FISHERS — Holly Moss knows that not everyone is familiar with the concept of a cat cafe.
“It's funny because some people know what cat cafes are and what they're all about,” Moss said. “And there's others going, ‘What is this place?’”
Well, the place is the Smitten Kitten, and it’s Hamilton County’s first cat cafe. And as you might expect, it’s all about cats. But there’s more to it for Moss who opened the cafe in January 2023.
“My son, he's autistic,” Moss said. “We wanted to try to do something to help him deal with his anxiety, which is what his autism is about.”
Moss says her son, Colin, has always been a lover of cats. And after seeing features on the cat cafes inJapan during the Olympic Games in Tokyo, Moss got to work.
“I had a friend who was connected with the Humane Society, and we put a business plan together about doing a cat cafe,” Moss said. “I knew I had to partner with somebody on the coffee side that was going to be able to help me. I've never made a cup of coffee, other than out my Keurig.”
Moss found that help from Noble Coffee and Tea in Noblesville.
“I worked with them for several months before we opened to get the experience and the equipment,” Moss said. “I hired experienced baristas that could learn how to make it the Noble Coffee way, and we went from there.”
The Smitten Kitten partners with several animal rescues around central Indiana to allow dozens of cats to mingle and potentially meet their forever human. The cafe houses anywhere from 18 to 24 cats and kittens at any given time.
“My max is about 24, it gets a little crazy once you start getting up to that level, especially if you've got a bunch of kittens in here,” Moss said. “Kittens are a whole different animal.”
The Smitten Kitten has adopted more than 650 cats since it opened.
“We actually just adopted one from here a couple weeks ago that is trying to adapt with our cat at home,” Moss said. “It's really nice to see people find pets.”
Moss has also seen improvement in her son.
“He loves talking with the employees,” Moss said. “He will come in here when there's guests in here, and maybe not walk up to them and talk, but he'll sit and listen and then kind of engage in their conversation.”
Colin isn’t the only one who finds comfort inside the cafe.
“We do have a lot of guests that come in that are autistic or on the spectrum,” Moss said. “You can just see people calm down. It's amazing how well they do just calm the person down, whether you have autism or not.”
Click here to schedule a reservation at the Smitten Kitten.
