Morganton, North Carolina, United States
The Cats' Cradle Adoption Center & Cat Café
The Cats' Cradle Adoption Center and Cat Café, also called The Mews Herald, is the first permanent home of The Cats' Cradle, a volunteer-run cat rescue founded in 1999 that serves Burke, Caldwell, Catawba and Alexander counties. It opened in early 2026 in the former News Herald newspaper building on Collett Street in downtown Morganton. Cats from the rescue's foster homes and from Burke County Animal Services rotate through the center, where they live outside cages while they wait for homes. Visitors can buy coffee, soda drinks and packaged snacks in the cafe area and watch the cats play in their rooms, then spend one-on-one time with a chosen cat or kitten in the cuddle room. All cats are adoptable through an application. The former newsroom, now The Mewsroom, hosts cat yoga, paint parties and other events and can be rented.
Before you go
- 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
Brews and Mews Cat Cafe
Lenoir, North Carolina14 mi / 23 km
Brews and Mews Cat Cafe is a coffee shop and cat cafe on Main Street in downtown Lenoir, across from the Caldwell County courthouse, and was the first cat cafe in western North Carolina. The coffee shop is separate from the cat room and serves locally roasted coffee, specialty lattes, house-made boba, slushies, teas, lemonade and baked treats. The cat room is booked for one-hour sessions, online or in person, and holds up to 10 guests aged 7 and up; under-16s need an adult in the room and under-18s need a parent to sign the waiver, which is completed on every visit. Families with children 6 and under can book shorter 30-minute sessions at set times. Guests may pet the cats but not pick them up. The cats come from local animal shelters and the cafe's own rescue, The Purrole Office, and all are available for adoption.
- Adoptable cats
- Booking required
Help Meowt Catfe
Newton, North Carolina22 mi / 36 km
Help Meowt Catfe is a nonprofit cat cafe and adoption lounge on West NC 10 Highway in Newton, near Hickory, run by the rescue group Help Meowt Catawba, with a soft opening on October 24, 2026. The building has a cat-free cafe serving coffee, tea, hot chocolate, fresh juices and sparkling teas, packaged snacks and a children's menu. Large windows look into two cat lounges: the Nature Lounge for adult cats and the Ocean Lounge for younger cats and kittens, with about 24 adoptable cats in all. Lounge sessions last 45 minutes, and every guest signs a waiver. Children under 5 are admitted only at set times, and children 16 and under must be with an adult. Adoptions go through an application and a virtual home check. All profits fund the group's rescue and community cat work, and the building also offers cat boarding.
- Adoptable cats
The Purrfect Pour Cat Cafe
Lincolnton, North Carolina30 mi / 49 km
The Purrfect Pour Cat Cafe is Lincolnton's first cat cafe, on Vandiver Drive next to Miracle-Ear, and opened in April 2024. Half of the space is a coffee shop serving coffee, wine, craft beer and baked goods, where guests can also work on a laptop, and the other half is a cat lounge with about twelve adoptable cats from the rescue partner Angels to Animals. Lounge visits are one hour, priced per person with a higher weekend rate, and reservations are recommended; a few walk-in places are kept each hour, sometimes for shorter visits. Children must be at least 7 during regular hours, and younger children can come to Kitty Time sessions on Wednesday and Saturday mornings or with a private room booking. The lounge holds up to 12 guests at a time. About 700 cats have been adopted from the cafe.
- Adoptable cats
- Booking recommended
Cool Beans Cat Cafe
Gastonia, North Carolina44 mi / 70 km
Cool Beans Cat Cafe is Gaston County's first cat cafe, set in a converted house with a front porch and parking on South Chester Street in downtown Gastonia, across from the county government buildings. The coffee shop serves espresso drinks, tea and other drinks with baked goods and snacks, and there is a small shop area and a shelf of books. In a separate cat room, visitors spend time with a small group of adoptable rescue cats, some of them with special needs. Color-coded collars show which cats are happy to be approached. Cat room visits are charged per person for 30 minutes or an hour, and children are welcome. The cafe opened on East Main Avenue and moved to the house in spring 2025 under new owner Jenny Motes, who has added events such as live music and paint-and-sip evenings.
- Adoptable cats
Cats at Play Café
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Cats at Play Café is a cat cafe, coffee shop and cat-themed boutique on Eagle Street in downtown Asheville, opened in May 2023 as the city's first cat cafe. It is a foster home for adoptable cats from two rescue partners, Brother Wolf Animal Rescue and Heart of the Foothills Animal Rescue in Rutherfordton, and more than 600 cats have passed through it. The cafe serves coffee from Kitty Town Coffee, matcha drinks, tea, beer, wine, mocktails and snacks, and anyone can visit the cafe and shop without going into the cat lounge. Lounge visits carry an entrance fee that goes entirely to the cats' care; walk-ins are taken when there is room, but reservations are recommended. Special Kiddie Kitty Time sessions for families with young children run on Saturday and Monday mornings. Some adoption fees are sponsored, and service dogs are not allowed in the cat lounge.
- Adoptable cats
- Booking recommended
Whiskerville Kitty Cat Cafe
Belmont, North Carolina50 mi / 80 km
Whiskerville Kitty Cat Cafe is Belmont's only cat cafe, on Beaty Road west of Charlotte. Foster cats and kittens live in a cage-free Kitty Cat Lounge while they wait for adoption, in partnership with Cat Smart Coalition, a Gaston County trap-neuter-return group whose volunteers raise the cats until they are fully vaccinated. Visits to the lounge are paid by admission and can be booked online; walk-ins are taken when there is room, since guest numbers are limited. Everyone entering signs a waiver, children of any age are welcome with a parent, and visitors under 16 must be accompanied by an adult. Cats are not to be picked up. It is not a full cafe: there is a self-serve coffee and tea bar, a drinks cooler and prepackaged snacks, plus a cat-themed gift shop. The owner also hosts crafts, painting, yoga and book club events.
- Adoptable cats
- Booking recommended