Alley Cat Cafe — Restaurant in City of Ithaca

This was my first time visiting this cat café with my boyfriend. We came in from New York City and had high expectations based on the 4.5-star reviews and photos. Unfortunately, our experience on Saturday, September 13th, 2025, between 3:37–4:15 PM was very disappointing. After paying for drinks and the 30-minute fee to spend time with the cats, we immediately noticed that the cat room smelled bad, and the furniture and toys didn’t seem well-cleaned or maintained. What really concerned us, however, was the treatment of one of the kittens. While we were playing with one of the larger cats, a small black kitten tried to join in, but the larger cat hit the kitten, and we later realized that the black kitten was actually being bullied by multiple cats. At one point, another large cat snuck up behind the kitten and hit it, leaving the kitten visibly scared and shaken. A staff member with long black hair, wearing a gray sweater and leggings, briefly stepped in and told one of the cats to leave the kitten alone, but she didn’t remove the aggressor or ensure the black kitten was safe. Later, when we notified another staff member at the register (fair-skinned, red hair tied up, wearing a floral shirt and jeans), her response was very concerning. She said, “Oh yea, we know, we find it funny.” This made it clear that the staff has been aware of the bullying but chooses not to address it. In other cat cafés I’ve visited, the staff are quick to step in, separate cats if needed, and make sure all of them feel safe. Here, not all the cats had a safe space, and it seemed like some were neglected. Based on what we experienced, the staff came across as irresponsible, and the environment didn’t feel caring toward the cats’ well-being. This is the photo of the black kitten that was...

Hooray for Ithaca's first cat cafe! I just visited, on their second day open for business, but it already has the atmosphere of a business that's an established part is the community. The food here is delicious, and my almond milk latte may have been the best I've had in town, but the highlight of this place is definitely the kitties! It's only $5 per person (as of this review on 6/16/18) to spend a half hour in the cat room in the back, which today houses 3 adult cats and 3 kittens (SO CUTE). All are adoptable except for 1 adult cat. Somehow, I resisted trying to bring one home today, but I'll definitely be back, and I'm sure I'll break down and try to adopt one of the fuzzy felines at some point! I can't wait to find an excuse to return!

Just a few notes about the cat room: The front cafe portion (where food and drinks are served) is separate from the cat room in the back, but from the cafe area, you can see the kitties through a full-wall window. You can't bring your food/drink into the cat area. Pay for your visit to the cat room ($5/person/30 min as of this review on 6/16/18) when you're at the cafe register. Hopefully they'll add some helpful signage about the process up at the front, because it wasn't clear today, but it's only day two for the business. While the cafe is open from 7:30am to 7:00pm, the cat room is only open from 11:00am to 6:30pm (as of this review on 6/16/18).

(Edited to add the date of this review to my notes about prices and hours, since they could change in the future as the business matures and feels...

My son and I came in on Thursday July 12 around 2pm. The food was mediocre at best. We were happy there were some vegan options, but they were lackluster. Neither one of us ate the second half of our sandwiches.One of the workers was extremely rude for no apparent reason. A nice employee was helping us initially (a black woman with red hair). My card wouldn't go through. She said they were having issues with the machine, which was no big deal for me because we weren't in a rush and there was no one else in line. She called over someone else to help with the card machine, a white woman with a very deep voice who was wearing a black dress. I mentioned there was nothing wrong with my card. Again no big deal--uninteresting interaction. After several failed attempts, I finally gave her another card, to see if that would help. It worked. Then she angrily said to me, "I guess it was the card. Maybe you should have known before you pretended it was our fault." I was taken aback by this inexplicably rude and aggressive comment. I did double check my card. It was fine, as I knew. It was their machine, as the first employee acknowledged. This really turned me off from the place altogether. Overall: needlessly upsetting interaction, uninspired...