New Jerseys Not So Bad: Catfé Montclair

As part of my grand plan to convince the world (and myself) that living in New Jersey isn’t so bad, I am exploring restaurants, coffee shops, and other places that make the Garden State great. 

A café with cats? That sounds pretty great to me.

About two months ago, my friend Emma and I sat in the window of one of our favorite coffee shops. We started to notice people walking past with cats in carriers. There were so many people that I had to say something to Emma. I couldn’t believe how many cats were being carried! I told her that there must be a cat cafe nearby! When we were in college, we both went to cat cafés, so there has to be one nearby.

It took me about two seconds to realize there was a vet up the road. The owners were bringing their cats to the vet. Not some café to sip warm milk and eat treats.

But, to our surprise, a cat café did open nearby. Literally called Catfé Montclair. Not only was it open, it just opened a few weeks before we were sitting in that coffee shop window watching the cats go by. I think we manifested this catfé into existence.

We took this sign from the universe, booked our appointment for a week later, and showed up at the best place on Earth.

Although it's located on the main street of Montclair at 356 Bloomfield Ave., the sign is near the top of the building and the door is the entrance for multiple businesses, making the entrance a bit hard to find.

You enter and walk up a flight of stairs where signs lead you to the right place. The main entrance to the catfé leads to a foyer with a glass window looking into the Cat Lounge. This foyer is filled with merchandise for sale including sweatshirts, t-shirts, mugs, and stickers. There is a self-serve coffee bar featuring a Keurig with coffee, tea, and hot chocolate options. There is a complimentary hot drink with the admission fee and cold drinks are served at a low price.

The admission prices vary based on time. A 30-minute session is $12 per person and there is a minimum age requirement of 7 years old. A 60-minute session is $24 per person and there is a minimum age requirement of 12 years old.

They only allow a certain number of guests in the Cat Lounge for each session, so you must purchase a ticket before arriving. Reservations can be up to six people per session, if you have a group larger than six people, you will need to email them and book a private experience.

The Cat Lounge is one large room with a few seats lining the room. Cat toys and scratch castles are put in the room for the cats to play with at their leisure. We went late in the day so the cats were sleeping.

Good thing we booked an hour-long session.

We watched the cats sleep and waited for them to wake up. Slowly, they did. One by one they woke up and realized people in the room who wanted to play with them.

The cats are friendly and playful, especially since most are kittens. They aren’t shy by any means and they love the attention. The best part of it all is that if you fall in love with a kitten, you can take them home. Not that day, obviously, but you can initiate the adoption process. If you can’t fully commit just yet, fostering is another option offered through this organization.

Catfé Montclair is a new form of adoption and pet care. It introduces friendly, playful cats with loving and caring owners and lets visitors play with cute animals. Stress melts from your body the moment you walk into the Cat Lounge. This is truly a win-win for everyone involved.

I highly suggest taking the time to visit Catfé Montclair and spend time playing with the friendliest, cutest kittens to ever walk the face of the earth.

Check out the Instagram page to see the video I made from my time at the catfé: @wontshutup_