At site of former Jumpolin store, Blue Cat Cafe struck by vandals

Profane graffiti written on exterior wall; doors glued with cats inside.

The owners of the Blue Cat Cafe discovered profane graffiti against “you gentrified scum” on the walls of the building early Friday after vandals glued the doors shut, trapping mewing cats inside the business.

Blue Cat Cafe, which opened a year ago on Oct. 17, is home to more than 200 cats adoptable through the Humane Society. The cafe’s opening became controversial because it was built on property where the Jumpolin piñata store had been demolished by the property’s owners to the shock of the store’s operators.

The owner of Blue Cat Cafe asked the Statesman not to use her name because of multiple death threats that she said she’s gotten from protesters who opposed the demolition of Jumpolin.

“The vandalism and the mental anguish they’ve caused me and the cyberbullying they do — it’s really out of control,” the » owner said. “They show up with megaphones and they yell profanity; they send me emails with pictures of dead cats and pigs.”

She said protesters have even showed up to her house to intimidate her. The business has had police presence at past protests, she said.

“I had nothing to do with the ( Jumpolin) case, and when I found out more information when I got here, I reached out to the people and asked how I could help,” the owner said.

“I told them that they were allowed to come and sell their piñatas here for free, and I told the protesters that I would be happy to make our parking space into a pocket park.”

The owner said the protesters told her they didn’t want that and that their only desire was for her to vacate the property.

Blue Cat employee Kaitlyn Green reported Friday’s vandalism to police. She said the staff spent 21/2 hours removing the glue to get into the building.

“I was disappointed just because there are live animals in here, and not being able to get into the building, I mean, it affects them,” Green said.

“They depend on us to feed them, change out their litter and

PHOTOS BY DEBORAH CANNON / AMERICAN-STATESMAN Graffiti was discovered on an exterior wall at the Blue Cat Cafe in East Austin on Friday. The cafe, which features adoptable cats roaming inside, was vandalized overnight. Its owner says protesters still are angry about the demolition of the old...

A key was found glued in the lock for an exterior door at the Blue Cat Cafe on Friday. More than 200 cats were inside.