Lazy Cat Cafe

Melbourne, Victoria · 8 mi / 14 km

Cat ⁠‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌⁠Cafe Melbourne is a cat lounge on Swanston Street in Carlton, between RMIT University and the University of Melbourne. It opened in 2014 as Australia's first cat cafe in the CBD, closed its Guildford Lane premises in 2023 and reopened at this address in 2024. More than 20 resident cats live across two levels, and all of them were adopted from shelters and stay as permanent residents rather than being rehomed, although the cafe sometimes promotes shelter cats that need homes. Visits are booked in one-hour sessions, with packages that add a drink, cat treats or a toy, and walk-ins are taken when space allows at a slightly higher price. Drinks and packaged snacks are sold, and there is a shop with cat-themed gifts. All visitors must be at least 8 years old. Session times vary with bookings, so the online calendar shows the current schedule.

• Booking recommended

Melbourne, Victoria · 9 mi / 14 km

Cashmere ⁠‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​​​‌​‌​⁠Cat Cafe is a cat lounge on the first floor of 365 Lonsdale Street in the Melbourne CBD, a short walk from Melbourne Central. It is home to more than 25 resident cats; eight are rescues and the rest come from registered Victorian breeders, and none are available for adoption. Visitors book timed sessions online or walk in when space allows, store their bags in lockers in the airlock and take their shoes off before entering the lounge, which is fitted with climbing shelves, tunnels and hideouts. A cafe counter serves barista coffee, tea and light pastries, and boxes of cat treats are sold during the 1 PM and 3 PM sessions. Guests must be at least 6 years old. A window onto the cat room lets people with allergies watch from outside. The cafe is open every day except Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year's Day.

Traralgon, Victoria · 82 mi / 133 km

Grounded ⁠‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​​​‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​​​​‌​​​​‌‌‌‌​‌​​⁠Paws Cat Cafe is a rescue cat cafe and adoption lounge on McMahon Street in Traralgon, in the Latrobe Valley of Gippsland. It is run by Grounded Paws Animal Rescue, a volunteer not-for-profit group that takes in cats and kittens at risk at the local pound; the cafe opened in June 2020. About 30 cats and kittens live in an upstairs cat lounge decorated in an Alice in Wonderland theme, and all of them are available for adoption. Entry to the lounge is a small fee per 30-minute session, and no booking is needed; if the lounge is full, the wait is usually short and visitors can have coffee and food such as pies in the cafe section. Volunteers answer questions about the cats. The lounge hosts movie nights in the school holidays, and children's tea-party birthday parties, which sometimes use Saturday afternoons. It is closed on public holidays.

• Adoptable cats

Adelaide, South Australia · 412 mi / 663 km

MeowMe ⁠‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​⁠Cat Cafe is a cafe and dessert shop on Glen Osmond Road in Parkside, just south-east of the Adelaide city centre and a short walk from the Bloom shopping centre at Glenside. Opened in 2017, it keeps its cats in a separate cat room next to the dining area. The cats and kittens are rescues that live at the cafe while they wait for new homes, and adoptions are arranged through Paws & Claws Adoptions. There is no entry fee: each visitor orders food or a drink, then takes a short turn in the cat room, which admits a small group at a time, with one adult required for each child. The menu covers desserts such as fried ice cream, cheesecake and waffles, coffee with cat latte art, milkshakes and light meals. Booking ahead is recommended, especially during school holidays. The cafe is closed on Mondays.

• Adoptable cats
• Booking recommended

Adelaide, South Australia · 412 mi / 664 km

Sassy's ⁠‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌‌‌​⁠Cat Cafe and Adoption Centre is a cat cafe in Felixstow, in Adelaide's north-eastern suburbs, at the corner of Payneham Road and Lower North East Road near Glynde. It is home to a group of resident cats, among them a Ragdoll and some older cats, alongside rescue cats and kittens that are up for adoption, which it rehomes with local rescue groups. Visitors pay an entry fee for 30 minutes or an hour in the cat area, children under five enter free, and cat treats can be bought at the counter. The cafe side serves coffee, cupcakes and other small snacks. Bookings are recommended and are taken by phone, email or Facebook message. Sassy's also runs kids' activities, school holiday sessions, birthday parties, cat yoga and cat meditation. The cafe is open every day, with shorter hours on weekdays.

• Adoptable cats
• Booking recommended

Sydney, New South Wales · 431 mi / 694 km

Paw ⁠‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​​​‌​​​​​‌​‌⁠Haus is a rescue cat room and pet cafe on Liverpool Road in Enfield, near Burwood, where rescue cats and kittens wait for adoption upstairs. The ground-floor cafe, now run as The Gentle Bean, serves coffee, brunch dishes and a separate menu for dogs, and dogs enter from the rear lane. The cat cuddle room is charged by time and can be booked online or visited as a walk-in, and its cats come from rescue groups, mainly Kittie Kat Rescue, already desexed and vaccinated; more than a hundred have been adopted since the cafe opened in 2024. People who want to adopt on the day are asked for a walk-through video of their home, and cats go only to indoor homes. Under-10s need an adult with them. The same business runs a second cat room at its Bubble Bath dog wash in Wentworth Point.

• Adoptable cats