The world’s first cat café opened in Taipei, Taiwan in 1998. The concept of spending an hour or so relaxing with a hot beverage, surrounded by a room full of fluffy felines, gained popularity and soon spread throughout Japan. It wasn’t until 2014 that California welcomed America’s first cat café and, since then, over 50 have popped up all over the U.S.
In 2016, two Bloomington entrepreneurs attempted to open Indiana’s first cat café, but the project halted when their campaign didn’t reach the fundraising goal. In 2017, Nine Lives Cat Café in Indianapolis became the first of its kind in the state. Partnering with the Indianapolis Humane Society, IndyHumane, Nine Lives provides adult cats with warm shelter, food, and a lot of love in hopes of finding them forever homes.
Indiana gained a second cat café when River Kitty opened its' doors in Evansville. Their similar partnership with the local Vanderburgh Humane Society continues to fill their lounge with healthy cats, all immunized, neutered and microchipped. The live stream of their Cat Lounge allows customers to check out what the cats are up to when they aren't there.
Both cat cafés refer you to their respective humane society to schedule adoptions. After a short phone interview and a bit of paper work, pet parents are ready take home their new furry friend.
IndyHumane, on average, takes in about 50 cats each week. All rescued cats undergo a personality assessment by their Feline Behavior team and the cats are placed into different categories. Those identified as the most "social" get selected to go to the café.
“There aren't any negatives as far as I am concerned," said Indy Humane Team Member Hayley Wolf. "Unless the negative is that we have to send all of our favorite cats there! We have been so grateful for this fun, quirky, unique adoption venue to showcase amazing cats.”
You can see our visit to Nine Lives Cat Café below.
