Waffles and Whiskers Cat Cafe

Greensboro, North Carolina · 16 mi / 26 km

Crooked ⁠‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌​​​⁠Tail Cat Cafe is a cat cafe on South Elm Street in downtown Greensboro and was the first cat cafe in North Carolina when it opened in November 2017. It works exclusively with Red Dog Farm Animal Rescue, which handles intake and adoptions, and houses up to 12 free-roaming adoptable cats at a time. The cafe is in a separate room and has a 100% plant-based menu of coffee, tea, boba and snacks, which guests may take into the cat lounge. The lounge holds up to 10 guests at once, so online reservations are strongly recommended and walk-ins depend on space. Children must be at least 5, under-13s need an adult and under-18s need a parent's waiver; a monthly Kiddie Kitty Time admits children under 5 and a monthly Adults Only hour is for guests 18 and over.

• Adoptable cats
• Booking recommended

Salisbury, North Carolina · 38 mi / 62 km

Mac ⁠‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌‌‌​‌​‌​​​​‌‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​‌⁠Tabby Cat Cafe in Salisbury is a cat cafe on South Main Street in historic downtown Salisbury, a block from Bell Tower Green, in a building that was the Victory Theater from 1915 to 1956. It opened in May 2023 as the third Mac Tabby, after the Charlotte and Concord cafes. The cafe and the cat lounge are separate: the cafe serves coffee, wine, craft beer, smoothies and baked goods, and the lounge holds about twelve adoptable cats from Princeton's Meow, the cage-free cat adoption facility of the Humane Society of Concord and Greater Cabarrus County. Lounge visits are one hour when reserved online, with a weekend rate, and shorter 30-minute visits are offered to walk-ins when there is room. Guests must be 7 or older; younger children can come to Kitty Time on Saturday mornings or with a private room booking.

• Adoptable cats
• Booking recommended

Chapel Hill, North Carolina · 53 mi / 86 km

Beautiful ⁠‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​​​‌​‌‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​⁠Together Cat Cafe is the cat lounge of Beautiful Together Animal Sanctuary, a nonprofit rescue on 83 acres of farmland in rural Chapel Hill, about 15 minutes from the UNC campus. The cafe opened in September 2025 on the second floor of the sanctuary's farmhouse-style welcome and adoption center, a bright room with floor-to-ceiling windows over the pastures, sofas, a coffee bar and an outdoor deck. Rescued cats, many pulled from crowded North Carolina shelters, roam the room while they wait for adoption, and visitors book a visit online to spend time with them; kittens may be seen by request. The cafe and the lobby can also be booked for private parties and group meetings, and there is a conference room with resident cats. The sanctuary also rescues dogs, horses and donkeys, runs an on-site clinic and youth programs, and has walking trails and free parking.

• Adoptable cats
• Booking required

Concord, North Carolina · 57 mi / 91 km

Mac ⁠‌‌​​‌​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​​​​​‌​​​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​‌⁠Tabby Cat Cafe Concord is the second branch of the Mac Tabby group, on Market Street in historic downtown Concord, a short walk from the city parking decks and less than five miles from Interstate 85. It occupies an 1886 building with exposed brick and wooden beams, a bar made from old pine and a covered front porch. The cafe serves coffee, smoothies, pastries, beer and wine and is open to anyone, while the separate cat lounge holds adoptable cats from Princeton's Meow, a Concord rescue. Lounge visits are paid per person, either as one-hour reserved sessions or shorter walk-in visits when space allows. Guests must be 7 or older during regular hours, with Saturday morning sessions and whole-room bookings for younger children. Unlike the NoDa branch, the Concord cafe is on ground level and fully wheelchair accessible. It opened in May 2021.

• Adoptable cats
• Booking recommended

Chapel Hill, North Carolina · 58 mi / 94 km

Cat ⁠‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​​​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​⁠Tales Cat Cafe is a two-story cat cafe on West Franklin Street in downtown Chapel Hill, a short walk from the UNC campus. About 12 adoptable cats roam a cage-free lounge, and they come from Cat Tales Rescue NC, the cafe's own nonprofit rescue. Visits are booked by the hour and charged per person, with a slightly higher rate at weekends, and only eight guests are allowed in each hour, so reservations are strongly recommended; groups larger than eight call ahead. Guests must be 7 or older unless the whole session is booked. The cafe counter serves coffee, beer and wine, and there is seating where visitors can watch the cats without going into the lounge. The cafe is run by Katy Poitras and Ilene Speizer, and it has sponsored pet microchip scanning stations around Orange County.

• Adoptable cats

Carthage, North Carolina · 65 mi / 104 km

Kitten ⁠‌‌​​‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌‌‌​​‌‌‌‌‌​⁠Around Cat Lounge is Moore County's first cat cafe, on Courthouse Square in historic downtown Carthage. The building is split between a coffeehouse with locally roasted drip coffee, bubble tea, hot cocoa and baked goods from bakeries in Aberdeen, and a cage-free cat playroom where guests play with and cuddle adoptable cats. Usually about eight cats live in the lounge, never more than ten, and all are fully vetted and come from three partner rescues including Feline Friends of Moore County. The playroom holds six or seven guests at a time, so reservations are encouraged although not required. Children from age 2 are welcome; under-14s need an adult with them and under-18s need a parent's waiver. Visitors can also watch the cats from the cafe. The lounge offers room bookings for small groups and events such as paint nights with the cats.

• Adoptable cats
• Booking recommended