Gem City Catfé

Mason, Ohio · 29 mi / 47 km

Kitty ⁠‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​‌‌‌⁠Brew Cat Café opened in Mason in 2017 as Greater Cincinnati's first cat cafe and moved in June 2025 to a larger space on Reading Road in the Mason Square shopping center, next to Lucky Dog Grille. The cafe and the cat lounge are fully separate. The cafe is free to enter and serves coffee, espresso drinks, tea, smoothies, bagels and baked goods, and drinks can be taken into the lounge. The lounge holds adoptable cats from rescues such as His Hands Extended Sanctuary, HART Animal Rescue and Myles Ahead Animal Sanctuary, and visits are booked as 50-minute sessions, with walk-ins when there is room. Children need a ticket once they can walk, with one adult per three children under 14. Wednesday is Kids Day with a reduced child rate. More than 4,300 cats have been adopted through the cafe, and a kitty cam streams the lounge online.

• Adoptable cats
• Booking recommended

Cincinnati, Ohio · 46 mi / 74 km

8 ⁠‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​⁠Cats Cincinnati is a bed and breakfast, tea house and event venue in a restored 1885 Victorian mansion on Wilson Avenue in Avondale, home to eight resident cats. Rather than a walk-in cafe, it runs ticketed tea sessions that are open to the public: a traditional afternoon tea with cats is held most weekends, a Crazy Cat Lady Tea takes place on the second Tuesday of each month, and candlelight high teas run on select Fridays, alongside children's teas and seasonal themed teas. Its house-blended teas are named after the cats and served with sandwiches, scones and pastries. The cats wander through the tea room and common areas and greet guests before and after the service. Other ticketed events include yoga and sound baths with the cats, crafting and bingo. Guests can also stay overnight in three rooms or a poolside apartment, which is kept cat-free.

• Booking required

Covington, Kentucky · 50 mi / 81 km

Purrfect ⁠‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​‌‌‌‌‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌‌​​​​​⁠Day Cat Café in Covington is Northern Kentucky's first cat cafe, opened in the fall of 2020 as the second branch of Louisville's Purrfect Day. It sits in the 8th Street Commons, next to Libby's and behind Braxton Brewery, a short drive across the Ohio River from downtown Cincinnati. Anyone can drop in at the bar, which serves coffee, tea, wine, beer and spirits, while time with the cats is booked online in timed sessions; reservations are strongly advised at weekends, on holidays and in summer. The cats come from Paws Rescue in Lawrenceburg, Indiana, the League for Animal Welfare in Batavia and Cincinnati Animal CARE, and all are spayed or neutered, vaccinated and microchipped. Adoptions are usually approved on site, and the cafe has placed more than 7,000 cats. Events include craft nights with kittens, cat yoga and private parties.

• Adoptable cats

Portland, Indiana · 64 mi / 103 km

CAT ⁠‌‌​​‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌​​​‌​​​‌​​​​​‌‌‌‌‌​​⁠TALES Books, Crystals & Cats is a nonprofit used bookstore and crystal shop on North Charles Street in Portland, in Jay County in East Central Indiana, run by and connected to the Midwest Pet Refuge rescue. It fills a spacious former church, with tens of thousands of used books in the old sanctuary, a section of antique and pre-1950 titles, and crystals, jewelry, handmade gifts and pet supplies. Several adoptable cats, typically 8 to 10, roam the bookstore and greet browsers, and visitors can go through to the rescue side to spend time with many more cats in free-roaming rooms, a catio and kitten suites. There is no charge to visit, children are welcome and comfy chairs invite people to stay. All the cats are spayed or neutered, vaccinated and microchipped and can be adopted through Midwest Pet Refuge. All proceeds from the shop support the rescue.

• Adoptable cats

Columbus, Ohio · 65 mi / 105 km

Kitty ⁠‌‌​​‌​‌​​​‌​‌​​‌​‌‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​​​‌​‌⁠Bubble Cafe & Bar is a cat cafe on North High Street at the northern edge of Clintonville, near Worthington, that opened in August 2022 as Columbus's only cat cafe. The cafe and bar side serves bubble tea, coffee, beer, wine, sake, cocktails, macarons and other snacks, for dine-in or takeaway, with no ticket needed. A separate cat lounge holds free-roaming adoptable cats from the rescue Colony Cats, and visits are booked as 55-minute sessions. Tickets are best bought in advance, since walk-ins are turned away when the lounge is full. Lounge sessions run in two blocks each open day, with a break in between, and the cafe is closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Adoptions go through Colony Cats. Regular events in the lounge include yoga with the cats, bingo nights, paint-your-pet classes and holiday wreath workshops, often raising money for the rescue.

• Adoptable cats

Granville, Ohio · 89 mi / 144 km

Whiskers ⁠‌‌​​‌​‌​​​​​​​‌​‌​​​‌​​​​‌​‌​​​‌​‌​​‌​‌‌⁠Catnip Cottage is the cat cafe of Whiskers Animal Rescue, an all-volunteer nonprofit in Granville that rescues, fosters and rehomes cats across Licking County. The cottage on Columbus Road, between Granville and Newark, is home to adoptable cats from the rescue and has a small retail area and snack bar. A per-person admission fee goes to the cats' food, litter and medical care and the upkeep of the space. It is open Friday to Sunday, with last admission an hour before closing. Booking a slot online is preferred, and walk-ins are welcome when there is room. Shoes stay at the door and socks are required. There is no minimum age, but children under 14 must be supervised, with one adult for every three children. People hoping to adopt are asked to apply before visiting, and kittens are usually adopted in pairs. Private parties can be arranged outside regular hours.

• Adoptable cats
• Booking recommended