MOORE COUNTY, N.C. — A cafe in Carthage, N.C., offers more than just coffee — patrons get a chance to cuddle with cats at the Kitten Around Cat Lounge.

What You Need To Know

  • The Kitten Around Cat Lounge is a cat cafe in Moore County

  • The owners started the business in March shortly after their pet, which had been with them for 16 years, died

  • Customers can come in, buy coffee and pastries, and, for a small fee, spend up to 30 minutes playing with the cats

The business also helps arrange adoptions for cats from six animal shelters in the area, says owner Denna Schreiner.

She says she has had animals around her all her life, but after her last cat of 16 years died, she found solace in a visit to the Mac Tabby Cat Cafe in Concord.

“My husband and I got the wild idea that we would open one of these in Moore County since there wasn’t one," Schreiner said.

The cafe has been open since March, offering customers locally roasted coffee and pastries, and for a small fee, entrance to a playroom to get up close with the cats.

“And you just hang out with 8, 9, 10 cats at a time,” Schreiner said. “Play with them, love on them. Cuddle.”

She added: “And if you’re interested in adopting, we help facilitate that as well.”

Stray cats are a problem in the area, Schreiner says.

“All of our shelters stay pretty full. Cats make up more than half of the animals in shelters,” she said.

One of the stars at the cafe is Peanut, a stray that had kittens. Schreiner says that all the work that goes into the business has only made her love Peanut and the others more.

“I have a lot of customers that continue to come back – they’re regulars – just to get their cat fix,” she said. “It’s really nice, therapeutic, to sit with a cup of coffee and hang out with cats.”