Whiskers & Wine

San Diego, California · 4.0 mi / 6.4 km

The ⁠‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​​​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‌‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​​⁠Cat Cafe is a coffee shop and cat lounge on Island Avenue at Third Avenue in the Gaslamp Quarter of downtown San Diego near Petco Park. Opened in January 2015, it was the first cat cafe in Southern California. The front counter serves espresso and coffee from Café Virtuoso and pastries from Bread & Cie, and the coffee shop and patio are open to everyone. The cats live in a separate lounge, and they are adoptable rescues from The Rescue House, a local nonprofit, with adoption handled through the rescue's application process. Lounge visits are one-hour sessions booked in advance, with a food or drink item included, and walk-ins are taken when space allows. Children must be at least six to enter the cat room, and staff explain the house rules, including not picking up the cats. Memberships and gift cards are also sold.

• Adoptable cats
• Booking recommended

La Jolla, California · 10 mi / 16 km

The ⁠‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​​​​​‌‌‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌‌⁠Cat Lounge Rescue and Adoption Center is a nonprofit cat lounge on Torrey Pines Road in La Jolla, a few minutes from La Jolla Village and La Jolla Cove. Opened in November 2019, it rescues cats from high-kill shelters across Southern California and works with other rescues and gives each cat full medical care. The cats roam freely in a living-room style lounge with a separate kitten nursery, and street-facing windows let passers-by watch them. Visitors walk in without an appointment and pay a per-person admission that allows them to stay as long as they like during opening hours, with no age limit, although children under 14 need a parent or guardian. Admission paid on the day can be credited toward a same-day adoption. The lounge can also be booked for private parties, and it runs a low-cost vaccine clinic and a free supply program for community cat feeders.

• Adoptable cats
• Walk-ins welcome

Tijuana, Baja California · 19 mi / 31 km

Bastet ⁠‌‌​​‌​‌​​​​‌‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌⁠Cat Café is a rescue cat cafe on Calle Gladiolas in Colonia El Prado, Tijuana, one block from Boulevard Agua Caliente and about four blocks from Plaza Galerías Hipódromo. Opened in 2015, it was the first cat cafe in Baja California and gives a temporary home to cats taken in from the street or from abuse cases. Between 30 and 45 cats of all ages live loose in two cat rooms, and visitors pay a small entry charge and can move between the rooms freely. The cafe serves coffee drinks, cakes, pastries and snacks, with combos that include a drink, a slice of cake and entry to the cat area, and it has books, games and a shop of cat merchandise. Cats are vaccinated, dewormed and sterilised before adoption, which requires official ID, proof of address, an adoption form and a recovery fee. Bastet also runs free sterilisation drives.

• Adoptable cats

Vista, California · 31 mi / 49 km

The ⁠‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​​​​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​‌‌​‌‌‌‌‌⁠Love Your Feral Felines Adoption Center is the cage-free adoption center of Love Your Feral Felines (LYFF), a North County San Diego cat rescue nonprofit. It is in a small shopping center on West Vista Way in Vista, just off State Route 78 at Emerald Drive. Up to 30 rescued cats and kittens roam freely in home-like rooms while they wait for adoption. On weekends the center opens to the public for Cat Cuddle Hours, one-hour visits to play with and pet the cats in return for a small donation that supports the rescue. Reservations are recommended because weekends are busy, but walk-ins are welcome when there is space. Many of the rescue's other cats live in foster homes or at a PetSmart adoption room, and adopters are asked to complete a pre-adoption application first, as approvals are not always possible on the same day.

• Adoptable cats
• Booking recommended

Oceanside, California · 33 mi / 54 km

Cats ⁠‌‌​​‌​‌​​​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌⁠& Crystals is a cat lounge and gift shop on North Coast Highway in downtown Oceanside, a few blocks from the pier and the Oceanside Transit Center. Opened in March 2025, it grew out of an Etsy shop and traveling pop-up, and its lounge is decorated as a fairy forest with hidden details and photo spots. The cats are adoptable rescues from Fairy Tail Rescue, and visitors who connect with one can apply to adopt. Visits are booked per person in 30-minute or 70-minute sessions, with weekend rates a little higher than weekday ones and up to eight guests per session. Guests arrive early to sign a waiver, remove their shoes and sanitize their hands, and food is not allowed in the cat area, though drinks are. Coffee comes from Jitters Coffee Pub next door. The gift shop sells locally made art, crystals and cat-themed goods.

• Adoptable cats

Costa Mesa, California · 77 mi / 124 km

Purrs ⁠‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌‌‌‌​​‌⁠in Paradise is a tropical-themed cat lounge at The CAMP, the outdoor retail center on Bristol Street in Costa Mesa. Founders Ben and Michelle Lioe opened it in September 2026, and it keeps around 15 adoptable cats in the lounge at a time, all placed through the nonprofit Friends of Normie Rescue. Visits are paid, timed sessions of about 30 minutes or an hour, booked online or taken as walk-ins when space allows; the lounge holds up to 10 guests at once. Shoes come off at the door and a waiver is required. Children 9 and under need one adult each, ages 10 to 14 need a supervising adult, and teens 15 to 17 can visit alone with a signed parental waiver. The front shop sells ice cream, cookies and treats separately from lounge entry, along with merchandise, and private events can be arranged.

• Adoptable cats
• Booking recommended