Omaha’s Felius cat café is located just a few blocks south of Central. It provides the regular café experience, serving coffee, lattes, and tea, while also offering the unique opportunity to interact with cats at the same time.

Felius is divided into two parts, the café itself and a separate room with the cats. Before coming in, I was a bit worried about mixing a café with the cats, but everything was made to be very hygienic. Felius takes a lot of measures to keep the café side clean and the cat side safe. Everyone going in to play with the cats has to wash their hands, remove shoes and make sure any drinks have lids. Masks are also required in the café when you’re not drinking.

On the café side, the coffee is very standard, but good. The prices for almost all the drinks don’t exceed five dollars.

Inside the play area, there’s a variety of toys to interact with the cats, like feathers, balls and catnip. During my visit, about seven cats were out. Felius places a limit of five visitors in the playroom at one time, which allowed each of us to spend time with the cats.

The whole interaction is monitored by a volunteer to make sure the cats stay safe. Patrons are allowed to pet the cats and play with them, but not pick them up or be forceful. The playroom also has several raised platforms on the walls, which allow cats to get away from humans if they want to. But most of the cats I interacted with were very friendly and playful with visitors.

Before you can actually play with the cats, you have to schedule your session ahead of time and pay a fee. Prices are based on the amount of time in the playroom, set at $7.50 for half an hour, $14 for an hour, plus $10 for any additional hour. I think this is definitely a fair charge, as it provides money to care for the cats in exchange for the interaction. If you don’t want to pay to go be with the cats directly, there’s a big window inside that you can watch them from while enjoying your drink.

A big part of Felius’s mission is to find permanent homes for the cats in their care. The cat café format is really great for this because it lets potential adopters interact with the cats and see which animals they bond with. To date, Felius adopted out over 620 cats.

However, if you’re unable to make the long-term commitment of adoption, Felius is also a great way to experience the cuteness of cats. And, if you’re 19 or older, you’re eligible to volunteer at Felius.

Overall, Felius cat café provides a fun experience for both the customers and the kittens. And due to its proximity to school, it’s the perfect place to go with friends after school.