My Kitty Cafe — Restaurant in Guelph

Go for the kittens. Save the kittens. I loved the concept and I give credit where credit is due; the cats are well taken care of. We arrived a good 5 minutes before our booked time to ensure we had our full 50 minutes of time. There was another customer asking questions when we arrived, so we browsed the cute little cat themed items for sale. You are given this little alarm that beeps once your 50 minutes are up. We didn't end up being allowed into the back room until 5 minutes past our booked time.

I think the owner is honestly what messes this whole place up for me. There are people that just don't have customer service, she is one of them. She strolled in while we were relaxing on the couch and the interaction was pleasant enough. However her first go to for small talk is complaining about other customers who experienced disappointment during their previous visits. This is a first flag. Clearly looking for validation for the choices she has made that frankly benefit the cats.

We were in the back with another 2 ladies whose alarm went off at 10:50 am. They proceeded to pack up and leave. They were there before us. At this point the owner tells us our time is about up as those other girls were here for 50 minutes like us. When we told her our beeper didn't go off, she then blames the girl at the front counter for never using it properly as to why our beeper hadn't gone off. She assumed we were late and stated they dont extend time to those who were late, which was not the case...we were early and expected our time to start once we were in the back (especially because the hold up was not due to us). The other couple arrived early she explained...so then they rightfully got extra time? But we were just told they don't give extra time? She then said there were others waiting. The website said they accommodate 10 people in the back. When we got up to leave, there was literally 2 people in the store....had the store owner allowed us our paid for 50 minutes we wouldn't have been over crowded. It just didn't seem like a fight to me?

It's not something I was going to argue about as we already decided to not spend further money there. She asked me if i had a problem to which i said no and thanked her. When we tried to explain everything she was very argumentative and you could feel the aura of the room shift. Acting like a crowd of people were waiting. , then fix your booking system. We went with the intent to purchase something for the road and left just disappointed. Feeling like we were accused of stealing time we paid for when it wasn't our fault we didn't get our paid for time...everyone is cut off at 50 minutes...except for the couple ahead of us? Then excuses about people waiting for us to leave when she wasn't at capacity. Then blaming the store front girl instead of just using technology that works properly then?

It's a lovely idea, but the experience is not what you'd expect unless the owner truly learns some...

In response to the owner's comment: yes, I would strongly encourage you to review the security footage of your staff following us around, giving us dirty looks as well as being rude to all of us. Unfortunately, When you did call us, It was evident you did not watch any of the security footage bc of the complete falsehoods you claimed happened in the video...completely false. You were just dealing with the situation as "he said, she said", ending the conversation with "oh btw, the staff you're claiming was racist has a black boyfriend".

First of all, we did not name any staff so I'm not sure who you thought we were talking about and secondly, that is single handedly the most common "explanation" used by individuals who display racial prejudice to prove that they indeed are not racist. Let me just say, that DOES NOT excuse your behaviour. Maybe next time just calling and APOLOGIZING for your staff's behaviour and the mistreatment of your customers would be a much better way of dealing with the entire situation. Worst experience EVER!!! My niece has been wanting to go to this place for over a year now. She was super excited, however, as soon as we walked in, we were met with dirty looks and rude staff members. Needless to say that we felt unwelcomed. Nonetheless, we booked a 1 hour slot for her and my kids to see the cats as we had traveled over an hour just for this place. For 3 hours, we kept my 2 kids (under 4) and my niece (10 years old) busy until our scheduled time. Upon arrival we were told that we'll be kicked out after 10 mins as we were 15 mins late for our 1 hour prepaid slot!!! Trying to make the best of the little time we were given, we went in. Once inside, some customers were so sweet to offer us their timeslot as they were leaving early. The owner of the store rushes in and says "NO, YOU CANNOT DO THAT". My niece was so upset by the way we were treated that she went up to one of the staff members before leaving and said "hey, could you not be such jerks the next time we come"... To which an ADULT staff member replied to my niece (A CHILD), "well next time we'll just kick you out". My niece was devastated and left the place in TEARS!!!!

Being a woman of COLOUR who wears a Hijab, I can't help but wonder if they were just straight up racist because they treated ALL their other customers very well and were extremely friendly towards them.

We understand rules are rules and we arrived late. ..but kindness and respect should not be optional. Regardless, we will not be coming back here again. The attitude of the staff was just...

This place is great as a variety store where you can grab some pre-made snacks and pet items (hence 2 stars for convenience).

As a cat Cafe, it is terrible. I have been to 5 other cat cafes in 3 different countries and none of them charge an "admission fee" (7$!) to go pet cats or make you remove your shoes. The woman working there explained it's because they are cats from the shelter (which would take a minimum of 1 week to adopt one if you were interested). Well I've never been charged for going to a shelter to pet cats and could adopt right away. Instead they should just politely have a donation option or sponsor a cat program if they need additional financial help or charge a little more for a beverage.

Next after I bought a few items for my pet and a beverage from their Cafe area which had no cute deserts as shown in the photos, I asked to go to the bathroom to which they denied me use. What kind of Cafe does not have a bathroom available for patrons?

This is the absolute worst cat Cafe I've been to. I would never recommend this place which makes me sad because I would want the cats to be happy and loved.

(FYI staff get a bit rude when you say you don't want to pay 7$ for 1hr access to petting cats.)

Fyi there is a cat Cafe in Stratford. Haven't been yet for the cats due to covid but might be a better option.

RESPONSE TO REPLY:

Maybe contact the 3 different cat cafes in Montreal that dont charge or check out the one in Stratford to figure out how they do it. How do shelters operate without charging people admission?

We did not book online. We showed up and no one was there and were going to book until we found out there was admission, and still refused to let me use the bathroom. Get your staff policies correct.

People don't go to cat cafes to adopt cats generally. They go to have a warm beverage in an area where cats are roaming around. They can either pet or simply watch. I have cats at home and can pet them for free. I wanted to support a small business and enjoy a unique experience.

It seems to me as though you dont know what you want your business to be: a variety store, a cat Cafe or an adoption center. Right now I can tell you that you aren't succeeding at...