River Kitty Cat Cafe — Restaurant in Evansville

An excellent idea executed well. Everything is clearly stated in signage, even if one hasn't used the website beforehand, prices are reasonable both for cat room visitation periods and for drink/food items (excellent coffee!).

Spent an hour in the cat room, employees were incredibly kind and helpful with us first-timers. The cat room is decked out with a few toys, comfortable furniture, relaxing music playing in the background, there's even a cleverly disguised cat-sized staircase that leads downstairs to where their little boxes and beds are kept out of the public eye.

A very relaxing, mature experience for both the cats and the visitors. Not necessarily a place meant to "play" with cats, more to relax and spend time around them/bond and see if one is a good fit for you to adopt. Children are welcome but I'd highly recommend only bringing kids who are able to be calm and interact with cats on their own terms.

Cats are marked with temporary paper collars color-coded to indicated gender and whether they are already adopted. When we visited there were three to four very personable/cuddly cats, two feisty trouble-makers. and River, the sleepy permanent resident adopted by the cafe itself.

It seems most reviews under four stars on both Facebook and Google are primarily from grown-ups citing either "rude" employees or being put into "embarrassing" situations because they veered straight into the cat section without paying. The main goal of any cat cafe such as this one is to allow shelter cats a chance to be adopted in a cage-free environment/provide a calming atmosphere for people who want to be around cats. No offense to anyone who had said experience, but the attitude and actions cited by those leaving negative reviews shows the mindset of someone for whom this is kind of establishment is simply not a good fit.

Also, all cats up for adoption are already spayed/neutered, microchipped, have all of their shots, and are easily adoptable through the VHS with a simple application form and fee (all of which goes to VHS), and you return with a free cardboard kitty carrier and small bag of food included in the adoption fee.

Wonderful staff, friendly people, amazing cats. For the right kind of person I could not recommend this...

The cafe was clean and well decorated and the cats were wonderful. My issue is with the staff and the signage. This was my first time visiting and I had no knowledge of anything there. When I arrive with my toddler I’m rudely greeted by a blonde barista. She was rude throughout my original transaction and kept glaring at my daughter. I brushed it off as I know some people are uncomfortable around kids and we enjoyed our treats before going in. The coffee and macarons are delicious! We go to head into the cat room and as we’re halfway through the door she screams “you can’t just sneak in there like that. It’s stealing!”. Myself and all the other customers who were present were shocked. I said that I didn’t realize there was a fee and would just pay it. I would’ve left as I was very offended but my daughter was excited to meet the cats so I stayed. She said, “well you should’ve. It’s (whatever the price was) per person” in a rude tone and glared at me through the entire transaction. She said we had 30 minutes and we went in. The cats were amazing and obviously well taken care of. The rules for the room were strict and I’m glad that they were there for the cats’ comfort. My daughter had fun with them and it was a relaxing experience in there. It would’ve been more relaxing if I didn’t catch her glaring at me again through the window on occasion. The reoccurring glares ended up causing me to leave earlier than I had to. I was going to adopt a cat today but will go with a different shelter. I do hope Holly gets adopted soon. She seems to be a very sweet cat.

Overall the facility was wonderful and the products and cats were great. There definitely needs to be customer service training implemented and proper signage posted in obvious areas. I may visit this establishment again after this sour experience leaves my mind, but, as of right now, I will not be coming back.

P.S. The other barista was fine and very nice. It was specifically the blondish haired one that I had an unnecessary issue with. I don’t want her to be fired because she obviously cares about the job but I think that more training needs to be...

I had taken my niece and nephew (teenagers) to eat at Zuki downtown and we saw the cat cafe on the way in so when we left dinner at Zuki I told them we could go in for a minute and check it out and possibly get some dessert. My mother and 3 year old daughter were with me as well. We went to the counter and the gentleman behind the counter was giving us the rundown. My daughter was at another counter in close proximity that looked to have merchandise. She was simply looking while we asked some questions about the place. The other lady working there (which I later found out was a co-owner) grabbed her firmly by her jacket hood, pulled her toward the counter that we were standing by, and sternly told her “Go to your mommy!, Go to your mommy!”. I absolutely do not recommend this place if you have any children with you. We were not even in the closed off area with the cats. I was simply wanting to check the cafe out because my niece and nephew thought it looked interesting and grab a sweet for us all. She obviously has poor customer service skills and maybe should just be a silent partner. Needless to say I held it together (although my blood was boiling) while we were inside. But after my family walked out of the establishment I gave her a piece of my mind. Adults only for sure!! I do not recommend taking children in period. Even if they are not going in cat area.

Edit after response from owner: I only wish you had video surveillance to post so everyone could see what a bold faced liar and all around rude and mean person you are...