The Cat's Brew

Whitewater, Wisconsin · 36 mi / 58 km

BaristaCats ⁠‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​⁠Café & Sanctuary for Wayward Cats is a nonprofit cat cafe and rescue on West Center Street in downtown Whitewater. Founder Natalie Serna opened it in February 2023 after visiting cat cafes across England, and it has rehomed more than 270 cats, working with several partner rescues and processing adoptions on site. Visitors spend time with the cats in the Pawlor, which holds 10 guests at a time, paying by the half hour or hour. Reservations are expected, walk-ins are taken when there is space and the last hour of the day is reservation only. Children 10 and under are not admitted, and guests aged 11 to 17 need an adult. There is no kitchen; the cafe serves a house blend from Lake Geneva Coffee Roastery, Harney & Sons teas, hot chocolate and packaged snacks with vegan, keto and gluten-free options. Student memberships are available.

• Adoptable cats
• Booking recommended

Oconomowoc, Wisconsin · 39 mi / 62 km

The ⁠‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌‌‌‌‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌​​‌​​​‌​​‌⁠Whisker Society is a nonprofit cat lounge and café on South Main Street in downtown Oconomowoc, in the Lake Country area of Waukesha County west of Milwaukee. Opened in 2026, it hosts adoptable cats from partner adoption organizations in a library-inspired lounge, which frees space at the partners' shelters while the cats wait for homes. The café serves coffee drinks made with locally made syrups, plus snacks, with no reservation needed, while lounge visits are booked in advance in morning and afternoon blocks, with a midday break when the cats are left to nap. The café and lounge are separate spaces with their own ventilation, and covered drinks can be carried into the lounge. A touch screen introduces each cat, and all of them can be adopted through the partner groups. The lounge also hosts events with local organizations.

• Adoptable cats
• Booking required

Rockford, Illinois · 65 mi / 104 km

Fur-Ever ⁠‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​‌‌‌⁠Finds Thrift is a women-owned thrift shop in East Rockford, on North Phelps Avenue behind the Culver's on East State Street, that funds an on-site nonprofit cat rescue. Opened in early 2026, it sells donated and upcycled clothing, housewares, vintage finds and work by local artists and vendors, and a portion of every purchase goes to the rescue. Shoppers can visit and cuddle the small group of adoptable rescue cats, usually up to four, who live in the shop while they wait for homes. There is no entry fee, and adoptions are arranged directly with the rescue. Look for the bright pink cat sign.

• Adoptable cats

Oshkosh, Wisconsin · 68 mi / 109 km

Planet ⁠‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌‌‌‌​‌​‌​​​‌⁠Purrrk Club is a cat lounge, co-working space and study hall inside Planet Perk at City Center, a veteran-owned coffee house in downtown Oshkosh. Opened in 2023 in a 3,000-square-foot space off the cafe's back hallway, the lounge houses about 9 to 15 adoptable cats and kittens from the Oshkosh Area Humane Society, all spayed or neutered, microchipped and vaccinated. Visitors buy an hourly cat pass at the counter or online, with a lower price for children, and children under 13 need an adult; reservations are recommended at weekends. High school and college students with ID can use the lounge as a study hall in the afternoons. The cafe serves coffee, beer, wine and all-day breakfast and lunch. Private offices, meeting rooms and co-working memberships are available, and the lounge hosts a weekly silent book club, paint-and-sip mornings and kitty yoga. Adoptions are arranged through the humane society.

• Adoptable cats
• Booking recommended

Milwaukee, Wisconsin · 69 mi / 111 km

Sip ⁠‌‌​​‌​‌​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌​​‌​​‌​⁠& Purr Cat Café is Milwaukee's first cat café, on Brady Street in the Lower East Side. It opened in 2018 on East Ivanhoe Place and reopened at this Brady Street site in 2025. A cat-free café with a full espresso bar serves coffee, wine and snacks, many vegan or gluten-free, beside a cat-themed gift shop and a wall of windows onto the separate cat lounge. Lounge admission covers 60 minutes with the adoptable cats, and drinks from the café can be taken inside. Reservations are recommended, though walk-ins are accepted when there is space, and admission is discounted on Wednesdays and Fridays. There is no minimum age, but every minor needs their own accompanying adult and all guests sign a waiver. Besides local cats, the café has taken in cats rescued from Qatar, Lebanon and Egypt, and more than 1,700 cats have been adopted since 2018.

• Adoptable cats
• Booking recommended

Appleton, Wisconsin · 85 mi / 137 km

The ⁠‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​‌⁠Pawffee Shop Cat Cafe is a coffee shop and cat lounge on North Casaloma Drive in Grand Chute, on the edge of Appleton near Fox River Mall. It opened in August 2019 as northeast Wisconsin's first cat cafe, and all of its cats come from Safe Haven Pet Sanctuary in Green Bay, a no-kill, cage-free rescue for cats with special needs and disabilities; more than 200 have been adopted through the cafe. The cafe serves coffee drinks and local bakery items. Entry to the cat lounge is free with a cafe purchase or a donation to the rescue from each person in the group. The lounge opens an hour after the cafe. Walk-ins are taken as space allows on weekdays, and Saturdays, the busiest day, can be reserved. Guests sign a digital waiver, should not pick up adult cats and must supervise children.

• Adoptable cats
• Booking recommended