My wife and I spent a few days in St. Augustine earlier this week. We decided to go there instead of Nova Scotia, where we planned on going until COVID put an end to that idea. If anyone is looking for a good place to go on vacation, St. Augustine is a great choice. If you do decide to visit St. Augustine, be sure to plan a visit to the Frisky Cat Cafe. You won’t regret it.
I noticed it in passing on Wednesday morning as we were heading to Tuesday Morning. Our destination was not important but in this case it sounds funny to say it. I suggested to my wife that we check it out later and on the way back we did just that.
The place is located in a retail plaza at 1092 S Ponce De Leon Blvd. It must be fairly new because when I looked on Google Street View it wasn’t there.
Inside there is a cafe that sells coffee drinks and pastries. I’m not a big fan of pastries so I just got an iced coffee.
The cats are in a separate room and there is a fee of, if I remember right, $10 for an hour-long visit. The fee is like a donation that helps pay for the care of the cats. We paid for our coffees and for the visit and went into the cat room. A reservation is recommended but we came at a good time and didn’t need one. If you do decide to go make sure they are open first. I believe COVID has limited their hours somewhat.
It was well designed for both kitties and humans. I especially like what they did with plain cardboard boxes. I want to do that in my house but I don’t have the room.
The barista soon brought us our drinks and during the course of our visit, we had a chance to talk more about the Kitty Cafe. It turns out she was not just the barista but also the founder of the cafe and the organization that it helps, Small Lives Matter Kitten Rescue. She told us that they help pull cats and kittens from high-risk kill shelters. The ones that are sociable go to the cafe where they can be adopted. The ones that are less sociable will go to Petsmart where they will get noticed more easily.
I do think that having one or two shy cats in the cafe is actually a good idea becase a shy cat in a group of outgoing cats sticks out like a sore thumb. This calico, for example, was somewhat shy and the girl that was here before us was planning on adopting her.
I checked out the cafe’s website and their about page says this:
We are a cause-focused business, which means that our business operates in order to support our cause to save the lives of homeless cats and kittens.
The cat experience fees enable us to pay for housing, medical care, spay and neuter surgeries, food, and supplies for these cats that are looking for a home for life. Using a cat café business model allows us to support Small Lives Matter Kittens Rescue and their work. This partnership provides the rescue with a full-time foster home where the cats may stay and provide the funding to pay for their care.
We need visitors and we will fail without your support.
When we were there, there were mostly kittens in the cafe, which makes sense because it is a kitten rescue organization. Many were very playful.
Some were resting.
Others were just hanging out looking cute.
One little girl paid so much attention to my wife that she decided she wanted to adopt her. The only problem was that we were not only hundreds of miles from home but our next stop was Melbourne to visit Rose’s Dad. It just wasn’t possible to bring a cat with us.
While we were there we enjoyed a few laughs too. How can you not with a room full of kittens?
I think the funniest thing was the interest that the cats showed in my coffee.
It was as if they were addicted to coffee and this was a coffee rehab center.
Another funny incident happened when one of the kittens noticed the cat food container was left open.
Soon, others took notice.
After a good long visit we said goodbye to the kitties and went back to our hotel, but the visit remains one of the highlights of our trip.
If you are planning a visit to St. Augustine I encourage you to visit Frisky Cat Cafe. If you can’t visit, perhaps you will consider a small donation to help them out. If you click here it will bring you to their donation page.
What do you think? Would you visit this place? Have you visited another cat cafe. I’d love to hear what you think.
Bad Cat Chris 
That place does look like lots of fun and all of those sweet faces I’m sure make you smile lots! Saint Augustine is a very pretty place to visit.
I think if I couldn’t have cats I would want to hang out there.
Wow that looks like fun! I’d love to experience kittens for a brief time now that ours are grown. If I could get out and do things, that would be my idea of a grand way to spend an afternoon!
It’s like kitten therapy.
Fantastic review. Thanks for all the photos!
Thank you for the comment.
What a bunch of adorable little kittens and what a beautiful set-up the cafe has for them. Lots of room for them, toys, perches and holes/boxes to play in. I’m so happy there are places like this to help get adoptions going for animals pulled from shelters. They are able to socialize with other cats AND humans too which is tough in a shelter. Glad you had fun. I’ve never been to one but would if I could. Too bad Rose couldn’t get the little girl kitty!
Pam
Thanks. Pam. They are essentially fostering these kitties in an enviroment that is very cat friendly.
That looks like a nice cat cafe. Lots of fun things for all the cats to do.
It really is a great place.
If my human was in the area, she would definitely want to stop by!
The only downside to cat cafes for me is… I have to stay in the hotel room and can’t come along!
Yes, that is the one drawback.
I love all these photos. The ones of the kitties near the coffee are extra cute.
Thanks, I saved one for later. 🙂
Wow! I love your post. As the owner, it brings me to tears ….. not only did you get the cafe concept, but you enjoyed every tiny creature during your visit. I love my days there and I am so glad you gave us a visit.
I would imagine that what you do is very satisfying, and fun sometimes too. I volunteer at a shelter because I enjoy interacting with the cats but I only do that one day a week.
I remember reading about a library, not long ago, that kept cats. They had the run of the place with soft couches and, sleeping beds around the books and shelves. Come in, read a book and adopt a cat.
Loved the pix. Cute babies.
That is another good idea.
I think this is the place I was reading about:
https://www.insider.com/otis-and-clementines-bookstore-kittens-up-for-adoption-2020-1#helmke-told-insider-that-she-started-fostering-kittens-at-her-bookstore-in-an-effort-to-provide-them-with-a-temporary-home-until-they-could-be-adopted-3
That is interesting. It makes me think many businesses can adopt that model
Oh, I would spend so much money there if we had a place like that.. What wonderful idea! Thanks for visiting my blog and leaving frequent comments! And if you ever get up to the Outer Banks of NC, hubby and I will definitely take you for a tour on the 4-wheel drive beach to see the horses!
That would be awesome.
I Love set. Augustine and now I have another reason to visit. I love the third-from-the-bottom picture of the kitten walking on the kibble.
That was funny to see.
The place looks amazing. Hopefully, those kittens will find good furever homes. 😊
It’s a good thing they feature homeless cats for adoption. Cat cafes in my city are all about cats with breed. I guess people here won’t pay to be with cats that they find on the streets all the time. But they would pay to be with persian cats and other breeds that they won’t see otherwise. 😪
I think people are the same everywhere. If someone put average homeless kitties in a cafe near you, I think many people would be interested in going to see them. I think most people are always interested in helping a good cause if they can.