Aurora Magazine 2020

Aurora

Psychology in a Cat Café Eric L. Hubbard

Note, this article first appeared as the first in a series of Psychology Club Newsletters at Northcentral University in 2018.

When the call for contributions to Aurora was first sounded, I knew I had to respond. As both a Ph.D. candidate in Psychology, and as co-owner of a business that is patronized by the most diverse range of characters that can be found in public, I felt an undeniable urge to share some of what I have learned, and what I have experienced, from a psychology perspective. But first, a disclaimer… those of you who know me, also know that I am not a comedian by any stretch of imagination, and any humor that emerges from the tales I will tell is there because the situations are just that outlandish; they are, however, real, and have an equally real value to those of us studying the human condition. To point, true to the APA Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct, which can be located at http:// www.apa.org/ethics/code/index.aspx, I intend no disrespect to my subjects, and will ensure that their dignity and privacy are maintained at all times. When my daughter Selena and I opened Nine Lives Cat Café last year, in a sense it was a fulfillment of a juvenile dream… not of my daughters’, of course, but of mine. When Selena was about 14 years old, we half-joked about the fun we could have, opening up a business together; not just any business, but one that would be trendy, unique, and just as quirky as we are. The business would also need to feed our passions by having a genuine social mission, critters, caffeine, and chocolate. Fast forward ten years, and I am now sharing our cat café experience with you all through a series of newsletter articles. Being partnered with the Humane Society, having adoptable cats, and opening our doors in one of Indianapolis’s most diverse neighborhoods as a local small business, has provided me with the opportunity to observe and engage with some of the most interesting people on the planet Earth. Being immersed, and at times drowning in psychology, I couldn’t help but start paying attention to the different conditions that presented themselves to me as I observe and interact with our

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