Affogato Café is a cat café in Cleveland that’s been around since last January. 

 “So basically one side is like a normal cafe where you can come in and get drinks, and snacks and that kind of stuff. The other side is a cat lounge where we work with the Cleveland APL to have 16 to 18 cats in the space that people can come and visit,” said Mandy Miller, owner of Affogato Café.

Thanks to the café, all of the animals get to live in a cage-free environment. 

Lea Crespo, co-owner of Affogato, said, “I think this is a really great opportunity for people who aren’t used to hanging around cats or animals in general to finally get that socialization with them.”

All of the cats are adoptable aside from three resident cats. The resident cats are only there to help the other ones adjust to life in the café. 

“The most rewarding thing is getting the cats to get adopted and find that perfect person to be their match.”

Lea Crespo, co-owner of Affogato Café

“The most rewarding thing is getting the cats to get adopted and find that perfect person to be their match,” Crespo said. 

Gillian Szinte, customer, said, “I really like it. I think it’s a good cause. The fact that you can adopt the cats that are in here, I think that’s really cool.”

Miller said that people should still come even if they can’t adopt. “So we always tell people they feel bad they can’t take a cat home, but even if they’re coming to visit, they’re still helping to play with them and get them out of their shell. It makes them more adoptable to go home later,” she said. 

Miller hopes to eventually expand and open in more locations. 

Miller said, “We’re just extremely happy with our adoption rates so far. So we’ve had 244 adoptions. Our goal for the year was 100 when we spoke with the shelter, so we’re very excited about that. We’re fingers-crossed hoping we can get to 300 before the one-year mark.”