The Riverwest Cat Tour is like a feline safari – curious sightseers swinging by house after house to catch glimpses of those exquisite creatures known as house cats, perched at windows or brought outside by their owners.
Starting and ending at Black Husky Brewing (909 E. Locust St.), the roughly 3-mile walk features around 20 stops. Some owners pass out stickers of their pet. “One girl brought her binoculars,” says organizer Katy Schlais. She leads by megaphone, sharing each cat’s name, age, likes, dislikes and “lore.”
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Schlais was inspired by Minneapolis’ Wedge cat tour. “There’s a lot of dog-centric things in Riverwest,” she says. “But not many people gather around cats. I wanted to be the crazy cat lady of Riverwest, I guess.” (Her two cats, Macaroni and Juiceboxx, are tour stops.)
The first tour in 2024 amassed a big enough crowd to pique the curiosity of passersby. Last year, more volunteers joined to create maps, graphics and fliers and more to spread the word. Highlight sightings from previous walks include a cat named Wyatt standing on table, and Peaches, a rare female orange who has since passed away.
Before it starts, the Riverwest Cat Tour partners with Cats at Large, a local trap-neuter-return group, for a cat adoption event at Black Husky. “It’s fun to go see people’s cats, but it’s also nice to do it for a good cause, too,” says Schlais.
The free walk begins at 2 P.M. on Aug. 29.
