Hartsfield is a cat’s best friend: the Famuan

Michelle Hartsfield may be a teacher during the day, but in her spare time she cares for her other children: her cats. Over the years, Hartsfield has volunteered to rescue animals in Leon and Wakulla counties.

“All my life I have always loved animals and would do a little rescue here and there,” Hartsfield said.

Born and raised in Tallahassee, Hartsfield has worked as an art teacher in Leon County for more than 25 years. Hartsfield currently teaches computer graphics.

Hartsfield’s passion for animals is not unheard of. Many people find it important to help animals that need a new home. Hartsfield said she started focusing on saving cats after a conversation she had years ago.

“I remember this particular incident where a lady said the cats really needed more help. People really get into rescuing dogs, not a lot of people get into rescuing cats, and I said, okay, I can switch,” Hartsfield said.

While working with rescues in the area and volunteering where she could, Hartsfield had an idea for a cat cafe, a place where people can visit and meet the adoptable cats and grab a quick snack at the same time.

“It was very minimal at first, but we opened Fat Cat Cafe in August 2017, right before the school year started,” Hartsfield said.

In 2019, Hartsfield realized her rescue work could be housed in a nonprofit, so she founded one, Feline Advocates of Leon County (FALC). Hartsfield serves as president and founder of FALC.

“At this point we were able to raise money and get donations and all these things like grants, and since then it’s just blossomed and it’s been great,” Hartsfield said.

Now that the nonprofit is open, Hartsfield and her team still run Fat Cat Cafe. They work with other rescue organizations in the area, such as Companion Animal Rescue Endeavor (CARE) and Extended Circle Animal Haven (ECAH), to bring cats to their cafe for visitors to adopt. Hartsfield said more work needs to be done in other communities.

“One thing I’ve come to realize and believe is that we can rescue cats all day long, and if we run out of cats in Tallahassee, we can always go to the rural communities and towns around us,” Hartsfield said.

Hartsfield said they are using a technique called trap, neuter and return to help reduce the number of homeless cats on the streets.

“There are cats suffering every day on the streets and in shelters and rural communities all around us, and the solution is basically trap and spay and neuter. We have really grown within the FALC and developed our neutered vaccine return program,” Hartsfield said. “Our mission is to end the suffering of all animals and we believe spaying and neutering is key.”

The Fat Cafe isn’t the only place where you can meet the cats. Fat Cat Books is a bookstore and rescue center. The bookstore is an adoption center for the senior, senior cats in FALC and its rescue partners.

“Yes, I love that we have a safe haven for the older kitties and that we have a second adoption facility. It shows how much growth we’ve had,” Hartsfield said.

All books the bookstore receives are donated, so profits from the sale of the books contribute to the cats’ medical care and needs.

“So when people donate books and other people come in and buy them, all that money is used to pay all of our overhead and medical bills,” Hartsfield said.

Melissa Blake, one of the FALC board directors, said working with Hartsfield is inspiring.

“It’s very motivating to be with her, and you know, every time I’m with her from a rescue perspective, I feel like I learn so much. Her selflessness, you know, for the cats she would drive to the other side of town if all she had to do was look at a cat,” Blake said.

Another member of the FALC team is Gisele Poitras. Poitras is a member of the FALC team as a foster coordinator, board member, adoption coordinator and secretary. Poitras said working with Hartsfield has been incredible.

“It’s hard to put into words how incredible she is and how well she can steer our ship. We call her our ‘ship director, our captain.’ Our entire board jokes about that because she keeps us all on track. We are a relatively large group of volunteers, and she handles it all with ease,” Poitras said.

Adopting a cat from Fat Cat Cafe or Fat Cat Books is easy. Visit a shelter to meet the available cats, or look online for available cats. Then complete an application on the website or at one of the rescue locations.

“Once we approve an application and they adopt it, we have a great follow-up process,” Hartsfield said. This follow-up process ensures that the cats are monitored to see how they are adjusting to their new home.

“It gives us the opportunity to continue education and make sure everything goes well medically. If we need to intervene, we can help for the first few weeks and then know that everything will be fine. Our adopters always know that we are there for them. It’s just a real feel-good process,” Hartsfield said.

Hartsfield’s work for the community and the cats does not go unnoticed. Hartsfield and her team of dedicated volunteers rescue more than 300 cats annually, and she plans to increase the number of cats rescued as Fat Cat Cafe, Fat Cat Books and FALC grow.

Fat Cat Cafe is located at 2901 East Park Ave. and Fat Cat Books is located at 615 Railroad Square, Unit 5.