River Kitty Cat Café
So I have a friend that lives in Evansville, Indiana. She is a stay-at-home mom to Rori’s betrothed fiancée (that wording seems redundant but whatever grammar Nazi). She and her husband moved there because of his work and she hates it. She doesn’t know anyone in the town and talks about how small and boring the town is. Since Rori is about four months old, I felt like we were finally sane enough to drive the two and a half hours over the state line and go for a weekend visit. At this point Rori was having withdrawals from her boyfriend, Jude.
While there we ate some amazing food and drank some amazing drinks.
Our friends were on the keto diet but it didn’t take much to talk them into cheating (we are those types of friends). Evansville was amazing! They had restaurants and bars within walking distance to their sweet little condo. The part of town they lived in was so trendy and a lot of the houses were old Victorian houses that had been recently renovated which were breathtaking. The downtown area was growing and parts of it had recently been redone and they had some interesting shops. From a previous podcast, we had discussed animal cafes so one place stood out in particular.
The River Kitty Cat Café (yeah that name seems redundant too but nobody is yelling at them) was nestled in between a restaurant and across the street from a gourmet grocery store. After dinner I talked everyone into going in for a look.
I am allergic to cats, however, it seemed like I needed to do research for the podcast.
I mean…. We had discussed it and none of us had been inside one yet. I don’t usually have a reaction immediately… only if I am around cats for an extended period of time.
The outside of the cat café had little tables and chairs for people to sit outside. I assume for those allergic to cats or maybe for those who don’t like cats?
Any-who, the inside was a very narrow long room with a smaller glass room to the side where the cats were held. There register was all the way to the back. They sold coffee, wine (take note Nashville kitty café) and macaroons.
Sidebar… I don’t get the infatuation with macaroons. Yes they are adorable and the flavors are so intriguing and interesting but the texture and the cookie flavor is not that great. Before you say anything, yes, I have tried macaroons more than once and even at some fancy shops. The River Kitty Cat Café had them flown in from New York for God’s sakes! They had an assortment of flavors and the colors were vibrant and enticing. I bought four intriguing flavors. I didn’t want to go into the “kitty room” without buying anything. That seemed rude. Plus the people I was with were nestled in the corner talking about who knows what and were not excited at all about the cats (plus they had two infants with them – Rori and Jude). Anyway, this place had amazing ones (if you are into that sort of thing) and lots of flavors.
I talked to the owner and she was very nice and informative. She said I could go into the kitty room when another person came out (not too many people in at once). She also said I could not take my baby. At first I was upset.
Didn’t my four year old need to see and play with the kitties?!
Would she laugh out loud and love them so much we would have to take one home and I would have to deal with my allergies?
Then I remembered she was four months old and could care less about our 85-pound dog so she probably wouldn’t pay any attention to 10 pound cats.
The café had a disinfection station outside of the room and then there were double doors with a middle room in between. At the time I wasn’t sure if it was to make sure the kitties did not escape or to keep the cat smell out. I walked into the second door ready to be accosted by the cat smell. You know…. The dander, kitty litter, poop smell. There was none! I shit you not! They had maybe eight cats, probably more, and there was no smell! I chased some kitties around but made sure not to touch any. Cats are one of the most evil creatures on the Earth so I didn’t want to get mauled.
There were people holding and playing with the kitties, however, I am not sure if they were seriously debating on whether to adopt one or they were getting their dose of catdom. Maybe they lived in an apartment and couldn’t have cats. Maybe their significant other was allergic and they couldn’t bring one home. Whatever the reason, it seemed a great alternative.
It also seemed like a great adoption technique so potential cat seekers could play with the cats for an extended period of time to make sure they were bringing home a devil kitty that would claw their face off at night.
I still have a lot of questions though. Were do the cats poop? I didn’t see any kitty litter boxes. Do they replace the kitties each day? Or are they the same kitties until they get adopted?
Anyway, you def need to check out this place if you are in the area! And they have a live kitty cam!
River Kitty Cat Café
226 Main Street
Evansville, Indiana