Today we’d like to introduce you to Ruth Wang.
Hi Ruth, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
Hi! My name is Ruth Wang & my husband, Brendan Morrison and I are the owners of Luna Cat Collective.
I am a 1st generation Taiwanese American. It was very important for me to create a community space everyone could enjoy, while in the presence of adorable adoptable cats. We partner with Small Miracles Cat & Dog Rescue and act as an extended foster for them and house the cats within our space until they find their forever homes. All adoptions are processed by Small Miracles, and all of the cats receive their vaccines, are spayed/neutered, & have a full health checkup before coming to stay at Luna Cat Collective.
The impetus behind opening our doors was through the loss of my mother, Bridget Wang, in 2020. She passed away from Ovarian Cancer and during that period of grief, Brendan urged me to adopt an animal to have something to care for to help me heal. I decided to adopt Aurora & Astraea with him, who are litter mates from City Kitties D.C. Aurora is a sweet and playful Calico Tortie, and Astraea is a sassy and loving Tortie. The amount of peace & love they have provided me is something that I want to share with the wider community. We want everyone to experience how amazing cats can be and heal within our space alongside them.
The rescues in our care come from various backgrounds, and not all of them trust humans. With every person who comes through our doors, we help socialize them and regain trust in people and help them along their journey to find their forever families. Since opening in October 2025, we have helped over 50 cats find their forever homes.
We love building an enriching space for the cats to enjoy and thrive in, and give them plenty of private spaces to decompress or relax away from people if they wish. They have their own Private Cat Room & their litter room is completely separate from their living space, with an extraction fan inside the room to help keep it fresh. We regularly deep clean our space and provide them with running fountain water to ensure their health & well-being.
Our mission for this space focuses on Cats, Community, and Culture. Cats are always our top priority. We have various toys for their enjoyment, wall obstacles for them to play and run on, and we give them treats to reward them for their growth. We love having them in our space and watching them open up to everyone who comes by to visit.
We have been so blessed with an amazingly welcoming community who has helped us make this the best cat cafe possible for the community. We have various events throughout the week for every person to find their own niche group of friends within our space, such as kitty happy hour, meditation, yoga, anime nights, gaming nights, artists nights, & silent book club within the Cat Lounge.
We are always looking to include our community members more throughout our cat cafe, and partner with many small businesses to help uplift them within our space. We have local artists showcased within our cafe for guests to peruse and purchase their work. We also partner with Japong Bakery to bring freshly baked Taiwanese breads to the cat cafe, Mountain Stream Teas who are based in Taiwan to provide high quality loose leaf teas, and Vigilante Coffee to bring delicious coffee for all of our visitors to enjoy.
The very first cat cafe to ever open was opened in Taiwan, and as an homage to my parents and my heritage, we wanted to bring a slice of Taiwan to Ellicott City, with many colors and natural woods reminiscent of many Taiwanese shops. We also have a curated playlist we regularly add to for guests to enjoy classic, nostalgic, and popular Taiwanese songs.
We are very happy to be a part of this community and will continue to update and improve our space for all of the cats and people.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
We started the process of opening Luna Cat Collective a little over 2 years ago. We ran into many road blocks with permitting and contracting, but pushed through and persevered to open our doors.
When we finally opened our doors in October of 2025, we were met with much support from the community, and any feedback they have given us since then we have implemented to make this cat cafe even better for the community. We were hit with the largest snowstorm Maryland has seen within the last 10 years in January & February, we had some cost overruns early on in the business, and unforeseen world circumstances led us to being in a significant amount of debt.
Thanks to our incredible community, making sustainable changes to the business, and borrowing some funds, we have been able to make it past our point of criticality. Our largest threat after the snowstorm was eviction, and with everyone’s support and all of the changes we have made, we were able to write a substantial check to our landlords and completely clean our slate with them and keep these doors open.
While we still have some debt, we are working hard to make sure this never happens again and we believe we can manage the remaining amount with the support of this amazing community. We are continuing to grow and adapt to keep building up this cat cafe for everyone who comes through our doors.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
When my mother passed away in 2020, she left me with the message to do what makes you happy. When I first heard that message, I thought about it for a long time and decided to pursue art as a career. Painting, drawing, sketching, and creating was always something I found great comfort in. I opened my own art business, Ruth Jeanne Art in 2021 and began making and selling acrylic paintings, prints, & enamel pins in and around Maryland. I joined various art markets and met many amazing artist friends along the way.
Most of my paintings focus on hyper-realism in depicting nature, and animals, specifically birds & cats. Many of my references are either pieced together from my own photography, or from professional photographers whose permission I receive to paint their work. I always credit them for the reference when sharing my completed paintings. I am always particularly proud and happy when a customer tells me that they thought my paintings were photographs upon first look, and realize it is a painting after picking it up and examining it closer. Every painting is meticulously made with small brush strokes and layered colors to create realistic movement and lighting within my work.
Although I do still own Ruth Jeanne Art, my focus for the past 2 and a half years has been to open this cat cafe and save as many cats as possible from euthanasia, while providing a beautiful third space for the community to feel safe and heal in.
Do you have recommendations for books, apps, blogs, etc?
One of the books that helped me get started in my art career was “Steal Like An Artist” by Austin Kleon. He’s also written “Show Your Work” & “Keep Going” which give great starting points for those looking to dive into their own pursuits.
I’ve found that I do my best work with music and a film or show I’ve watched many times over.
With music, I usually loop soundtracks as I work on a piece to get into a flow state and associate that sound with the current painting I’m working on. Other times, as I’m painting the base layer or sketching, I’ll put on a show or movie as white noise so that I don’t get distracted by other things going on around me as I work.
Pricing:
- Pricing starts at $15 for the Cat Lounge
- Every Cat Lounge ticket comes with unlimted coffee/tea & grippy socks or slippers for their visit into the Cat Lounge
- We are currently working on Private & Birthday Party Packages
- Co-Working is free and we have weekly events guests can choose from that range from $20-$35
- We offer memberships & gift certificates online as well for guests looking to book ahead of time.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://lunacatcollective.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/lunacatcollective
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LunacatcollectiveFB/
- Yelp: https://yelp.com/biz/luna-cat-collective-ellicott-city?osq=luna+cat&override_cta=Book+a+consultation
- Other: https://tiktok.com/luna.cat.collective
