Nine Lives Cat Cafe - Indianapolis, Indiana

Naptown, what?!  I promise this review will not be bias because it's in the city I live.

When I found out Indy (locals refer to Indianapolis as "Indy") was getting a cat cafe, I was super pumped.  Indy would no longer mirror its sister Midwestern cities because it would stand out as being a lover of cats and cat people.  Dog lovers, move aside - there's a new cat in town - Nine Lives.

Nine Lives Cat Cafe is located in the Fountain Square neighborhood just southeast of downtown Indy, so you can indulge in some great local cuisine and libations before/after the cat cafe.  I would suggest going later in the evening as it's past most people's bedtimes and the cats are VERY playful at night.  If you're allergic to cats, fear not - Nine Lives has a nice little windowed wall partition to separate its cats from the cafe portion of its establishment where you can happily view the adoptable kitties whilst sipping an iced chai tea latte with a locally baked sidekick.  Footnote:  some cat cafes have a tough time getting started because they have to be compliant with health codes (i.e. selling things you eat/drink around animals), so some have delayed openings while they try to raise funds to be able to build the proper partitions.

Once you pay the $5/person cover charge, you get to visit with the cats for one hour.  Nine Lives is decked out in old lady looking furniture (i.e. "mature" fittings), cat perches and shelving, a haunted kitty house, toys sprawled out everywhere, framed cat pictures and even a furry papasan.  While there is a rule against picking up the cats, it's not 100% forbidden.  Just ask one of the nice workers in the room if you can pick up a kitty and they'll let you know if it's OK.  I've always been given the green light, so that makes me happy.

There's usually light music playing in the background for your audible entertainment and plenty of reading material around to catch up on cat body language articles.  Plus, Nine Lives also hosts an abundance of events inside the cat lounge including cat yoga, stand up comedy and a cuteness overload party known as a kitten adoption event.

Come visit Indy, check out Nine Lives and adopt on!

<3 B

Nine Lives Cat Cafe is located at 1315 Shelby Street, #1, Indianapolis, Indiana 46203 and reservations are recommended.  www.ninelivesindy.com