From as early as I can remember, I have dreamed of writing for a living. However, one of the downsides of realising that dream is the difficulty of finding the time to write for fun. As I embark on a big change from last year’s schedule, for 2019, I’m still working to find my balance, so please bear with me as I continue to adjust.

That said, my life is not all work and no play these days. Over the past few months, I’ve been hearing about Happy Tabby Cat Cafe in Atlanta, and naturally, as a renowned cat lady, was dying to check it out for myself. Well, last week Wednesday I finally had the chance to drop by.

The Fun

Happy Tabby Cat Cafe is half a cafe and half an adoption centre for cats. By allowing the public to come in and pay to play with the animals, the organisation provides their felines with the opportunity to interact with humans, while they wait for someone to fall in love with them and take them home.

If you’re worried about hygiene, fret not. The cats are kept in a separate space from the coffee and wine, and there is a sanitising station that you’re expected to use before and after entering the cat’s play space. Inside the play area, I was very impressed by how clean the space was, with minimal shedding and not a single whiff of a litter box.

In short, this is not your usual animal shelter. It feels very much like home, if like me, you keep a clean one. It was so much like home for one very special kitty, apparently, that as soon as I set my jacket down, Marcus hopped up, and made himself comfortable. He lay there for the majority of my visit. He reminds me so much of Shadow!

There was another black kitty present as well, by the name Rorschach, who enjoyed cuddling up on this floral-patterned armchair. Isn’t he adorable? I absolutely love black cats! Don’t you?

Unfortunately, most people will answer no to that. Black cats (and dogs!) remain the least loved of shelter animals, the least likely to be adopted, and the most likely to be put down. Please help us change that.

Once I had introduced myself to these regal black kitties, I moved on to see what the other adorable felines were getting up to.

Lemondrop was curled up behind me on the bench I had been sitting on. Believe it or not, she stayed there for the entire two hours of my visit. I was told her favourite hobby is sleeping, and I believe it! If you’re looking for a laid-back low-maintenance kitty, here’s your girl!

I then met one of two resident cats at Happy Tabby. This Maine Coon shares her permanent residency position with a beautiful, cross-eyed Siamese. Look at those pretty eyes!

Sharing the kitty loft with this blue-eyed beauty was another sleeping ginger. Doesn’t that outstretched paw just give you the warm and fuzzies?

After this pink-footed baby panther, I had the pleasure of meeting this tabby who handsomely posed for my picture. He’s a natural!

Just overhead was another adorable tabby who was fighting sleep and losing.

Naturally, these were not all the cats at the shelter, but these were the ones who stayed still for long enough to be photographed. For a full list of their available felines, please see the Happy Tabby Cat Cafe website.

The Logistics

Location & Parking

Happy Tabby Cat Cafe is located in Atlanta’s historic Old Fourth Ward at:

529 Irwin St NE
Atlanta, Georgia

Thanks to the power of GPS, I was able to find the location with relative ease. However, parking is where things get tricky. You will need to resort to street parking, which thankfully, is free. When I arrived at 5:00 PM on a Wednesday, there were plenty of spots for the taking, but I don’t know how that might change on a different day or time.

Opening Hours

To ensure you don’t show up to be locked out from seeing adorable kitties, be sure to double-check their opening hours.

• Monday & Tuesday: CLOSED
• Wednesday to Friday: 12:00 PM to 8:00 PM
• Saturday: 10:00 AM to 8:00 PM
• Sunday: 11:00 AM to 6:00 PM

Cost

Petting adorable kitties is not free. On the day I showed up, I was charged $8 for the first hour and then $5 for every hour thereafter. However, do keep in mind that this helps to cover the cost of housing these lovelies!

Coffee is also available and the company is in the process of renewing their rights to sell wine, which should be resolved by now.

…

If you live in or around the Atlanta area and you’re looking for a well-socialised feline to take home, I strongly recommend dropping by. If you have recently moved to Atlanta and miss the pets you couldn’t take with you, this spot is also for you. The kitties can’t wait to see you!

Atlanta Travel Guide Posts

This year, because I’ll be spending more time in Georgia than usual, I will be doing a lot of Things to Do in Atlanta posts. For more regular readers, if you live in Atlanta or plan to visit and would like a firsthand review of specific places, feel free to make suggestions via the comments, below. I’ll pick the ones that best suit my hobbies and check them out.

Additionally, if you or someone you know owns a business or non-profit and would like to be featured via a promotional post on my website, please email me for details. This post, however, was not a sponsored post. In fact, they have no idea I have written this. I would never charge a non-profit for a feature on my website—especially when there are cute kitties to see when I drop by.

Thanks for reading!