Nine Lives Cat Cafe
About us
Are you looking for a morning coffee spot? Want a place to meet with a friend for coffee and a pastry? Or maybe you're looking for the best dirty Chai in the city. Are you are looking for the perfect gift for someone and want to support the local artisans in our community?
Whether you're looking for cats, coffee, or both our little cafe in Fountain Square has something for everyone.
Love cats but your allergies don't? Come on in, grab your favorite drink, and watch the kitties play through the large windows in the cafe.
Nine Lives Cafe & Cat Lounge is located in the Fountain Square neighborhood in downtown Indianapolis. We are the first Cat Cafe in Indy and will be celebrating 9 years of business in January 2026! Cat cafe's have become increasingly popular in recent years, but there are a few unique traits that sets ours apart from the others. The first would be the care and attention we put into the cafe side (which is attached, but completely separate from the cat lounges). We take pride in offering artistically curated drinks, pastries from local bakeries, and consignment art from our local artists. Many of our consignment artists are also staff members at cafe.
You can participate in all of the comforts of a regular coffee shop, with the added bonus of a gift shop and small gallery, with or without feline interaction.
Of course a cat cafe wouldn't be complete complete without cats! What makes the cat side of our business so incredibly special is that it's centered around our non-profit foundation, IndyAdopts. IndyAdopts was founded in 2021 by the second set of owners to support the cats we foster at the cafe. When you buy from our cafe and reserve time in our lounges, you aren't just supporting one local business; you are supporting multiple rescues and shelters in the area, providing comfort and care to numerous cats, and helping us with our mission of reducing burden of overcrowding on our local shelters.
With a paid admission to the cat lounge, customers can enjoy snacks and beverages in the company of adoptable cats. Customers can choose to enjoy their drinks away from the cats, and then enter the Cat Lounge if they so choose; they can also watch the cats play while enjoying a drink or snack from the cafe. Cats will not, at any time, be allowed to enter the room where food and drinks are served; they always stay completely separate.
DO I NEED A RESERVATION TO GET INTO THE CAT LOUNGE?
To guarantee a spot in the Cat Lounge, we strongly recommend you make a reservation in advance. Walk-ins will be accepted when there is free space in the lounges.
Walk-ins are always welcome in our coffee shop.
When making a reservation, the number of available spots is the number that will be shown in the dropdown menu. We have strict rules for capacity as the health, wellness and safety of the cats and kittens is our NUMBER ONE priority.
DOES IT COST ANYTHING TO ENTER THE CAT LOUNGE?
There is a cover fee to enter the lounges. If you are familiar with the concept of cat cafes, you will know this is a common practice. The fees go directly to caring for the cats, as well as helping to defray the cost of running a large free-roaming cat room. Our management and IndyAdopts! volunteers ensure the health and welfare of the cats for 10 hours each day! By paying the cat lounge reservation fee, you help us keep cats safe and healthy in the lounges, and what's a cat cafe without the cats?
CAN I BRING MY OWN CAT IN?
The cats in residence at Nine Lives (except for Sora, Squidward, Sasha and Weeble, our Resident Cats) are adoptable from local rescues. To keep our cats and your cats healthy and stress-free, we do not allow customers to bring their own cats in.
Fun fact: cats bond with their environment!
WHY CAN'T I PICK UP CATS DURING MY VISIT?
Our fourth resident, Weeble, was unintentionally dropped while a child was holding him (against his will and in violation of our rules). He sustained a broken femur and had to have a $5300 reconstructive surgery (or have his leg removed, and due to his young age and excellent chances for recovery, we opted for the reconstruction). He also had to spend nine very long weeks in a kennel as a part of his recovery.
We cannot allow cats to be injured while in our care. The health, wellness and safety of the cats in residence is our number one priority!
WHY AREN''T CHILDREN ALLOWED AFTER 1PM?
Weeble, whose injury was just described above, was injured unintentionally due to a child picking him up against his will and in violation of our rules; he was dropped when the cat staff addressed the situation.
We discovered that cats 'power down' after 1pm, so the vibrant energy of children does not match that of sleeping cats. It's for your child's greatest enjoyment and our cats' greatest health, welfare and safety that we limit children under 13 years of age in order to appropriately match young peoples' energy and cats' energies. That means this: we welcome you and your well-behaved children to visit us! Please make your reservations during our all ages admitted hours: 10am and 1pm any day that we are open.
DOES NLCC ALWAYS HAVE KITTENS?
No, we don't. Kitten season generally runs from mid-June to mid-January. We may or may not have kittens at any given time, but it is more likely that we will host kittens during kitten season.
Mid-January through mid-June is the time that we host primarily adults. This is a very relaxing time in the lounges, and it allows our resident cats to shine! Adult cats can exhibit more shy qualities and may hide. All cats are worth spending time with! The cat staff on duty take time to introduce you to all of the cats in residence.