Northern Minnesota’s First Cat Café Is Now Open! What To Know Before You Visit

The trend of cat cafés has been growing worldwide for many years, and now one of these unique businesses calls the Twin Ports area home.

Minnesota has been home to a few cat cafés for a few years now, all located in the Twin Cities area. Now Duluth area cat lovers will have the opportunity to enjoy a coffee shop experience that can also come with feline time at this new shop. The new venue, located on Superior Street in Duluth, is called Wired Whisker Cat Café.

In talking with the owner and various Northlanders about the new cat coffee shop, some common questions come up. Here are some key things to know before you visit:

Do I have to worry about cat hair in my coffee or on my food?

In a word, no! I mean, some stray fur could get transferred by people coming out of the cat space, but a lot of steps were taken to protect the food space from fur.

When the owner designed the business, she was sure to do a couple of things to ensure that the cat space and the food and drink space were separated for this very reason.

READ MORE: Learn more about Wired Whisker's owner and her plans for the café

The coffee shop (at the front of the building) is walled off completely from the cat lounge (in the back of the building) and they installed a high-end, veterinarian-quality HVAC system to make sure fur and such weren't floating in the air around the building.

Can I bring my cat?

Unfortunately, no.

This has been one of the biggest questions Misha, the owner, says she has gotten since announcing Wired Whisker last year.

A lot of people hear "cat café" and think it is l like a dog patio at a brewery, for example. While this space is absolutely for cat lovers (the wallpaper even has cats on it!), for safety reasons, you'll have to leave your cat at home.

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Misha explains that cats are very territorial creatures and bringing in a variety of stranger cats into a new space could be bad news. All of the cats in the cat lounge have all been properly vet-checked and have been proven to be friendly with the other cats they are spending time with.

How do I book time in the cat lounge? How does that experience work?

Visitors book time in the cat lounge in 50-minute increments. Booking can be done via Wired Whisker's website to ensure you have a time slot available when you show up, but you can also book at the coffee shop counter if there is availability.

In order to be in the cat lounge, Misha says you need to be at least 12 years old unless you are booking the entire lounge space for a private family gathering in the cat lounge. In these cases, children ages 8 and up can be in the lounge with adult supervision.

Food and drinks can be brought into the cat lounge, as long as it was purchased from Wired Whisker. Coffee, teas, and alcoholic beverages (beer and wine) will come with lids to prevent spills and fur. You are not permitted to feed or give beverages to the cats, however.

What else do I need to know?

All of the cats in the cat lounge are adoptable! If you fall in love with a cat, the Wired Whisker staff will connect you with Animal Allies and put your cat on hold while you get the adoption paperwork taken care of, and they are prepared to go home with you.

Misha plans to host events like yoga, live music, and more at the venue. In addition, she will be inviting food trucks to park outside the café, offering another food option for patrons who are enjoying time at the café.