Evansville, Indiana, United States
River Kitty Cat Café
River Kitty Cat Café is a nonprofit cat cafe in a historic building on Main Street in downtown Evansville. It opened in 2017 and has been owned and run by the Vanderburgh Humane Society since 2019, acting as a second adoption location for the shelter, and all proceeds fund its work. Around 20 vetted cats live in the lounge. The cafe side serves coffee, smoothies, tea, beer and wine and keeps at least 16 flavors of macarons. Lounge visits are one hour when reserved online, and shorter 30-minute visits are walk-in only. The lounge holds 10 guests at a time, food is not allowed inside, children 13 and under need an adult, and there is a limit of three children per adult. Adoptions are handled by phone and online with Vanderburgh Humane Society counselors, so a cat can go home the same day once approved.
Before you go
- Entry
- Entry or time fee
- Children
- All ages welcome
- Food & drink
- Drinks and snacks
- Adoption
- Cats available for adoption
Based on the cafe's website and visitor reviews, checked October 2026. Policies change, so confirm with the cafe before you visit.
Reviews
Cat Cafes Nearby
The Handsome Cat Café & Adoption Center
Owensboro, Kentucky29 mi / 47 km
The Handsome Cat Café & Adoption Center is a cat lounge in The Thatch shopping center on Sweeney Street in Owensboro, between Art Lab Owensboro and Moonbow Apothecary. It is run by Saving Paws Animal Rescue of Kentucky (SparKY), a nonprofit founded in 2006. Opened in July 2026 as Owensboro's first cat cafe, it gives the rescue's adoptable cats and kittens a calm place to meet people, and only cats that are fully vetted, vaccinated and fixed are brought in, so numbers vary. Visitors pay a small admission fee and can book online or come in during opening hours, generally Wednesday to Sunday from morning to mid-afternoon. No food or drinks are served, apart from bags of Kitty Town Coffee for sale, but guests may bring their own. Adoptions follow SparKY's standard process and fees, and the lounge can be rented for parties and workshops.
- Adoptable cats
- Booking recommended
Tortitude Cat Café
Paducah, Kentucky88 mi / 141 km
Tortitude Cat Café is a cat cafe on New Holt Road on the west side of Paducah, and the only cat cafe in Western Kentucky. It opened in September 2024. The cafe acts as a foster home for 15 to 20 vetted cats and kittens from its rescue partners Catt's Cats, All About The Cats, Jackson Purchase Forgotten Felines and Huntingdon TNR, and the cats roam freely in the lounge. Guests buy drinks and packaged snacks in the front shop, which also sells gifts, and can take snacks into the lounge. The number of guests in the lounge is limited, so reservations are encouraged and walk-ins cannot always be fitted in. Everyone signs a waiver. All the cats can be adopted, and kittens go home only once they are at least 14 weeks old, spayed or neutered and fully vaccinated. The cafe welcomes donations of toys, food and litter.
- Adoptable cats
- Booking recommended
Lucy & Oscar's Cat Cafe
Elizabethtown, Kentucky94 mi / 151 km
Lucy & Oscar's Cat Cafe is a cat lounge and cat-themed shop on North Dixie Highway in Elizabethtown. Its adoptable cats and kittens come mainly from the Hardin County Animal Shelter, and the lounge regularly includes special-needs cats. Visits are booked online in 50-minute sessions, each person in a group needs their own spot, and 10 to 12 visitors at a time fill the room. Everyone signs an agreement on arrival, and there can be no more than two minors per adult. Friday and Saturday evening sessions from 7 PM are for adults only, and parties of eight or more are asked to email ahead. Packaged drinks and snacks can be bought before a visit and enjoyed in the cafe area, and the shop sells cat-themed gifts. The cafe hosts evening events such as Cats & Crochet, crochet classes and tie-dye nights, and posts new arrivals and adoptions on Facebook.
- Adoptable cats
- Booking required
Btown Meow Cat Cafe
Bloomington, Indiana101 mi / 162 km
Btown Meow Cat Cafe is a small cat cafe on State Road 46 on the northwest side of Bloomington, run by a mother and daughter. Its free-roaming lounge is home to adoptable cats from the Bloomington Animal Shelter, and by autumn 2026 it had found homes for more than 365 of them. The cafe sells a selection of drinks and prepackaged treats that guests can take into the lounge. Visitors pay a small fee for time with the cats and may pet them, but should not pick them up without permission. The number of people in the lounge is limited, so reservations are encouraged and walk-ins may be turned away. Children are welcome as long as an adult stays with them in the room. Adoption is by application and approval. The cafe also runs a cat of the month, storytime and silent book club events and sells cat-themed merchandise.
- Adoptable cats
- Booking recommended
The Cat's Closet
Bloomington, Indiana101 mi / 163 km
The Cat's Closet is a cat lounge and vintage clothing shop on South Pete Ellis Drive near College Mall on the east side of Bloomington. Founders Sydney and Clairessa sold vintage clothes online and at markets from 2021 while doing cat rescue on the side before opening the shop. The vintage racks, with t-shirts, sweaters, denim, jackets, dresses and records, are in a room kept separate from the cats and need no booking. In the cat lounge, adoptable cats from the Greene County Humane Society roam free, and visits are booked online in 30-minute or one-hour slots, with a discounted short visit on Thursdays. Walk-ins are possible but booking ahead is recommended. The cats can be adopted through an application process. The shop also hosts monthly markets and bingo, rents out the space for private events and shows local artists in a small gallery.
- Adoptable cats
- Booking recommended
The Grateful Gato Cat Cafe
Clarksville, Tennessee102 mi / 165 km
The Grateful Gato Cat Cafe is a nonprofit cat cafe on Madison Street on the east side of Clarksville, Tennessee. It was founded by Julie, who has more than 30 years of veterinary experience and specializes in small animal internal medicine, and Nick, who has a background in sales. It was expected to open in November 2026. The lounge is a foster home for the rescue group Puurrrfect Paws, with up to 15 adoptable cats, and the rescue reviews adoption applications. Adopted cats are spayed or neutered, microchipped, vaccinated and tested for FeLV and FIV, and go home after a veterinary exam with 30 days of free Trupanion pet insurance and a year of free veterinary advice by phone. Visitors pay an entry fee that goes to the cats' care; reservations are recommended, and walk-ins are welcome when there is space. Coffee, other drinks and snacks are sold, and covered drinks are allowed in the lounge. Children must be at least 10 and supervised by an adult. Shoes come off, so wear socks or disposable booties, and cats may only be picked up if they climb onto you.
- Adoptable cats
- Booking recommended