Sydney Leeper always had a passion for cats and vintage clothing. While selling vintage clothing on Depop, they and their partner walked into a cat café and realized something. Why not combine the two things they love? Cats and vintage clothes.
“I think that what it has turned into is a lot bigger than what it started, which was just two people in love that were selling clothes and trying to help cats out.” Leeper said.
The Cat’s Closet opened two years ago and offers a place for cat lovers of Bloomington to come meet and adopt one of their many cats from the Greene County Humane Society. Being black and queer owned, the business offers a place where BIPOC and LGBT+ people can feel safe.
Leeper, who co-owns The Cat’s Closet with their partner Clairessa Winters, felt that there was a gap in affordable women’s and plus size vintage clothing in Bloomington.
“…The whole point of our business was that we could appeal to the girls, gays, and theys, who don’t really have as many spaces…” Leeper said.
The Cat’s Closet has hosted community events and partnered with different local businesses, with their most recent event being a benefit drag show with local gay bar Backdoor for sponsored adoption fees.
“We knew we wanted to be more than just a store, we wanted to be more of a community hub.” Leeper said.
Through being a community hub and a safe space for members of marginalized communities, the business has developed a following of 18,000+ followers on Instagram. Many customers have shown up for the business by bringing donations of cleaning and cat supplies.
“We have tons of people that bring donations in, treats, litter, toys, cleaning supplies, we have an Amazon wish list and we have a lot of people who are really generous on there.” Leeper said.
Cat care can get expensive though, especially with their current amount of 17 cats.
“The shelter is really generous, they give us food and litter so that is something that we’re really lucky to have covered.” Leeper said.
“We pay out of pocket for a lot of stuff like bedding for the cats… I can assure you guys we are not getting rich off the cats, I mean this is 100% just our passion project.” Leeper said.
The cats can be tempting to take home, especially for college students who may not have been able to have a cat previously. However, the adoption of a cat can be a lot of work.
“Owning an animal is definitely a big responsibility, but it can be done and there are lots of resources out there. There’s a low-cost vet in Bloomington, so there’s options out there for animal care and I always say adopt don’t shop, so if you’re interested in having an animal then definitely give the shelter cats a chance.” Leeper said.
The Cat’s Closet just recently celebrated their 2 year opening anniversary and their 369th adoption.