compared to Wisconsin,” she says. “Just the fact that I’m able to create something like this is a testament to it.”
The shop wasn’t Cassaday’s first dip into selling vintage goods. A few months after moving here, Cassaday met her future business partner, Cory Jacob, at a podcast taping. They’d later drive around L.A. to pick up discarded furniture and flip it. It wasn’t long before the upcycling duo opened a vintage shop in North Hollywood named Yes Baby! Vintage in December 2020.
At the same time, Cassaday, worked as a vet tech, a gig she’d had off and on for a decade when she lived in Wisconsin. “Being from Wisconsin, I wasn’t used to seeing colonies of stray cats everywhere because that’s a very real problem that’s going on in L.A.,” she says. “So, I already had this sense of just wanting to do something to help.” Cat euthanasia rates at Los Angeles shelters have climbed this year, partially due to limited spay and neuter vouchers and the high cost of veterinary care, animal advocates say.
A hefty rent increase for Yes Baby! Vintage in 2021 prompted a search for a more affordable space. Friend and owner of Phoebe Peacock, a boutique gift shop and perfumery, Jennifer Hardaway, encouraged Cassaday and Jacob to reopen near her on Magnolia Avenue. It worked out. Then another space four doors down became available, which is where Catnip Coalition is now. Jacob now solely owns Yes Baby! Vintage and Cassaday, Catnip Coalition.
Shop cat Nigel hangs out near the register alongside employee, Alyssa Harrel.
“I love vintage, but animals and cats are my passion,” Cassaday says. “I’ve learned in life: If you can turn your passion into your career, that’s it — that’s happiness.”
Beyond cat vibes, Cassaday knew she wanted shop cats and to help furballs in need of a home. She reached out to her friend Lori Fusaro, a staff photographer for Best Friends Animal Society in Los Angeles, about adopting two cats. There, she met a bonded pair who were difficult to place due to behavioral issues and one’s chronic health problems. She wasn’t deterred. She’d lean into her experience as a vet tech to take care of the neglected duo and quickly “fell in love.”
The pair, Franklin and Nigel, moved into Catnip Coalition a month after opening. “They’re like little neighborhood celebrities, and they both have big attitudes, or cattitudes,” she says.
In addition to shop cats, Cassaday cares for adoptable cats from Kitten Rescue, Northeast L.A. Cats and Stray Cat Alliance at Catnip Coalition Vintage Mall.
The store donates a portion of proceeds to local cat rescues, such as Kitten Rescue Los Angeles, Northeast L.A. Cats and Stray Cat Alliance, and works closely with the groups to highlight adoptable cats in the storefront’s showcase windows. To date, the vintage mall has helped over 120 cats find forever homes.
The quirky storefront invites passersby to stop and have a look, almost like curious cats themselves. Among those captivated during a recent visit was first-time shopper Kevin Smith, a librarian and cat lover.
The adoptable kittens like to hang out in the shop window.
“It really does feel like all of Burbank encapsulated in one building,” he says. “If you love quirky things or some eclectic things, some retro things, I think this is the place to find it.”
Returning customer Mia Takara says her love of cats and nostalgic goods from the 1990s and 2000s keep her coming back to the shop whenever the Hawaii resident visits her partner every couple of months. Meanwhile, other browsers chitchat about cats, weird vintage finds and their eccentric animal obsessions from childhood. Some spot Franklin and Nigel and smile and swoon.
“We’re in such times where people are just desperate for positivity,” Cassaday says. “And to me, these cats are that.”
She considers the shop the foundation of her life’s work. “Now, I know what I should be doing because I’m doing it right now, and it feels right.”
Nigel and the other cats in the store bring brightness to shoppers’ days.
Meghan Cassaday moved from Wisconsin to Los Angeles for a man. She ended up staying for the cats.
It was scary to leave her hometown, but she envisioned California as a magical place and was in love. The relationship didn’t last, but the move led her down an unexpected new path shaped by two of her passions: cats and vintage wares.
Meghan “Cass” Cassady poses for a portrait with her shop cat, Nigel. When she opened her collective of vintage stalls, she knew she wanted it to also be a way to support cats.
Cassaday, who goes by Cass, turned her “crazy idea” for a collective of vintage stalls with a cat focus into Catnip Coalition Vintage Mall in 2023. The store, with its eye-catching cat sculpture overlooking the entrance, is hard to miss on a bustling stretch of Magnolia Avenue in Burbank. This is especially true if there happen to be adoptable felines playing and snoozing in the shop’s showcase windows.
Inside, the store is full of cat-themed goods and art, two shop cats and anywhere between two and eight adoptable rescue cats at a time. You can find quirky kitty tchotchkes, funny feline-themed mugs and hats with cats on them, as well as a vast array of vintage pop culture items, clothing and jewelry sans cats.
Vendors rent stalls at Catnip Coalition Vintage Mall, and many go heavy on the cat accessories, but not all.
“I feel like pet loving is on steroids out here compared to Wisconsin,” she says. “Just the fact that I’m able to create something like this is a testament to it.”
The shop wasn’t Cassaday’s first dip into selling vintage goods. A few months after moving here, Cassaday met her future business partner, Cory Jacob, at a podcast taping. They’d later drive around L.A. to pick up discarded furniture and flip it. It wasn’t long before the upcycling duo opened a vintage shop in North Hollywood named Yes Baby! Vintage in December 2020.
At the same time, Cassaday, worked as a vet tech, a gig she’d had off and on for a decade when she lived in Wisconsin. “Being from Wisconsin, I wasn’t used to seeing colonies of stray cats everywhere because that’s a very real problem that’s going on in L.A.,” she says. “So, I already had this sense of just wanting to do something to help.” Cat euthanasia rates at Los Angeles shelters have climbed this year, partially due to limited spay and neuter vouchers and the high cost of veterinary care, animal advocates say.
A hefty rent increase for Yes Baby! Vintage in 2021 prompted a search for a more affordable space. Friend and owner of Phoebe Peacock, a boutique gift shop and perfumery, Jennifer Hardaway, encouraged Cassaday and Jacob to reopen near her on Magnolia Avenue. It worked out. Then another space four doors down became available, which is where Catnip Coalition is now. Jacob now solely owns Yes Baby! Vintage and Cassaday, Catnip Coalition.
Shop cat Nigel hangs out near the register alongside employee, Alyssa Harrel.
“I love vintage, but animals and cats are my passion,” Cassaday says. “I’ve learned in life: If you can turn your passion into your career, that’s it — that’s happiness.”
Beyond cat vibes, Cassaday knew she wanted shop cats and to help furballs in need of a home. She reached out to her friend Lori Fusaro, a staff photographer for Best Friends Animal Society in Los Angeles, about adopting two cats. There, she met a bonded pair who were difficult to place due to behavioral issues and one’s chronic health problems. She wasn’t deterred. She’d lean into her experience as a vet tech to take care of the neglected duo and quickly “fell in love.”
The pair, Franklin and Nigel, moved into Catnip Coalition a month after opening. “They’re like little neighborhood celebrities, and they both have big attitudes, or cattitudes,” she says.
In addition to shop cats, Cassaday cares for adoptable cats from Kitten Rescue, Northeast L.A. Cats and Stray Cat Alliance at Catnip Coalition Vintage Mall.
The store donates a portion of proceeds to local cat rescues, such as Kitten Rescue Los Angeles, Northeast L.A. Cats and Stray Cat Alliance, and works closely with the groups to highlight adoptable cats in the storefront’s showcase windows. To date, the vintage mall has helped over 120 cats find forever homes.
The quirky storefront invites passersby to stop and have a look, almost like curious cats themselves. Among those captivated during a recent visit was first-time shopper Kevin Smith, a librarian and cat lover.
The adoptable kittens like to hang out in the shop window.
“It really does feel like all of Burbank encapsulated in one building,” he says. “If you love quirky things or some eclectic things, some retro things, I think this is the place to find it.”
Returning customer Mia Takara says her love of cats and nostalgic goods from the 1990s and 2000s keep her coming back to the shop whenever the Hawaii resident visits her partner every couple of months. Meanwhile, other browsers chitchat about cats, weird vintage finds and their eccentric animal obsessions from childhood. Some spot Franklin and Nigel and smile and swoon.
“We’re in such times where people are just desperate for positivity,” Cassaday says. “And to me, these cats are that.”
She considers the shop the foundation of her life’s work. “Now, I know what I should be doing because I’m doing it right now, and it feels right.”
Nigel and the other cats in the store bring brightness to shoppers’ days.
Meghan Cassaday moved from Wisconsin to Los Angeles for a man. She ended up staying for the cats.
It was scary to leave her hometown, but she envisioned California as a magical place and was in love. The relationship didn’t last, but the move led her down an unexpected new path shaped by two of her passions: cats and vintage wares.
Meghan “Cass” Cassady poses for a portrait with her shop cat, Nigel. When she opened her collective of vintage stalls, she knew she wanted it to also be a way to support cats.
Cassaday, who goes by Cass, turned her “crazy idea” for a collective of vintage stalls with a cat focus into Catnip Coalition Vintage Mall in 2023. The store, with its eye-catching cat sculpture overlooking the entrance, is hard to miss on a bustling stretch of Magnolia Avenue in Burbank. This is especially true if there happen to be adoptable felines playing and snoozing in the shop’s showcase windows.
Inside, the store is full of cat-themed goods and art, two shop cats and anywhere between two and eight adoptable rescue cats at a time. You can find quirky kitty tchotchkes, funny feline-themed mugs and hats with cats on them, as well as a vast array of vintage pop culture items, clothing and jewelry sans cats.
Vendors rent stalls at Catnip Coalition Vintage Mall, and many go heavy on the cat accessories, but not all.
“I feel like pet loving is on steroids out here compared to Wisconsin,” she says. “Just the fact that I’m able to create something like this is a testament to it.”
The shop wasn’t Cassaday’s first dip into selling vintage goods. A few months after moving here, Cassaday met her future business partner, Cory Jacob, at a podcast taping. They’d later drive around L.A. to pick up discarded furniture and flip it. It wasn’t long before the upcycling duo opened a vintage shop in North Hollywood named Yes Baby! Vintage in December 2020.
At the same time, Cassaday, worked as a vet tech, a gig she’d had off and on for a decade when she lived in Wisconsin. “Being from Wisconsin, I wasn’t used to seeing colonies of stray cats everywhere because that’s a very real problem that’s going on in L.A.,” she says. “So, I already had this sense of just wanting to do something to help.” Cat euthanasia rates at Los Angeles shelters have climbed this year, partially due to limited spay and neuter vouchers and the high cost of veterinary care, animal advocates say.
A hefty rent increase for Yes Baby! Vintage in 2021 prompted a search for a more affordable space. Friend and owner of Phoebe Peacock, a boutique gift shop and perfumery, Jennifer Hardaway, encouraged Cassaday and Jacob to reopen near her on Magnolia Avenue. It worked out. Then another space four doors down became available, which is where Catnip Coalition is now. Jacob now solely owns Yes Baby! Vintage and Cassaday, Catnip Coalition.
Shop cat Nigel hangs out near the register alongside employee, Alyssa Harrel.
“I love vintage, but animals and cats are my passion,” Cassaday says. “I’ve learned in life: If you can turn your passion into your career, that’s it — that’s happiness.”
Beyond cat vibes, Cassaday knew she wanted shop cats and to help furballs in need of a home. She reached out to her friend Lori Fusaro, a staff photographer for Best Friends Animal Society in Los Angeles, about adopting two cats. There, she met a bonded pair who were difficult to place due to behavioral issues and one’s chronic health problems. She wasn’t deterred. She’d lean into her experience as a vet tech to take care of the neglected duo and quickly “fell in love.”
The pair, Franklin and Nigel, moved into Catnip Coalition a month after opening. “They’re like little neighborhood celebrities, and they both have big attitudes, or cattitudes,” she says.
In addition to shop cats, Cassaday cares for adoptable cats from Kitten Rescue, Northeast L.A. Cats and Stray Cat Alliance at Catnip Coalition Vintage Mall.
The store donates a portion of proceeds to local cat rescues, such as Kitten Rescue Los Angeles, Northeast L.A. Cats and Stray Cat Alliance, and works closely with the groups to highlight adoptable cats in the storefront’s showcase windows. To date, the vintage mall has helped over 120 cats find forever homes.
The quirky storefront invites passersby to stop and have a look, almost like curious cats themselves. Among those captivated during a recent visit was first-time shopper Kevin Smith, a librarian and cat lover.
The adoptable kittens like to hang out in the shop window.
“It really does feel like all of Burbank encapsulated in one building,” he says. “If you love quirky things or some eclectic things, some retro things, I think this is the place to find it.”
Returning customer Mia Takara says her love of cats and nostalgic goods from the 1990s and 2000s keep her coming back to the shop whenever the Hawaii resident visits her partner every couple of months. Meanwhile, other browsers chitchat about cats, weird vintage finds and their eccentric animal obsessions from childhood. Some spot Franklin and Nigel and smile and swoon.
“We’re in such times where people are just desperate for positivity,” Cassaday says. “And to me, these cats are that.”
She considers the shop the foundation of her life’s work. “Now, I know what I should be doing because I’m doing it right now, and it feels right.”
Nigel and the other cats in the store bring brightness to shoppers’ days.
Meghan Cassaday moved from Wisconsin to Los Angeles for a man. She ended up staying for the cats.
It was scary to leave her hometown, but she envisioned California as a magical place and was in love. The relationship didn’t last, but the move led her down an unexpected new path shaped by two of her passions: cats and vintage wares.
Meghan “Cass” Cassady poses for a portrait with her shop cat, Nigel. When she opened her collective of vintage stalls, she knew she wanted it to also be a way to support cats.
Cassaday, who goes by Cass, turned her “crazy idea” for a collective of vintage stalls with a cat focus into Catnip Coalition Vintage Mall in 2023. The store, with its eye-catching cat sculpture overlooking the entrance, is hard to miss on a bustling stretch of Magnolia Avenue in Burbank. This is especially true if there happen to be adoptable felines playing and snoozing in the shop’s showcase windows.
Inside, the store is full of cat-themed goods and art, two shop cats and anywhere between two and eight adoptable rescue cats at a time. You can find quirky kitty tchotchkes, funny feline-themed mugs and hats with cats on them, as well as a vast array of vintage pop culture items, clothing and jewelry sans cats.
Vendors rent stalls at Catnip Coalition Vintage Mall, and many go heavy on the cat accessories, but not all.
“I feel like pet loving is on steroids out here compared to Wisconsin,” she says. “Just the fact that I’m able to create something like this is a testament to it.”
The shop wasn’t Cassaday’s first dip into selling vintage goods. A few months after moving here, Cassaday met her future business partner, Cory Jacob, at a podcast taping. They’d later drive around L.A. to pick up discarded furniture and flip it. It wasn’t long before the upcycling duo opened a vintage shop in North Hollywood named Yes Baby! Vintage in December 2020.
At the same time, Cassaday, worked as a vet tech, a gig she’d had off and on for a decade when she lived in Wisconsin. “Being from Wisconsin, I wasn’t used to seeing colonies of stray cats everywhere because that’s a very real problem that’s going on in L.A.,” she says. “So, I already had this sense of just wanting to do something to help.” Cat euthanasia rates at Los Angeles shelters have climbed this year, partially due to limited spay and neuter vouchers and the high cost of veterinary care, animal advocates say.
A hefty rent increase for Yes Baby! Vintage in 2021 prompted a search for a more affordable space. Friend and owner of Phoebe Peacock, a boutique gift shop and perfumery, Jennifer Hardaway, encouraged Cassaday and Jacob to reopen near her on Magnolia Avenue. It worked out. Then another space four doors down became available, which is where Catnip Coalition is now. Jacob now solely owns Yes Baby! Vintage and Cassaday, Catnip Coalition.
Shop cat Nigel hangs out near the register alongside employee, Alyssa Harrel.
“I love vintage, but animals and cats are my passion,” Cassaday says. “I’ve learned in life: If you can turn your passion into your career, that’s it — that’s happiness.”
Beyond cat vibes, Cassaday knew she wanted shop cats and to help furballs in need of a home. She reached out to her friend Lori Fusaro, a staff photographer for Best Friends Animal Society in Los Angeles, about adopting two cats. There, she met a bonded pair who were difficult to place due to behavioral issues and one’s chronic health problems. She wasn’t deterred. She’d lean into her experience as a vet tech to take care of the neglected duo and quickly “fell in love.”
The pair, Franklin and Nigel, moved into Catnip Coalition a month after opening. “They’re like little neighborhood celebrities, and they both have big attitudes, or cattitudes,” she says.
In addition to shop cats, Cassaday cares for adoptable cats from Kitten Rescue, Northeast L.A. Cats and Stray Cat Alliance at Catnip Coalition Vintage Mall.
The store donates a portion of proceeds to local cat rescues, such as Kitten Rescue Los Angeles, Northeast L.A. Cats and Stray Cat Alliance, and works closely with the groups to highlight adoptable cats in the storefront’s showcase windows. To date, the vintage mall has helped over 120 cats find forever homes.
The quirky storefront invites passersby to stop and have a look, almost like curious cats themselves. Among those captivated during a recent visit was first-time shopper Kevin Smith, a librarian and cat lover.
The adoptable kittens like to hang out in the shop window.
“It really does feel like all of Burbank encapsulated in one building,” he says. “If you love quirky things or some eclectic things, some retro things, I think this is the place to find it.”
Returning customer Mia Takara says her love of cats and nostalgic goods from the 1990s and 2000s keep her coming back to the shop whenever the Hawaii resident visits her partner every couple of months. Meanwhile, other browsers chitchat about cats, weird vintage finds and their eccentric animal obsessions from childhood. Some spot Franklin and Nigel and smile and swoon.
“We’re in such times where people are just desperate for positivity,” Cassaday says. “And to me, these cats are that.”
She considers the shop the foundation of her life’s work. “Now, I know what I should be doing because I’m doing it right now, and it feels right.”
Nigel and the other cats in the store bring brightness to shoppers’ days.
Meghan Cassaday moved from Wisconsin to Los Angeles for a man. She ended up staying for the cats.
It was scary to leave her hometown, but she envisioned California as a magical place and was in love. The relationship didn’t last, but the move led her down an unexpected new path shaped by two of her passions: cats and vintage wares.
Meghan “Cass” Cassady poses for a portrait with her shop cat, Nigel. When she opened her collective of vintage stalls, she knew she wanted it to also be a way to support cats.
Cassaday, who goes by Cass, turned her “crazy idea” for a collective of vintage stalls with a cat focus into Catnip Coalition Vintage Mall in 2023. The store, with its eye-catching cat sculpture overlooking the entrance, is hard to miss on a bustling stretch of Magnolia Avenue in Burbank. This is especially true if there happen to be adoptable felines playing and snoozing in the shop’s showcase windows.
Inside, the store is full of cat-themed goods and art, two shop cats and anywhere between two and eight adoptable rescue cats at a time. You can find quirky kitty tchotchkes, funny feline-themed mugs and hats with cats on them, as well as a vast array of vintage pop culture items, clothing and jewelry sans cats.
Vendors rent stalls at Catnip Coalition Vintage Mall, and many go heavy on the cat accessories, but not all.
“I feel like pet loving is on steroids out here compared to Wisconsin,” she says. “Just the fact that I’m able to create something like this is a testament to it.”
The shop wasn’t Cassaday’s first dip into selling vintage goods. A few months after moving here, Cassaday met her future business partner, Cory Jacob, at a podcast taping. They’d later drive around L.A. to pick up discarded furniture and flip it. It wasn’t long before the upcycling duo opened a vintage shop in North Hollywood named Yes Baby! Vintage in December 2020.
At the same time, Cassaday, worked as a vet tech, a gig she’d had off and on for a decade when she lived in Wisconsin. “Being from Wisconsin, I wasn’t used to seeing colonies of stray cats everywhere because that’s a very real problem that’s going on in L.A.,” she says. “So, I already had this sense of just wanting to do something to help.” Cat euthanasia rates at Los Angeles shelters have climbed this year, partially due to limited spay and neuter vouchers and the high cost of veterinary care, animal advocates say.
A hefty rent increase for Yes Baby! Vintage in 2021 prompted a search for a more affordable space. Friend and owner of Phoebe Peacock, a boutique gift shop and perfumery, Jennifer Hardaway, encouraged Cassaday and Jacob to reopen near her on Magnolia Avenue. It worked out. Then another space four doors down became available, which is where Catnip Coalition is now. Jacob now solely owns Yes Baby! Vintage and Cassaday, Catnip Coalition.
Shop cat Nigel hangs out near the register alongside employee, Alyssa Harrel.
“I love vintage, but animals and cats are my passion,” Cassaday says. “I’ve learned in life: If you can turn your passion into your career, that’s it — that’s happiness.”
Beyond cat vibes, Cassaday knew she wanted shop cats and to help furballs in need of a home. She reached out to her friend Lori Fusaro, a staff photographer for Best Friends Animal Society in Los Angeles, about adopting two cats. There, she met a bonded pair who were difficult to place due to behavioral issues and one’s chronic health problems. She wasn’t deterred. She’d lean into her experience as a vet tech to take care of the neglected duo and quickly “fell in love.”
The pair, Franklin and Nigel, moved into Catnip Coalition a month after opening. “They’re like little neighborhood celebrities, and they both have big attitudes, or cattitudes,” she says.
In addition to shop cats, Cassaday cares for adoptable cats from Kitten Rescue, Northeast L.A. Cats and Stray Cat Alliance at Catnip Coalition Vintage Mall.
The store donates a portion of proceeds to local cat rescues, such as Kitten Rescue Los Angeles, Northeast L.A. Cats and Stray Cat Alliance, and works closely with the groups to highlight adoptable cats in the storefront’s showcase windows. To date, the vintage mall has helped over 120 cats find forever homes.
The quirky storefront invites passersby to stop and have a look, almost like curious cats themselves. Among those captivated during a recent visit was first-time shopper Kevin Smith, a librarian and cat lover.
The adoptable kittens like to hang out in the shop window.
“It really does feel like all of Burbank encapsulated in one building,” he says. “If you love quirky things or some eclectic things, some retro things, I think this is the place to find it.”
Returning customer Mia Takara says her love of cats and nostalgic goods from the 1990s and 2000s keep her coming back to the shop whenever the Hawaii resident visits her partner every couple of months. Meanwhile, other browsers chitchat about cats, weird vintage finds and their eccentric animal obsessions from childhood. Some spot Franklin and Nigel and smile and swoon.
“We’re in such times where people are just desperate for positivity,” Cassaday says. “And to me, these cats are that.”
She considers the shop the foundation of her life’s work. “Now, I know what I should be doing because I’m doing it right now, and it feels right.”
Nigel and the other cats in the store bring brightness to shoppers’ days.
