fREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT
VISITING
Do I need to make a reservation?
Cat Lounge reservations are not required but are HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. You can book online here.
We have a strict cat lounge capacity designed to help reduce the cats’ stress and help our guests have a great time. If other guests have booked all of these spaces online ahead of time, we will not be able to accommodate your walk-in booking. No exceptions, even if it’s your birthday or you drove from 3 hours away.
Not the “planning ahead” type? We totally get it. You can still reference the scheduler anytime to see how busy we are. It updates automatically and in real-time. No spots listed at a time? We’re full, the cat lounge is closed, or it’s less than 15 minutes before the reservation starts.
If you prefer a walk-in, our weekday morning visits for teens and adults are the best time to come. While we still can’t guarantee space without a reservation, these times tend to be less busy in general so we typically have room, unlike Saturdays and Sundays which are often booked up in advance. As a bonus, weekday mornings are also discounted!
The cafe side operates like a normal coffee shop, no reservations needed. Skip the Siren, get coffee and snacks here to support the cats!
Can I bring kids?
For safety reasons and so that all guests can have a more predictable experience (play dates and romantic dates don’t tend to mix well!), we have strict age policies with NO EXCEPTIONS.
Age 18+: No restrictions.
Age 16+: May visit without parent, but parent must approve waiver when signing up.
Age 13-15: May visit any day with an accompanying adult who also has a reservation and has obtained parental consent for the waiver. There must be 1 adult for every 3 kids.
Age 12 and under: May only visit in “all ages” hangouts and events, with parental consent for the waiver and an accompanying adult who also has a reservation. These are always Sundays unless otherwise specified on the scheduler. There must be 1 adult for every 3 kids.
All guests take up space in our cat room and require supervision by our attendants, so all guests including babies and toddlers must have a paid reservation and count towards our room capacity.
Again, the capacity, supervision, and age policies are strict for safety and the quality of everyone’s experience, so we may turn away or apply an extra charge for groups that bring an extra person when we’re already at capacity, don’t bring sufficient adult supervision, etc.
We understand that these policies may feel restrictive, but we love kids and tailor the experience on our “all ages” day to try and make the cat lounge extra safe and fun for our youngest guests!
Do I have to adopt?
No! While our ultimate goal is to find homes for the cats, it is not expected, and most of our guests just come to spend time with the cats. It’s win-win, as you get feline friendship without the responsibility, and the cats get a homey environment, attention, and stimulating playtime that they wouldn’t get in a kennel cage.
Where should I park?
Except for Sundays, Russian Orthodox holidays, and major Tremont events, you may disregard the tow-away signs and park in the lot directly behind our building. It’s shared with our kind neighbors at St. Theodosius, who own the lot.
Other days, there is free street parking all over Tremont, just be sure not to block any driveways or hydrants. The nearest streets are Starkweather Ave, Professor Ave, St. Olga, and W.7th St.
There are also many rideshare options, or a bike rack and a bus stop right out front!
We recommend aiming to arrive about 15 minutes early to account for parking on the weekends. We are not responsible for the lot or street parking, so please be sure to secure your car and belongings.
Is the cat cafe accessible and inclusive?
We strive to make the cafe and cat lounge as accessible as possible. It’s an old building and we’re renters, so there are some limits to what we can do, but we always welcome ideas to improve our space for everyone to feel comfortable!
The parking is in the back of the building and there is no back entrance, so we recommend getting dropped off in front if walking about half a block would be difficult. There are no steps between the parking lot and sidewalk on our side of the building.
At the entrance, there are two small stairs. There is a doorbell that you can ring from the front sidewalk to call us out. We can take orders and chat there (for example, if you have a dog that can’t come in), or we have simple ramps that we can easily put down if you’d like to come in and need them to pass the stairs!
Once inside, the entire cafe and most of the cat lounge is all one level. The only part with a step up is our cat lounge back room, which is typically closed anyways to give the cats an area to retreat, and contains the cats’ litter boxes. Almost all furniture in the cat lounge can be quickly and easily moved so that all guests can access the cats and amenities better!
The restroom in the cafe side is smaller and does not have a grab bar, while the restroom in the cat lounge is larger and does have a grab bar. Even if you are not signed up for the cat lounge, we don’t mind letting customers use the more accessible restroom upon request.
We typically keep a whiteboard behind the counter for guests who find it easier to communicate that way, or we don’t mind if you prefer to write to us in your own notebook. We tend to speak very quickly due to the sheer amount of info we must share with each guest, but if you ask us nicely, we don’t mind slowing down. (Some of us struggle a bit with auditory processing disorder too!)
If you are a person who doesn’t enjoy a busy environment, we strongly recommend avoiding the cafe on the weekends when we are most busy. Wednesday and Thursday tend to be our slowest days. Alternatively, you can book a “Private Party” and hang out with the cats by yourself or with trusted friends! In a private booking, we can turn off the music and ask our cat lounge attendant to not be very chatty if you prefer! (You can ask us in person, email us ahead of time, or put it on the waiver while booking!)
If you have food allergies, please let us know when ordering! We take them extremely seriously. You can also check out the full menu on our site, and text or email us to ask about ingredients ahead of time if you would like!
We require a legal name for the waiver, but don’t mind at all if you want to include a preferred name or pronouns too!
Our staff, including ownership, are people in the LGBTQIA+, Latine, and/or neurodivergent communities. We are a private business who can and will ask those who are disrespectful to our staff or other guests to leave, particularly any instances of racism, misogyny, transphobia, homophobia, etc.
Do I have to pay to visit the cats?
Yes, all guests must pay the cover charge to visit the cats, whether you book online or try a walk-in.
affoGATO Cat Cafe is almost entirely funded through our cat lounge visits. We are not part of the shelter and do not receive adoption fees or monetary donations from them. It costs us a lot of money to keep the foster cats and our guests happy, healthy, and safe.
Each entry fee allows us to keep our doors open to care for and find homes for cats. While some may think it’s silly to “pay to pet cats”, the cover charge is what makes our work possible.
Our prior “meet and greet” system was abused, so the cover charge includes prospective adopters’ visits as well. If you don’t want to pay to visit in-person, you may view the cats on our weekly free videos, on their profile page, or visit a more typical shelter environment such as the main Cleveland APL building!
Do you host parties?
Yes, we are happy to host small parties, and frequently host birthdays and bachelorettes. Here are some helpful tips:
- We’re a small, quiet space, best for chill events. The max capacity in our cat lounge is 10 people.
- Events with kids under 13 MUST have at least 1 adult for every 3 kids (so a max of 7 kids and 3 adults), NO EXCEPTIONS. We may turn away your group or charge a penalty at our discretion if you break the capacity or adults to kids ratio without consulting us ahead of time.
- You can bring party food like pizza or cupcakes, but we recommend booking 2 consecutive appointments (a little over an hour total) if you plan to do so, to allow time and space to enjoy them. We cannot guarantee cafe seating before or after your cat lounge visit since our small cafe side is open to the public too! Please don’t bring drinks since we’re a full service cafe. There are many excellent restaurants nearby if you prefer to enjoy food and cake at a more relaxed pace without the cats trying to steal your goodies. We’re happy to make recommendations!
- Our scheduler opens exactly 28 days in advance to best ensure that we can honor all bookings.
- If you have other requests, please email us and we’re happy to chat more about it!
Can I cancel or reschedule?
You have until 3 hours prior to the start of your reservation to notify us if you would like to cancel or reschedule your visit. If you let us know by this time, we are happy to refund or reschedule you. A text, email, or voicemail all suffice as notice, so it’s ok to reach out asap, even while we’re closed!
We are often fully booked and cannot “bump” appointments back a few minutes on short notice, especially in the evenings and on weekends. We have held that spot for you, preventing others from booking it. So please give yourself plenty of time to get to us (we are near downtown, the highways are often busy!), or reschedule for another day if your schedule or the weather becomes a concern.
Can I bring my cat/dog/service animal?
No, we have plenty of cute animals here! Our cats all mingle together and have received vet and behavioral exams prior to coming here, so it’s best that we don’t mix other animals into the equation. Our baristas love to see pictures though!
We also cannot allow service animals into our space for the same reason, and because we nearly always have a few cats that are very afraid of dogs, so even the best behaved dogs would be disruptive.
However, we would love to host your dogs, travel cats, and other cute pets outside of our space! We have a doorbell outside of the cafe door specifically to call us out to take your order while with hanging out with your furry friend! We have benches outside, the Beauty Bar next door has a lovely community patio, and there are multiple parks in Tremont to enjoy your drinks and a free pup cup!
fREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT
THE CATS
Where do the cats come from?
All of the cats at affoGATO are adoptable fosters from the Cleveland Animal Protective League. We typically house between 16-20 of their cats, and care for them in our space until we can find their fur-ever home! We are not part of the Cleveland APL, but work super closely with them.
How do you pick which cats come to the cafe?
Luckily, we don’t have to pick! The awesome staff over at the Cleveland APL tries to curate the best mix of purrsonalities for the cafe. We usually aim to have mostly “less adoptable” cats, such as middle age and senior cats, mom cats, cats with previous or chronic health needs, bonded pairs, “boring” tabbies, etc. We rarely have kittens or “special breeds”.
We usually have a mix of outgoing cats and nervous cats that have been sent to us to help with their socialization outside of a stressful shelter environment.
That being said, we can submit requests to the shelter, so if you know an APL cat that might be a great fit, let us know!
How do I adopt?
Get to know the cats! You can:
- Schedule an in-person visit here (“Cat Lounge Hangout”)
- Read the cats’ profiles on our website
- Watch our free videos on Twitch
Apply to adopt! Click here and select the option near the bottom of the page that says “Adoption Application”, or apply directly through the Cleveland APL. It’s free and not a commitment to adopt. The application just gives us the info needed to ensure that it’s a good match, and that we can have a productive discussion! You also don’t need to list a specific cat yet if you’re filling it out in advance of a visit, or you may list multiple cats if you haven’t decided yet!
Chat with us! If you’re at the cafe and have time, we’d love to chat in person instead of playing phone tag. If you don’t plan to visit, would like to learn more info before scheduling a visit, or apply after visiting, then we’ll just give you a call! We typically call applicants in the order that they are received, with priority given to people who have visited the cats at the cafe. If we miss you, we’ll always leave a voicemail, so please ensure that your voicemail is set up and has space.
Take your new friend home! Depending on staffing, how busy the cafe is, and the cat, you may not be able to take your cat home right away. (Don’t fur-get, most cats are not excited about going in a carrier, and we want it to be as stress-free as possible for all involved!) That being said, we also cannot do long-term holds, and cats must generally go home within a couple of days of committing to adoption. Taking all of this into account, we will work with you to arrange a date and time that works for everyone! At that pick-up time, we will:
- Have you sign the Cleveland APL’s adoption paperwork
- Send out your copies automatically via an email from Petzel
- Have you pay the adoption fee which goes entirely to the APL, either cash or card
- Give you a sample bag of Hill’s Science Diet, along with any critical items for your cat such as medications
- Put the cat in the carrier for you. Feel free to bring your own, buy one from us, or use a free temporary cardboard carrier
- Beg you to send us updates about your cat. Email us, text us, or tag us, we just love to see them happy at home!
Can I bring my cat/dog/service animal to visit?
No, we have plenty of cute animals here! Our cats all mingle together and have received vet and behavioral exams prior to coming here, so it’s best that we don’t mix other animals into the equation. Our baristas love to see pictures though!
We also cannot allow service animals into our space for the same reason, and because we nearly always have a few cats that are very afraid of dogs, so even the best behaved dogs would be disruptive.
However, we would love to host your dogs, travel cats, and other cute pets outside of our space! We have a doorbell outside of the cafe door specifically to call us out to take your order while with hanging out with your furry friend! We have benches outside, the Beauty Bar next door has a lovely community patio, and there are multiple parks in Tremont to enjoy your drinks and a free pup cup!
Can I rehome a cat with you? / I found a cat!
No, we cannot process cat admissions directly. All of the cats here live in a room together after receiving vet care and behavioral assessments from the Cleveland Animal Protective League. If we introduced cats that haven’t received the same care, it could lead to outbreaks of disease such as FeLV, ringworm, parasites, etc.
Instead, we encourage people to call or email the Cleveland APL using this intake information, or find the nearest shelter if you’re located outside of Cuyahoga County.
If the cat in question was knowingly abandoned, neglected, or subject to other cruelty, please contact Humane Investigations instead.
Many shelters have wait times for admissions, so that they can ensure good quality care for all of the animals that they are housing. We recommend that you take the earliest possible appointment, as you can always cancel if you figure something else out!
If you are truly unable to wait, you can try asking family and friends, other shelters, or online resources like your neighborhood Facebook page or the Weirdo Cat Lovers of Cleveland Facebook page, the Cleveland subreddit, etc. People are often more willing to foster if there is already a scheduled “end date” of shelter admission.
That being said, we humbly ask you to consider fostering the rescue yourself if at all possible, and to help with Trap Neuter Release, particularly in the “off seasons” of Fall and Winter when there’s more shelter space. Bathrooms and spare bedrooms make great foster spaces, and there are lots of helpful tips on Kitten Lady and Jackson Galaxy for the inexperienced. We know it’s inconvenient (we all do a lot of fostering at home too), but if everyone does their part, the community can save a lot more cats!
affoGATO can sometimes help with lending out basic TNR or foster supplies like traps, carriers, food, a litter box, etc. If you’re willing to do your part in rescuing the strays of Cleveland, we’re happy to try and help you in that endeavor too! Reach out to [email protected] or text 440-941-5130 and we’ll see what we can do.
Can I donate stuff for the cats?
Yes, just check with us first please to ensure we have space if it’s a large item like a cat tree! The easiest way is to text 440-941-5130 or email [email protected].
We are generally happy to accept wet and dry food, excellent condition and clean cat beds and trees, and unused cat toys. If we receive things we can’t use, we usually donate them to the APL to use at the shelter or distribute to fosters!
We also have an Amazon Wishlist that is prioritized by need.
Finally, monetary gifts are always welcome, as it gives us flexibility for unexpected cat supplies, medical needs, staffing for care, and our cat lounge utilities and rent. We have a donation option on the site, or Venmo @affogatocatcafe.
We are not a 510(c)3, so donations are not tax-deductible. If you are seeking to make a donation to one specifically, we recommend the Cleveland APL (for example, asking us to sponsor an APL cat that’s living here), or we can recommend other local organizations based on the cat-related need you’re hoping to support!
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!
fREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT
OTHER STUFF
Why are you called “affoGATO”?
Because we love terrible puns! (Have you seen our cafe menu?)
“Affogato” is an Italian coffee drink made with espresso and ice cream or gelato. “Gato” means cat in Spanish. (We are of Puerto Rican descent.) So it’s just a silly name that combines cats and coffee!
Yes, we do serve affogato at the cafe, it’s delicious!
Do you have any other locations?
No, we do not! While we like to think that our logo and site come across as pretty professional, we are actually a very small, family-owned business! When you come in, you’ll almost always end up chatting with at least one owner working alongside our awesome staff. While we’d love to expand to help even more cats, we’re currently focused on maintaining the best possible experience for people and cats at our original location in Cleveland, OH!
Since we opened in 2019, a few cat cafes have opened with very similar names to ours. But there is no relation, and as far as we know, we were the first affoGATO Cat Cafe!
Are you hiring?
No, we are not currently hiring! If one of our staff leaves and we decide to hire, we will post on our social media, so be sure to follow us there.
What’s worse than raining cats and dogs?
Hailing taxis!
Do you know what’s even worse? Asking us the same questions over and over again! As a reward for reading the FAQ to avoid that, enjoy $1 off your reservation with the code READINGREWARD.