Gem City Catfe Dayton
Cat cafes are getting more and more popular all around the world. But what is a cat cafe? A cat cafe is basically just a regular coffee shop with some interesting tenants - cats! But what is the point? The answer is simple. You basically pay an hourly fee and, if you wish, purchase snacks or drinks, and then you can lounge around with the cats while you are drinking your coffee. Usually, cat cafes promote adoption of the cats that they rescue from shelters, so if you fall in love with one of the cats in the cat cafe, you can adopt it!
Stray animals are quite a big problem in Dayton, and most of the local shelters will kill the animals that are not adopted after a certain period of time. This makes me extremely sad, but it is the only way they will have enough room for all the new animals that they are getting all the time. Gem City Catfe rescues the cats that are about to be killed, and I am so grateful for that. I am a big cat lover, and this is why I appreciate this place so much.
So today, I was bored, but I still wanted to get out of the house for an hour or two, and I realized that I have not yet visited the newly opened Gem City Catfe Dayton. And this is exactly where I went. And I am so glad I went there. Feel free to read everything about my experience below.
I love the logo of the Gem city Catfe. They actually had a contest where public could participate with their designs. If I was more artistic, I would love to create the logo.
Where is Gem City Catfe situated?
Gem City Catfe is situated in a historic district of Dayton, pretty close to the famous nightlife spot - the Oregon district. To get there, you will have to drive through a shady part of Dayton, but since I am still alive, I guess you will be fine too.
The Gem City Catfe building is hard to miss. It is bright green and white, and there is a big sign in front of it. You can either park on the street (which I would not advise you since this is apparently not the safest part of Dayton) or on a small parking lot in an alley behind the cafe. The parking lot only has a spot for eight cars, but if you get there during a non busy time of the day, getting a parking spot there should not be a problem.
Reservations and waiver
Gem City Catfe suggests that you book your time slot in advance on their website. Their website states that walk - ins are welcome, however you might have to wait to be let in. There is a rule that no more than twelve people can be in the cat lounge at the same time, which ensures a stress - free environment for the cats. But I am sure that if you go there during the week, you will be able to get in without a wait, because most people are either at work or at school during the week.
To save some time, sign the e - waiver online. By signing it, you basically agree that you will not sue the Gem City Catfe for any damage or injuries that might happen to you while you are there. The most common injury is, of course, a cat scratch.
I understand their policy, because it is quite likely that you will get scratched or bitten if you play with the cats. And I have heard of a case where a woman was suing a coffee company because she burnt her tongue with the coffee, and her argument was that there was no message on the coffee cup, warning her that the contents are hot. I mean, as dumb as it sounds, she won the case and the company had to pay her a huge amount of money. And this is why you will see a ‘warning - hot contents’ message on most coffee cups nowadays.
Once you get there...
Once you enter the place, you have to go to the front desk to sign in. If you already paid for your time slot online, all you need to do is tell the person at the front desk your name, and they will check if you signed the waiver. Once you are all set, they will explain the rules, and you can also purchase snacks and drinks at this point.
You can bring them into the cat lounge, but you are obviously not allowed to feed them to the cats. The staff member will, however, give you a few cat treats that you can give to the cats. If you did not book a time slot online, you will do so once you get there, and you will also have to read (or at least pretend to read) and sign the waiver. And then you are all set to enter the cat world.
Time slots that you pay for, are one hour long, and each one costs ten dollars. You can also get an annual membership - it costs twenty five dollars, and if you are a member, every visit will cost you five dollars only.
The menu
Gem City Catfe has quite an extensive snack and drinks menu. Do yourself a favour and do not skip their mocha coffee and hot chocolate. In the sweet treats sections, try the macaroons with cat faces on them, and the cat cupcakes. Yummy! All the items cost about as much as they would in a regular coffee shop, and they are buying them from a local bakery, which means they are supporting the local community, and this is another reason why I instantly fell in love with this fabulous place.
The bar at Gem city Catfe. The front desk is situated on its left side.
One hour with the cats
There are twelve cats that live at Gem City Catfe, and like I already mentioned at the beginning, you can adopt them. If you are interested in a cat adoption, ask a staff member to tell you everything about the adoption process. I am not sure if you can bring the cat home on the same day you fill in the paperwork, but if you ask a staff member, they will answer all your questions regarding the adoption. The place itself has two levels - the top and the bottom floor.
The top flooris where most people will sit right after they enter and drink their drinks or eat their snacks. And this is also where three of the cats lounge most often, according to the staff member. Well, when I was there, seven of the cats were in the area, and three of them were sleeping on a table. Awesomeness!
This is where you can put your bags down and figure out which cat are you going to pet first.
There is a big bin with cat toys on that floor, and you are more than welcome to play with the cats, although some of them look quite unimpressed by the toys and they will just stare at you like: ‘Human, what do you want?’ But this is just the way cats are.
The bottom floor has the lounging areawith the carpet and several board games, all related to cats. Obviously. And the carpet with comfy pillows is not meant just for cats - you can lay down there too. But let me warn you - first of all, it is super comfortable and you will not want to get up, and secondly, once you sit or lay down on the carpet, at least three cats will come up to your lap. I mean, I do not mind cats, but I eventually had to get up and move them off my lap. I am a bad person, I know.
Cat cafes usually have space for cats to retreat when they want to avoid interaction with humans. Just like this black beauty was doing when I was there.
The cat games include a Kickstarter hit, called Exploding kittens, which is the best card game I have ever played. And the weirdest. If you play it at a party after a few drinks, I guarantee you will have a time of your life. Other cat games include a cat stacking game, which is just what it sounds - you have to stack cat figures as tall as you can, and a cat detective game, which is a remake of a classic Detective game, but with cats.
The rules
You of course have to follow certain rules in the cat cafe. If you are there with small kids, an adult is the only one who is allowed to pick up cats. The staff member mentioned that they would rather see us not picking up the cats, but we can do so if the cat agrees. But most of the cats in there are so friendly that they will come up on the table and crawl into your lap.
One of the Gem city Catfe Dayton's friendliest residents. I had to move her off my lap when I left.
You can play with the cats, but if the cat is backing away, you are not supposed to chase it - it is trying to tell you to leave it alone. You are also not allowed to feed the cats human food (which should be a no brainer, but some people are probably still thinking about it), but you can feed them treats that the staff member will give to you.
Negative aspects
Some people are against cat cafes, and I do not really understand why. For example, my all time favourite cat cafe in my country recently closed down because some people were protesting - they were saying that keeping cats in such a space with a lot of people with no good place to hide is animal abuse. I personally could not disagree more. The cats have a warm space (better than being stray cats, duh!), the cat cafes make sure the cats have a few safe spots where they can hide, and staff members will go out of their way in making sure the cats are well treated.
It is true that some smaller kids will still try to pick up the cats, even though this is against the rules, but staff members will make sure that they will warn both the parents and the kids who disobeyed the rules. If they get a second warning, they have to leave the place. And I think this is more than fair.
Gift shop
Gem City Catfe has a pretty cool gift shop. They are selling T - shirts, cat stuffed animals, coffee mugs, cat treats and so on. And, of course, all of the items have cats on them. They also have stickers with the logo on them.
You can take one sticker home with you for free, which basically has the same motive on as all the stuff in the gift shop, so you do not have to pay for it. But it is true that the things they are selling in the gift shop, are pretty cool, and you will probably want to buy all of them. It is true that they are on the pricey side, for example, a coffee mug costs ten dollars, but think about it that way - you are basically helping the cats with your purchase.
A few words for the end…
If you are passing through Dayton and you love cats, then you should definitely visit this place. You get to spend one hour with the cats, sip their delicious coffee, and all this will benefit the cute catsthat are currently living there.
'Cat wall', where you can see all the cats that currently live there, and their names.
