An hour sipping coffee, reading a book or doing work while a feline roams nearby sounds like home.
It also sounds like dozens of operating cat cafés across the United States aiming to combine two needs: furry companionship for renters squeezed into closet-sized apartments with no-pet policies and abandoned cats looking for a forever home.
The cat café concept originated in Taiwan and Japan before spreading across Asia, Europe and the Americas. After Cat Town, the first established cat café in the U.S., opened in Oakland, California, in 2014, others sprang up around the country. Cat lovers, animal advocates and city shelters have pounced on the idea and opened their own cat cafes in over 25 states within the past four years alone.
Western cat cafés have put their own spin on the concept, with virtually all cafés fostering adoptable cats for patrons looking for a new companion.
Don't have a cat café in your city? Do the next best thing — take a virtual reality tour. Put yourself inside "Koneko," one of 60 operating cat cafes in the United States, with the interactive 360 video above.
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This Brooklyn cat cafe is one of three cat cafes operating within New York City. The cat lounge sees a little under 100 cat lovers a day, according to its site.
Where:Richland Hills, Texas
Courtesy The Cat Café
The Cat Café, located in downtown San Diego, is almost as proud of its coffee as it is of its cats. The cafe also fosters adoptable cats from The Rescue House.
Where:San Diego, California
Courtesy Cat Therapy
Santa Barbara cat lovers have adopted 150 cats from Cat Therapy since it opened in 2017, according to its site. Adoption fees paid to the cafe goes back to the cat's shelter.
Where:Santa Barbara, California
Eric Risberg/AP
Cat Town, the first established cat cafe in the United States, paved the way for similar businesses when it opened in 2014 in the Bay Area. Since then, other cafes and non-profit businesses like Cat Town act as foster homes for older, adoptable cats.
Where:Oakland, California
Courtesy CatCafé Lounge
This non-profit cat café opened in Los Angeles with the aim to rehome "shy" cats, according to Kristi Galvan of CatCafé Lounge. "In 5 months we have adopted 56 cats and saved over 90 from being euthanized," Galvan said.
Where:Norfolk, Virginia
Courtesy Catsbury Park
New Jersey cat lovers adopt about five cats a week at this New Jersey cat cafe, according to Catsbury Park founder and owner DJ Bornschein. "The feedback we have received from the public has been amazing."n
Where:Richmond, Virginia
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Located in a corner of a Lewisville mall, The Charming Cat Café has five themed rooms that patrons can relax in with coffee and a cat - including one room that lets visitors lounge in their own cardboard box.
Where:Lewisville, Texas
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Rescue cats like Boone (above) at The Colony Cafe are adoptable within a day or two of approval, according to cafe owner Sue Hendrickson. "We had really positive reactions when we opened," Hendrickson said. "There was a lot of excitement about having a cat café in Pittsburgh."
Where:Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Courtesy Crescent City Cat Club
Sometimes one hour just isn't enough. The Crescent City Cat Club is one of the only cat clubs to currently have a guest room for cat lovers to rent that includes a voucher for the cafe. No cats in the guest house, unfortunately - and definitely no dogs allowed.
Where:New Orleans, Louisiana
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No need to head to a bar for trivia night - the Crooked Tail cat cafe in North Carolina features that and a wine selection with their adoptable kitties.
Where:Greensboro, North Carolina
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The Crumbs & Whiskers locations doubles as a cuddle spot for celebs like Drew Barrymore, Bella Thorne, Hayley Atwell and Paris Jackson. Both stores in D.C. and LA (above) offer 70 minute packages for cat lovers.n
Where:Los Angeles, California
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Coffee and cats, please. The Crumbs & Whiskers chain, started by a 24-year-old entrepreneur, have locations in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. Their D.C. location (above) rescues cats at risk of euthanasia.n
Where:Washington, D.C.
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The Dancing Cat opened as a pop-up shop in the Bay Area before it reopened as a permanent cafe in 2016.
Where:San Jose, California
Courtesy Eat, Purr, Love Cat Café
One cat is adopted every two days from the Eat, Purr, Love Cat Café in Ohio, according to its site. The cats come from the Columbus Humane Society.n
Where:Columbus, Ohio
Xinhua News Agency/Getty Images
Don't mistake this for the Florida-based Gato Cafe that was pitched to Shark Tank in 2014 - the El Gato Coffeehouse is a Houston based cat cafe that hosts events like Caturday Morning Cartoons and Meowvie Night for anyone who wants a trip down memory lane with kitty.n
Where:Houston, Texas
Courtesy Fat Cat Cafe
The Fat Cat Cafe not only hosts adoptable cats from local rescues, it also acts as a gallery and boutique for local Florida artists. Fat Cat resident Honey gazes at a likeness painted by Pattie Manie, above.n
Where:Tallahassee, Florida
Courtesy Kati Palmurkar
Game night, date night, yoga night, paint night - fun on its own, even better with the company of 12 adoptable cats at this Michigan based cat cafe.
Where:Atlanta, Georgia
Courtesy Kawaii Kitty Cafe
This café puts the cute in "kawaii" with its pastel decor and adorable resident cats. The Kawaii Kitty Cafe works with the Philadelphia Animal Welfare Society to care for their cats.
Where:Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Courtesy KitTea
San Francisco's first dedicated cat café tea shop is a veteran of the California cat cafe scene. KitTea has helped over 200 cats find forever homes since it opened in 2015.n
Where:San Francisco, California
Courtesy Kittens in Cups
Adoptable cats from the Anne Arundel County SPCA lounge around at the "purrfect cat cafe" in Annapolis. Check out the WiFi name.n
Where:Annapolis, Marylandn
Courtesy Kitty Brew Cat Cafe
The Kitty Brew Cat Cafe have facilitated over 800 adoptions in 15 months, according to co-owner Jenni Barrett.
Where:Mason, Ohio
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Sandwiched between upscale tapas restaurants and tiny boutiques is Koneko, a Lower East Side cafe with a two-story cat lounge and patio that visitors can visit between sips of espresso. Most cat residents are adoptable through Koneko's partner, Anjellicle Cats Rescue.
Where:New York, New York
Courtesy Missy Pruitt
Patrons of this Arizona cafe might stop by for some temporary catpanionship, but over 200 of them found themselves taking a cat home after visiting. "We have tons of fun events where people can interact with cats without the pressure of adoption," Missy Pruitt, founder and owner of the cafe, said. Events include cats and yoga, paint with cat nights, drag queen bingo, "cateoke," and even speed dating for cat lovers.n
Where:Tempe, Arizona
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Mac Tabby is not just a space to get to know a cat, it's also a hub for local artists and roasters in Charlotte. Play a guitar? They have those too.
Where:Charlotte, North Carolina
Courtesy Mauhaus
Cats like Lolo (above) are fostered at Mauhaus through Stray Haven Rescue in Missouri. Be careful not to fall in love with every cat though - like traditional cat cafes in Taiwan and Japan, Mauhaus have two permanent cat residents.n
Where:Maplewood, Missouri
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Meow Parlour "didn't set out to be a pioneer," but that's what happened when it became one of the first cat cafes to open in the United States. The cafe hosts cats with difficult histories, according to co-founder and head pastry chef Christina Ha. "Some people feel guilty about visiting when they aren't looking to adopt," Ha said. "By interacting with them, they still play a role in their adoption story by socializing them, and teaching us more about their behavior."n
Where:New York, New York
Ray An/Moon Cat Cafe
Moon Cat Cafe is a unique take in an already unique industry. The cafe is the first ever mobile cat cafe to exist. Think food truck, but with cats instead of tacos.n
Where: Los Angeles County and Orange County, California.
Courtesy NEKO
This cat cafe in Seattle, named after the Japanese word for cat, really wants you to spend more time with cats. To that end, NEKO has hosted wine tastings, embroidery classes and meditation time - all with cats fostered from the Regional Animal Services of Kings County (RASKC).
Where:Seattle, Washington
Courtesy Jasmine Tafoya
Indianapolis' Nine Lives cafe foster cats like Ambrosia (above) from the Humane Society of Indianapolis. Best of all, extended time packages offered by the cafe lets visitors study or work, surrounded by cats.
Where:Indianapolis, Indiana
Courtesy Organic Cat Cafe
While the Organic Cat Cafe works with rescue organizations to foster some adoptable cats, most of their cats are permanent residents of the cafe.
Where:Greenville, South Carolina
Courtesy Orlando Cat Café
Visitors to Orlando, Florida, have a place to relax away from theme parks and roller coasters at the Orlando Cat Cafe in Clermont. Those who can't make it in person (or fell in love with a cat at the cafe) can check out current adoptable cats in their online album.
Where:Clermont, Florida
Courtesy Pounce Cat Cafe
Who needs home and Netflix when there are wine and cats? Pounce pairs adoptable cats from the Charleston Animal Society with house wines and a beer selection for a warm evening in out.n
Where:Charleston, South Carolina
Courtesy Diane Kelly
PURR cat cafe became Boston's first ever cat cafe after it opened in November 2017. Ten percent of PURR's profits goes to partnering shelters in the Boston area, according to its site.
Where:Fayetteville, Arkansas
Courtesy Purrfect Cat Cafe
The Purrfect Cat Cafe fosters adoptable cats from the Ventura County Animal Shelter and the Santa Paula Animal Rescue Center, just an hour north of Los Angeles.n
Where:Camarillo, California
Courtesy Kristin Barber
The cat chooses its owner at Rahway Kitty Hall, which bills itself as the first cat cafe to open in New Jersey. "We've seen this happen many times," Kitty Hall owner Kristin Barber said. "It's so much fun to watch this relationship from the beginning."
Where:Rahway, New Jersey
Courtesy River Kitty Cat Cafe
The River Kitty Cat Cafe, located at the bend of the Ohio River in Evansville, has everything a cat obsessed visitor could want - cat art lattes, macarons and a mass of warm, furry, adoptable cats to keep a body company.n
Where:Evansville, Indiana
Courtesy Tinker's Cat Cafe
Fancy a cup of catpuccino or camomeow tea? Visitors can find both and adoptable cats from the Salt Lake County Animal Services at this Utah cat cafe.
Where:Salt Lake City, Utah
Courtesy Tiny Lions
The Tiny Lions lounge and adoption center is one of the few cat lounges run by an existing humane society who saw greater opportunities for adoptions through cat cafe setups rather than shelter cages.
Where:Ann Arbor, Michigan
Courtesy Treetops Kitty Cafe
Treetops Kitty Cafe, a natural extension from the Treetops Animal Rescue organization fostering kittens, adult cats and special needs cats, popped up just a year ago at their current Kennett Square location. The cafe has helped visitors adopt 170 cats since opening day and it is looking for donations to help more rescue cats find forever homes.n
