Jenn sitting on Granny’s porch. Circa 1980.

For as long as I can remember, there have been cats and dogs in my life.

My Granny worked at the drug store in town for years and years, and out back lived a little community of feral cats. Granny fed every one of them. She also trapped and fixed every cat she could catch, and when she went away on a trip, she made sure someone would be there to feed them. Lots of times, that someone was me. I spent many days behind that drug store with her, scooping out food and getting to know those cats. Granny showed me that caring for animals doesn’t stop at your own front door. The forgotten ones count too.

I’ve loved animals my whole life, and for most of it, that meant dogs. Then in the fall of 2019, I was working on a farm in Graham when a teeny black kitten decided I was his person and followed me everywhere. I had a small dog, Imogene, in a small apartment, and she had never been around a cat. I wasn’t sure it would work. I didn’t stay unsure for long. Henry came home, and he and Imogene became the best of friends.

Henry was such a good boy. He was full of life and always into some kind of mischief. In the summer of 2021, we lost him to an unexpected health complication, and he passed over the rainbow bridge far too soon. We all missed him terribly, and Imogene missed him most. She grieved her brother deeply.

Not long after, our home started filling back up. First came Jackson Browne, then Leonardo DiCatrio, then Sweetie Jane, and then Delilah Rose.

Three of them came to us through Sparkle Cat Rescue. I met Stephanie, the rescue’s founder, when I went to visit a different kitten in her care. While we talked, Leonardo climbed up the back of my t-shirt and curled up for a nap. I told her it looked like I’d been chosen by this little mister, and that was that. Stephanie and I have stayed close ever since. My two girls are foster fails, and my family has gently informed me that I’m not allowed to foster anymore, because I always want to keep them all.

One day I told Stephanie that a cat café could be a fun and meaningful way to help with what she faces every day: so many cats who need homes, and so few foster homes to care for them in the meantime. She already had her hands full running the rescue, but she loved the idea if someone else could take it on. The idea stayed with me. Everywhere I turned, I heard the same story. Too many cats without homes, nowhere for them to go, and not enough support to go around. In January 2026, I decided I would be the one to open a cat café here in Burlington. I knew it would be a long road, and I had a lot to learn, but I felt called to do it.

I believe all beings deserve to live their truth. Period. My truth is that I don’t always know what I’m doing, but I’m surrounded by a compassionate community, steadfast friends, and a loving family who believe in this as much as I do. Together, we’re turning Henry’s Place from a dream into a real place.

Henry was an orphaned kitten who was lucky enough to find his way home. Hundreds of cats in and around Alamance County are still waiting for theirs. We’d love your help changing that.

In community,

Jenn Grimmett, Founder