fREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT
THE CAFE
Do you have a full cafe? How can you do that with cats?
Yes, we do have a full cafe! We have an espresso machine, coffee, tea, and lots of fun non-coffee options, with a small seating area that is available to the public, just like a normal cafe. We’re too small to have a full kitchen (the cats demanded that we give most of the space to them!), but we have a variety of delicious pastries and snacks to go with our drinks!
The full menu can be viewed here.
We are able to have a cafe because the drink prep area is kept entirely separate from the cat lounge. (They even have different air systems!). Customers who sign up to enter the cat lounge may bring drinks into that space, we just ask that you don’t share with the cats!
Do I have to buy drinks? Does it cost extra?
You are not required to buy drinks when visiting the cat lounge, it’s optional if you would like to purchase something to enjoy while relaxing with the cats!
In the interest of keeping our cat lounge visits as affordable as possible, drinks and snacks are not included in the lounge visit fee. However, purchases of snacks and drinks also benefit the rescue cats, so don’t feel guilty about treating yourself!
Do you sell treats for the cats in the cafe?
No, we do not sell treats for the cats! We take their health seriously, so we do not want to incentivize overfeeding them. However, our cat lounge attendant may choose at their discretion to give out cat treats or a snack for the guests to give cats if they feel it’s in the cats’ best interest.
Where do you get your ingredients from?
We try to source as much of our products and services from local small businesses as we reasonably can! For example, we use:
- Mitchell’s Ice Cream
- Hartzler Dairy whole and chocolate milk
- Storehouse Tea
- Candy, some snacks and soda from Park2Shop
- Totally Sweet Baking
- Confectionary Coven
- Coffee roasted by us!
Most of our merch is sourced from local businesses as well, we even us a local trash removal company! Our goal is to continue trying to find even more local sources for as many of our products as possible.
Do you have vegan, gluten-free, nut-free, or dye-free options?
Yes! That being said, please let us know if you have any specific allergies so that we can double-check our tools, equipment, and ingredients. We cannot guarantee no cross-contamination for severe allergies, but we take them extremely seriously and will do our best.
We always have a milk alternative available (typically soy, almond, and oat) for no extra upcharge. Almost all of our food items are also vegan.
We also typically have 1 or 2 gluten-free pastry options as well.
Our pastries are all labeled with ingredients that indicate whether they contain major allergens such as nuts. However, they are not made in a nut-free facility. Similarly, while we are happy to check that drink ingredients don’t contain nuts and give our tools extra sanitization, we are not a completely nut-free facility.
Whenever possible, we also use products that are free from synthetic coloring. However, we sometimes need to make substitutions with what is available locally, so please double-check with our baristas.
Can I bring food or drinks with me?
It depends!
If you have pre-arranged it with us, we don’t mind if you bring food like pizza or cupcakes for private parties. In fact, we recommend it for special events, since our pastries vary from day-to-day. However, keep in mind that you only have a limited amount of time to enjoy the cat room and there are cats there that may try to swipe the food! We cannot guarantee cafe side seating since it’s available to the public. If that’s a deal breaker, consider adding an afterparty at another location instead!
We also don’t mind if our day pass guests want to bring food from home or restaurants, since you’re hanging so long!
We ask that guests do not bring outside drinks, since we’re a full service cafe and the drinks here support our cats!
Can I share my drinks and snacks with the cats?
No! Most of the delicious things in your drinks and snacks—milk, sugar, salt, chocolate, and more—are not good our feline friends. Don’t worry, there are plenty of other fun ways to engage with the cats!
What is your “Dumpster Cat” coffee?
Dumpster Cat is the roast that we use in all of our coffee and espresso drinks, created in 2025!
Eddie and Mandy personally roast it using an air roaster located at 28833 Euclid Ave in Willoughby, Ohio.
Air roasting (aka fluid bed roasting) creates a more vibrant, bright, and less bitter roast than traditional drum roasting. You can also typically enjoy better flavor clarity, as there is less damage to the bean and extraneous notes from the drum added during the process. Check out some videos online or follow our social media, it’s a super cool process!
We typically start with a Nicaraguan beans from Jinotega, Nicaragua. We usually stock from La Bastilla Coffee Estates, which is Rainforest Alliance Certified, meeting strict standards for environmental sustainability and human rights. If that’s out of stock, we will look for other farms with similar certifications/commitment to ethical practices.
We aim for the very light end of a medium roast, which we think creates the perfect balance between still being able to enjoy the subtler tasting notes, while rounding it out for “everyday” drinkability and flexibility in a wide variety of drinks from cold brew, to an everyday cup of joe, to a hot honey and oat latte, to our namesake affogato!
We named it “Dumpster Cat” because our coffee supports the 16-20 rescues that we foster, most of whom are usually “less adoptable” cats from the streets, humane cases, or other tough situations. Despite their sometimes rough appearances and backgrounds, people bond with these cats in our cozy environment and unexpectedly fall in love! Similarly, for some reason people are always pleasantly surprised that a cat cafe has such good coffee. Moral of the story: the best things come from unexpected places!