Orlando has been waiting eagerly for a cat cafe for a long time, and it has been a long time since the original groundbreaking and open house party for the Orlando Cat Cafe. But the wait is over, and I was fortunate to visit the cat cafe near Walt Disney World less than a week after it opened.

The first confusing thing about the Orlando Cat Cafe is that you don’t enter through the cat cafe itself. That door on the front is sealed to prevent escaping cats.

Instead, you enter through Axum Coffee, next door. At first glance, Axum looks like a regular coffee shop inside.

But you quickly notice a large window into the storefront next door where the cats are.

After you pay for your entrance at the coffee bar, you get a sticker to wear that identifies your assigned time with the cats. When it is your assigned time, you enter a door into vestibule between the two storefronts. The door is so close to the front of the coffee shop that it is hard for the staff to control access to it while also tending the coffee bar. That probably wasn’t thought out as well as they hoped.

Once you enter the tiny room between the two storefronts, you get instructions from a staffer from South Lake Animal League about the cats: no chasing, no picking up, no flash photography.

After I entered the cat area, there was a nearly-immediate demonstration of why they used the vestibule for entry and exit as a Siamese-type cat who was in the cafe made a break for the door only to be caught by the staffer.

For anyone who wasn’t listening carefully, the rules of the cafe are posted on the wall inside, too.

The cafe serves as an off-site adoption center for the South Lake Animal League, so they provide a way to sign up for newsletters from the organization on site.

There is also a bulletin board that tells you more about the adoptable cats currently in the cafe. There were two cats who had just arrived, and their fliers weren’t up yet.

Cat litter is tidily kept out of sight in a staff-only area, and cats can access it through a cat door. I’m not sure why the symbol for the male cat has no eyes. Maybe he is mid-blink.

The place makes really good use of vertical space on the walls, with walkways, shelves, and cubbyholes mounted directly to the walls to make space for the cats to rest or observe.

There were also some very nice cat trees scattered around the room for the cats to climb. This little guy really wasn’t sure about making the leap down to the next level of the cat tree.

Since it was mid-afternoon, I caught a lot of cats during naps.

While I was visiting, a volunteer from the animal rescue league arrived to give the staffer on site a lunch break. The volunteer was a retiree, and I thought it was interesting that she was wearing a “Team Dog” t-shirt. Thankfully, the cats couldn’t read to be offended by it.

While I was taking a photo of this kitten, a retired woman with no sticker indicating she had paid to be in the cafe let herself in the door. As I mentioned above, the location of the entry door isn’t well-controlled in the coffeeshop, and that makes it fairly easy for someone to wander in. The retiree asked the volunteer if she had to pay if she just wanted to look around. “If you’re going to stay,” the volunteer replied.

A moment later, the retired lady asked, “So are they all declawed and everything?” It’s a good thing my back was to the conversation, because I am sure my expression wasn’t neutral. The dog-shirted volunteer said something about only if they arrive declawed. What a missed opportunity for education!

The retired lady wandered out and I continued taking photos. A few minutes later, she was back, this time with her husband, who also didn’t have on a sticker indicating he had paid admission, either. They circulated around a few more minutes before leaving. I’m sure the newly-opened cafe will find a better way to monitor the entrance door, or work with the volunteers on how ask people to leave who haven’t paid their fee, but it was interesting to see the early growing pains of the place.

The original staffer emerged from the back room a little later, and I took the opportunity to ask her about whether they had seen adoptions from the cafe yet. “We’re still going through lots of applications,” she told me.

I think this could become a valuable adoption location for the rescue organization, and I recognize that when I was there, they had only been open 5 days. It takes longer than that to get everyone trained in the processes and procedures.

In the meantime, it’s a fun place to visit to say hello to the cats available for adoption. Who knows, maybe you’ll fall in love! I’m sure it will also be popular with Disney visitors who miss their cats back home, since it is the closest cat cafe to Walt Disney World.

Just be careful when you leave. They already have one escape artist cat, and you don’t want to be the one who lets her out!

Update: The Orlando Cat Cafe announced their first adoptions today, including one of the cats pictured in this article.

Getting to the Orlando Cat Cafe

Although the Orlando Cat Cafe says they are “about 4 miles west of Disney’s Animal Kingdom,” that distance is only useful if you are a bird. The rest of us have to use streets!

How Far is It?

The closest Disney resort to the Orlando Cat Cafe is Animal Kingdom Lodge, and the drive is 7.9 miles, so walking isn’t a realistic option to see the cats.

If you are staying somewhere else on Disney’s vast property, the distance could be much farther. The Contemporary Resort, close to Magic Kingdom, is a 14.5 mile drive.

Resorts around SeaWorld are about 16 miles and Universal-area resorts are around 19 miles away, so set aside travel time accordingly.

Transportation Options to the Orlando Cat Cafe

The easiest way to get to the Orlando Cat Cafe is to drive. If you arrived on vacation by air and didn’t rent a car, you’ll need ground transportation. Taxi service in Orlando tends to be expensive, and the biggest local transportation company’s fare estimator says that a trip from Disney’s Contemporary resort to the Orlando Cat Cafe will cost a $39.06 fare one-way.

A less-expensive option is Uber, which estimates  $15-19 each way to get from Disney’s Contemporary Resort to the Orlando Cat Cafe. If you haven’t tried Uber before, you can sign up through this invitation link to get $10 free credit for your first ride with them (disclosure: I also get credit if you do).

The least expensive option is using the local Lynx bus system, at $2 each direction. Plan for up to two hours travel time due to transfers. You can use the Plan a Trip function on the Lynx site to see the bus schedules available for your visit.

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Photo credit: depositphotos/funny_cats

As I mentioned on Monday, my trip to New York City included visiting a cat cafe, Koneko. In fact, I ended up visiting it twice!

I scheduled my arrival to NYC to be early in the day so I could meet up with a local friend who is also a cat lover, and we went to Koneko together. That was my very first cat cafe visit. The next day, I went back with the rest of the BlogPurr event attendees. Photos on this page are from both visits.

Walking down Clinton Street on the lower east side of New York, a modest sign above one storefront hints that there are cats inside.

The overhead sign is so modest that when the cat cafe is open to the general public, a sidewalk sign beckons you inside with the magic words: adoptable kitties.

The cafe itself is a single storefront’s width, serving wonderful coffee and tasty, Japanese snacks. Try the green cheesecake… it isn’t wasabi pie, even though I joked that it might be.

All of the decor is themed around the real guests of honor at the cat cafe, like the sign on the restroom.

At the back of the cafe is a glass-fronted cattery. The glass separates the food-serving area from the area of the cafe reserved for the cats.

When you enter the vestibule for the cattery, you take off your shoes and just wear your socks. If you don’t have socks, the cafe supplies slippers. This prevents cross-contamination of the cattery area. You also learn about the important rules for visiting the cat cafe.

Inside the cattery, 20 adoptable cats from Angellicle Cats Rescue roam free in three different areas. Or instead of roaming, many of them sleep.

It’s amazing how relaxed some of the cats are with strangers wandering through. These adoptable cats will be remarkably well-socialized when they go home with new families.

Some people would think that having 20 cats in a confined space would be dirty or smelly, but the cattery is spotless. Cat litter boxes are tucked discreetly away behind cat doors labeled to identify what is on the other side. I doubt the cats actually read the signage, but it’s really cute.

There are two separate indoor areas of the cafe, connected by a stairway. The cats don’t have to take the stairway meant for the humans. They have their own, private opening between floors. Downstairs, they can use wall-mounted shelving to make their way down from their private catwalk.

There are plenty of places for cats to scratch, stretch, and engage with visitors.

There are also plenty of high shelves and places the cats can get away from visitors if they aren’t in the mood for being bothered.

This cat, Cello, had just arrived at Koneko that day and was already playing with visitors.

The cafe’s outdoor catio has an impressive mural, representing lots of cats from pop culture.

More cats seem to congregate on the catio than indoors, enjoying the fresh air.

Outside, they do some of the same things they do indoors, like sleep.

But the real attraction is the falling leaves and pigeons that land on the fire escapes above.

The catio keeps the cats safe while they enjoy the fresh air and the sights.

What better way to fall in love with an adoptable cat then watching her chatter at birds?

While cat cafes started as ways for people without cats to spend time with cats, being able to meet cats in the cafe who you can fall in love with and bring home is a wonderful alternative to cats spending extended time in cages while they wait to find homes.

In fact, during my visit to Koneko, the staff told me that this cat was getting ready to go to his new adoptive home that evening. Coffee, cats, and happy endings all under one roof!

Getting to Koneko

Koneko is on the lower east side of Manhattan in New York City. The closest subway stop is the 2nd Ave stop of the F line. From there, walk east on Houston Street and turn right on Clinton Street. You will find Koneko at 26 Clinton Street. Look for the sign with their emoticon-style logo over the door.

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Disclosure: My travel costs to the BlogPurr event were paid by Merck Animal Health.

Over Labor Day weekend, I visited the Savannah area. One of the places I went was an area seafood restaurant on Tybee Island, The Crab Shack, that doesn’t just feature amazing seafood. It also features lots of resident cats.

One of the first things you see when you arrive at The Crab Shack is a pool with alligators in it. They work with an organization in Florida to care for baby alligators until they reach four feet, then they go back in exchange for new, little alligators. This kitty was snoozing beside the alligator pool. Don’t worry, the alligators are on the other side of the chain link fence in the background!

The hostess stand at the front of the restaurant has a sign letting patrons know that the cats are cared for and shouldn’t be fed. Do you think the dozen resident cats ever read the sign?

The restaurant was once a fish camp, and seating includes screened-in areas (no cats allowed!) and a deck that overlooks Chimney Creek. What self-respecting cat could resist checking out the potential handouts in a place like this, especially when most of it is enticing seafood?

We were there at the beginning of lunchtime on the day after tropical storm Hermine came through, but the cats weren’t bothered by the extra debris on the deck or the thin early-lunch crowd. Patches the tortoiseshell came to check out what we were eating.

It’s pretty obvious that despite the signs asking patrons not to feed the cats, some of the cats have learned to really work the dining area. It must be impossible to put a kitty like Pretty Girl on a diet under those circumstances!

Especially when she gives humans The Look. She really knows how to melt human hearts.

Signage explains that the cats at The Crab Shack are “not feral, they are family.” Perhaps that explains why the majority of them aren’t ear-tipped like feral cats.

The way the cats are clearly relaxed around people is another clue that they aren’t feral. Smoky was napping half in and half out of the shade, ignoring strangers walking past.

Cat shelters near the entrance to the gift shop have food available for cats who aren’t really into seafood.

Mr. Puddy wouldn’t even look up from his meal outside the Cat Shack shelter for a photo.

While Boris the big Russian Blue snoozed inside the shelter, along with some leaves that probably blew in during the previous day’s storm.

By the time we left, Mr. Puddy was in the parking lot to see us off and welcome more lunch-hour visitors.

When you’re far from home and your own cats, visiting a place with friendly cats is always fun, but the Crab Shack cats were a special bunch. I look forward to returning to see them again!

The Orlando Cat Cafe held their groundbreaking and fundraising kickoff event last week. The cat cafe is located in Clermont, FL, closer to Walt Disney World than it is Orlando, but the larger neighboring city is loaning the place its name.

Outside the kickoff event, the South Lake Animal League bus let passers-by know that there was something going on. The cat cafe plans to partner with the South Lake Animal League, and all of the cats at the cafe will be adoptable.

And a hand-sketched version of the cat cafe’s logo was featured on an open house sign by the door.

The cafe itself is planned to be a 750 square foot space, taking a total of three storefronts, which are currently empty. The kitchen/dining areas will be separate from the area where you will visit the cats.

The estimated cost to build out the space is $75,000, and the event was a kickoff for the attempt to crowdfund $50,000 of that total. The Orlando Cat Cafe is expected to open in early 2016, and with it just around the corner from Disney, it’s going to be a must-see location for cat lovers who come to town to visit The Mouse.

The event included fun, cat-themed cupcakes.

And of course, there were adoptable cats on hand. This adorable family of a a white cat and her two kittens were getting a lot of attention until the two kittens curled up to nap under their mother’s watchful eye.

This pair of adoptable kittens were thoroughly unsure about the number of people walking around and pointing at them. The event was crowded, and the sound level got the better of these two after a while.

One Siamese-mix kitten made a break for it when he thought the other kittens had distracted the onlookers. He didn’t get very far.

This slightly older cat was in a cage, not getting much attention with adorable kittens nearby. He may have had his eye on those cupcakes on a nearby table.

The flame point kitten in this photo was probably adopted by the end of the event. Not only was he absolutely gorgeous, but he was friendly and full of personality.

The cat lovers and tourists of Orlando are looking forward to the opening of the Orlando Cat Cafe, but it was great to get a glimpse of the cafe that we’ll be able to visit very soon.