After 40 years as a mental health counselor, Mary Jankowski wanted to do something different, but wasn’t sure what. Then she saw an article about a cat cafe and thought it looked fun. So she partnered with the Animal Rescue League of Iowa and, in the summer of 2020, opened Coffee Cats, the first cat cafe in Iowa.
Nestled into a quiet corner of Valley Junction, Coffee Cats is a little haven where you can find seasonal coffee drinks made from local beans, cat paraphernalia from local vendors and, of course, cats. If you’ve never been to a cat cafe — my boyfriend was disappointed about this — the cats do not actually serve you coffee. But they do serve up big naps, snuggles and an incredibly relaxing atmosphere.
Ten dollars at Coffee Cats buys you a full hour in the cat room, where you’ll find up to 12 cats and eight people. (I recommend making a reservation or arriving early — the cafe accommodates up to six reservations and two walk-ins per hour.) A playlist of calming instrumental music plays, and you’re free to amble around the room, hanging out with whichever cats cross your path.
There are a lot of toys in the room if there happens to be a roused cat during your visit. But, as the Coffee Cats website says, “On average, cats sleep 16-20 hours per day, and the cats in the lounge are no exception.” It’s more likely you’ll spend your time reaching into the warm confines of cat tree cubbies, gently searching for a slowly rising and falling belly to pat.
After several failed attempts over the years at getting a second cat, I promised my Korat, Macaulay Culkin, that she’d never have to live with another animal. So my trips to Coffee Cats are purely for the joy of it — appreciating the instant drop in blood pressure I feel when I enter the cat room. But if you are in the market to bring a new friend home, every cat in the cat room is adoptable. Jankowski said they often do as many as 11 adoptions a week. Since the cafe opened in July of 2020, over 1,660 cats have been adopted.
The cats rotate regularly as current residents get adopted, but my favorites this trip were Huckleberry Finn, a medium-hair tuxedo who provided some of the most actionable moments of my visit as he gingerly moved from one napping post to the next; Annabeth, a gray and white lady who meowed at me just as forcefully as Macaulay does at home; and a sleepy tabby I believe to be Oscar, who let me slow blink at him and snuggled into my hand when I reached into his cubby.
Pro tip: To make an extra-relaxing day of it, top off your cat visit by heading across the street to St. Kilda Collective for a bite to eat.
Coffee Cats is open varying hours Tuesday through Sunday. They also offer special events, such as Yoga with Cats, Cat Bingo and Reading to Cats. Check out their website and Facebook for more info and to make a reservation.
This article was originally published in Little Village’s May 2025 issue.
