Syracuse, N.Y. — What’s better than a good cup of coffee? A delicious drink sipped while sitting next to a new furry friend.
And luckily, Syracuse offers two spots for purrfect coffee dates.
Two cat cafes call the Salt City home: Pawsitivitea CNY and Luna Cat Cafe.
The two cat cafes — coffee shops where guests pay a small fee to mingle with (mostly) adoptable cats while enjoying drinks and snacks — are just three miles apart. But they are delightfully different.
Pawsitivitea CNY
Happy cats are everywhere inside Pawsitivitea CNY’s delightful cat lounge.
Look around the remarkably clean room, and you will spot content cats everywhere — perched atop cat trees and hanging in window hammocks, curled up in cushioned chairs and playfully batting toys across the floor.
Pawsitivitea is housed inside the CNY Regional Market’s permanent shopfront. It consists of three connected rooms: a cafe full of feline-themed tchotchkes and tasty treats; a closet-sized room for visitors to stash their shoes and apply hand sanitizer; and a cozy, living room-style lounge that 15 cats currently call home.
Visitors can play with a multitude of cats at Pawsitivitea CNY Cafe & Cat Lounge, 2100 Park St., Syracuse. (Katrina Tulloch)This is CNY
Alisha Reynolds, an animal lover and a proud bird/cat mom, opened Pawsitivitea in September 2020. At the cafe, she offers guests two great experiences in one spot: Animal lovers can enjoy a great drink (try one of her seasonal matcha lattes) while meeting new furry best friends.
The pairing has brought Pawsitivitea regulars, just like any good coffee shop.
“They go in there just to pet the cats and stuff and just have a nice, safe space to kind of be nice and relaxed,” Reynolds said.
Pawsitivitea’s permanent residents — including beloved “wobbly boy” Freddie Purrcury and his brothers, David Meowie and Eddie Van Tailen — have also earned plenty of fans.
Reynolds works with several shelters, including the Oswego County SPCA, to find Pawsitivitea’s foster kittens and cats. And she is proud of the hundreds of cats Pawsitivitea has helped find forever homes.
Pawsitivitea CNY is in the CNY Regional Market, located at 2100 Park St., Space 309 in Syracuse. It’s open from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday; 11 a.m. to. 7 p.m. Friday; 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday; and 11 p.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday. For pricing, menus and photos of the cafe’s current furry residents, visit Pawsitivitea’s website.
Luna Cat Cafe
If you stepped into Luna Cat Cafe on a whim, you might not immediately realize you were entering a restaurant attached to a cat lounge.
Luna’s dining room is spacious and full of places to enjoy the kitchen’s drool-worthy offerings — ranging from ramen and boba tea to dessert and coffee.
But the cafe is only half of Luna’s magic.
The cat lounge is separated from the cafe by a glass-paned door. And as soon as you walk in, you can’t help but squeal.
The bright, rectangular room is filled with friendly cats waiting for treats and pets. The walls are lined with comfy benches — perfect spots for guests to watch anime while snuggling with kittens.
An orange cat stretches by the window at Luna Cat Cafe. (Katrina Tulloch)This is CNY
Lucky guests also get to cuddle with Goliath, Luna’s 20-plus-pound Big Boy permanent resident.
Josh Davis opened Luna Cat Cafe in the fall of 2021. He was inspired by his trips to Japan, where he honed his culinary skills and was introduced to cat cafes.
The number of cats at Luna changes weekly, depending on the speed of adoptions. Davis said the cafe partners with the CNY Cat Coalition and has proudly helped adopt over 260 cats.
Just half a mile from Syracuse University, Luna Cat Cafe is popular among college students. Davis said students love to spend hours reading manga and finishing homework while lounging with the cats.
“Whether you want to adopt one,” Davis said, “or you just need to have a kitten flop on your face or something like that, it’s totally fine.”
Luna Cat Cafe is at 1001 E. Fayette St./223 S. Crouse Ave. in Syracuse. It is open from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. Monday and Tuesday; and 1 p.m. to 9 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday. While the kitchen is closed Mondays and Tuesdays, the cafe is open for cat visits and drinks. For pricing, menus and photos of the cafe’s current furry residents, visit Luna’s website.
A cat at Pawsitivitea CNY Cafe & Cat Lounge at 2100 Park St., Syracuse. (Katrina Tulloch)This is CNY
Reporter Samantha House meets the cats at Luna Cat Cafe on July 18, 2024.This is CNY