Downtown Saskatoon cat café hopes move will curb vandalism concerns

Sydney Sylvester, owner of the Purrfect Cup Cat Café, says drug use in front of her business, unruly individuals and smashed windows have become an ongoing and costly issue. (Carla Shynkaruk / CTV News)

A small downtown Saskatoon business that’s experienced repeated vandalism is hoping a move to a new location will help protect its customers, and its most vulnerable residents — a group of free-roaming cats.

Sydney Sylvester, owner of the Purrfect Cup Cat Café, says drug use in front of her business, unruly individuals and smashed windows have become an ongoing and costly issue.

“We’ve experienced vandalism a couple times now,” Sylvester told CTV News.

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One of the café’s windows has been boarded up for nearly a year after being smashed. Sylvester says repairing it isn’t financially feasible, especially after replacing another window that was damaged not long before.

“It lasted 13 days before it was smashed again,” she said.

Beyond the expense, Sylvester says the vandalism raises serious safety concerns. The café allows dozens of cats to roam freely day and night, and a completely shattered window could put them at risk.

“I have nightmares about that sometimes,” she said.

“Then that opens a hole for cats to be able to leave. I’m hoping they’d be smart enough not to do that, but we’ve got some rambunctious cats in here that are like, ‘something new,’ and off they go.”

Vandalism is not a new problem for downtown Saskatoon.

According to Saskatoon police, incidents of mischief in the downtown core increased sharply after 2020. That year saw 192 reported incidents, rising to 268 in 2021 and climbing further to between 291 and 346 in subsequent years, before dropping to 287 in 2025.

Downtown incidents have accounted for between 7 per cent and 12 per cent of all mischief cases city-wide.

Shawna Nelson with the Downtown Saskatoon Business Improvement District says the impacts of vandalism extend far beyond appearances.

“Graffiti, vandalism, and broken windows aren’t just cosmetic issues,” Nelson said in a statement.

“They carry real financial, operational, and emotional impacts for business owners. One way Downtown Saskatoon supports businesses responding to vandalism and helps them improve their storefronts is through our Business Building Improvement Grant.”

Sylvester used that grant, which covered 50 per cent of the cost of the first window repair. However, she says she still can’t afford to fix the second damaged window as it would have to come out of pocket and there’s no guarantee it won’t be broken again.

Ideally, Sylvester would like to move out of the downtown core altogether. However, zoning bylaws limit where she can operate a business that functions both as a café and an adoption centre for cats from the Battlefords Humane Society.

To make a move possible, she has launched a GoFundMe campaign, hoping to relocate to a space with better visibility and improved safety.

“We’re hoping to raise enough money for us to be able to move to a new location that’s hopefully a bit more open better visibility,” she said.

Sylvester says the café serves more than just coffee. It regularly hosts residents from seniors and special-care homes, along with people seeking a mental health boost through time spent with animals.

“It’s really nice to see how many smiles people get while they’re in here,” she said, “and the kind of impact that the cats can have.”

For now, Sylvester remains hopeful that community support will help keep the café and its cats safe.