The Cat Lounge and Treehouse are designed with the cats in mind and feature a variety of safe spaces for them to retreat to should they need to get away from us adoring humans. Some of these are so well hidden, you won’t even find them.

We have rest areas where cats (but no humans) can get some quiet time, away from the nine-to-five. Because of the layout of the premises, they can’t access this themselves, so our dedicated team is always keeping an eye out for cats that might need some rest… and our cats are not shy about communicating it either.

Every day we close between 3pm – 4pm as this is the quietest, laziest time for the cats and kittens. Kittens also have a reduced schedule, so they are always getting sufficient rest breaks between entertaining visitors.

All of the rules and advice we have for interacting with our cats are given when you make a booking but there are a few key things to remember;

We don’t allow visitors to pick cats up. We understand that when you see an adorable fluffball, you just want to smoosh and squeeze it and carry it around with you all the time (it’s a constant urge we also battle) but if everyone was handling our cats all day, every day, they would be utterly exhausted. Much like humans, there are also times throughout the day when they don’t want to interact with people, and this should always be their choice.

Our advice is to stay low to the floor, be calm and gentle, and if a cat is feeling social, she will come and sit with you. Some will even climb all over you and give you soft little headbutts (Darth Beauty is known for this). Cats appreciate a softer, quieter approach, and will more often than not respond in kind.

Sometimes, no matter how zen you are, cats just aren’t into you at that moment in time. And that’s normal cat behaviour. When cats want to get away, whether it be in their hiding holes or up high on shelves, we ask that customers don’t physically pull them out or down; this will just break their sleeping cycle and make them more tired and potentially irritable.

The best thing to do is move on to another cat that does want to interact. If cats are low to the ground, they are usually okay with being patted, even if they’re resting. Cats are fast learners, so they know if they’re in normal reaching distance, they may get some pats. If they don’t want the pats, they’ll move out of reach and rest in an area where they can’t be patted.

If you’re ever in any doubt, ask your Host on duty, who will advise you about cats in general and specific cats in particular. There’s a wide variety of personalities in the cat rooms and each cat has different motivators when it comes to affection and play.

This will depend entirely on what you want to get out of the experience. It’s impossible to guarantee that the cats will act a certain way at certain times, however there are periods during the day when our cats (and cats in general) will be more or less active.

10am – 12pm is when the cats usually have the most energy. Us humans have been asleep all night and they’re itching to be worshipped again.

12pm – 5pm is a quieter time cats and a much more peaceful experience. If you’re looking to chill out with cats and reduce your stress levels, this is the perfect time of day to come.

5pm onwards is a little more unpredictable. They’ve had their lunch break and they’ll either be lazily coming back to reality or bouncing off the walls. Towards the end of the evening, they’ll show a lot more curiosity and interest as it gets closer to dinner time!

Whatever the time of day, our cats are cats and will act accordingly. While they are used to the cat cafe life, it is us humans who cater to their needs, rather than the other way around. Whether sleeping or playing or judging you from a really high shelf, it’s all normal behaviour, and that’s exactly what a cat experience is all about.

This is a very tough question to answer because it can depend on many factors including how the cat is feeling at the time, her energy levels, the time of day, how the interaction is initiated, etc. It’s a very long list!

All of the cats and kittens with us are specifically chosen because they enjoy the environment and adapt to strangers very well. You may visit and interact with the same cat twice and have a completely different experience, for example.

A general bit of advice we give is that cats and kittens are, by nature, more active during mornings and evenings. Between that time is anyone’s guess but if there’s one thing we know from experience (and that studies actually prove), it’s that just being around a cat in a calm space is one of the most therapeutic things you can find, with amazing health benefits (relieving stress and reducing depression, among others).

So if you visit and the cats or kittens are chilling, take the opportunity to chill out with them. They’re always open to a gentle pat and from our observations, they are always much more likely to interact with people who show them that respect and kindness.

The age range for kittens in Kittyland is between 8 weeks and 8 months old.

The juniors in The Treehouse range between 8 months old and 3 years old.

We often have groups of youngsters on rotation, meaning that one group will be in The Treehouse/Kittyland and another in their private rest room at any one time, to provide them with adequate rest.

Groups are usually rotated each day so that every youngster with us gets a chance to meet and play with lots of new people (and hopefully, a potential forever family) but we do play it by ear a lot; carefully observing all the cats’ health, happiness, and energy levels.

While we are always rescuing and rehoming, we cannot guarantee the ages of the kittens/juniors when you visit. Sometimes we may have very young kittens, other times they will be older, and sometimes they will just be junior cats. No matter their age, they will have grown in their environment and are fully socialised.

For younger kids, we recommend Kittyland, The Treehouse and Catflix Cat Cinema experiences. The Kittyland/Treehouse kittens/juniors are rescued from an early age and have had a great start to life with proper socialisation (people, kids, other cats, and even dogs), so can be much more understanding of the higher energies children have.

The Cat Lounge experience can be wonderful for the older child who is calmer and gentler. Our cats really gravitate towards those who are patient and quiet and there are many kids who have had the best time of their lives by just sitting on the floor with a cat and reading one of our books to them.

Providing a safe space for younger kids to interact with cats and kittens on a positive level is one of our passions but at this time we do have age limits in each experience to ensure a comfortable environment for cats and visitors (ages 5+ in The Treehouse and some Catflix screenings and ages 8+ in the Cat Lounge and Cat Yoga classes).

Nobody loves cats more than us (except, maybe, you) and while we’d love to see even more feline adventurers, outside cats are not allowed to visit due to health and safety regulations.

But don’t worry! Clean your hands and use a lint roller after your visit and your cat will never know you cheated on her.

That’s awesome news! We are a large foster home for the cats and kittens with us but we don’t have a part in the adoption process. So if you’ve fallen in love with one of the cats or kittens with us, please get in touch with Kitten University and they will take it from there.

We primarily accept bookings online as we cannot take payments over the phone and bookings must be pre-paid to secure your reservation.

If you are able, you are welcome to come into the cafe and book for a future date/time and pay with cash or card.

Our main priority above all else is making sure our cats and kittens are enjoying their time at Catmosphere and that they aren’t stressed by the presence of us mere humans. To ensure their stress levels remain low, we limit the amount of people who can be with them at any one time.

Our limit is set at 10 people for a Cat Lounge experience, 6 for the Treehouse experience, and 4 (or 5 with a private booking) for Kittyland, however we may choose to limit this even further at certain times. It will all depend on what our feline overlords are telling us with their behaviour.

There are a few different options for the cat cafe experience; cats, kittens, cat yoga and cat cinema.

Entry into the Cat Lounge or Treehouse is $24 p/p ($26.50 on weekends and public holidays). Kittyland is $25 p/p ($27.50 p/p on weekends and public holidays). These experiences include a complimentary drink.

Our Cat Yoga class is $35 p/p and our Catflix Cat Cinema experience is $38.50 p/p ($40p/p on weekends and public holidays). Please check the Experiences page for more information on both.

Booking fees help us cover our transaction costs and booking software maintenance, ensuring we can keep Catmosphere running as smooth as possible.

Our times and booking system are designed with the cats and kittens in mind; to minimise foot traffic and general commotion. It can take them about 10 minutes to get used to strangers and properly warm up and any new visitors entering the room would be prolonging that process for them.

Because of this, you can’t swap out. Each participant must be booked in individually.

Children over the age of 5 years old are allowed into Kittyland, the Treehouse and select Catflix Cat Cinema experiences. Children need to be at least 8-years-old to visit the Cat Lounge and participate in a Cat Yoga class.

If a child is under the age of 13 years old, they must be accompanied by a paying adult. There is no child discount; the regular admission fee still applies.

Babies and children under the age of 5-years-old are not permitted into any of our experiences.

Having worked in animal welfare and rescue for over a decade, we know the importance of exposing children to pets at an early age, and ensuring positive interactions so that they grow up to value, respect, and worship them like the rest of us cat-mad people.

We do have to be extra careful when kids are with the cats though and, sometimes, we may have to ask the supervising parent to take a child out of the room if he or she is behaving inappropriately. Sometimes this can just be from sheer excitement, and we totally understand it, but our main priority is making sure the cats aren’t stressed from loud noises and fast movements. It will also prevent any injuries, as cats have limited ways of defending themselves if they feel threatened (yep, even the friendliest of cats will lash out if they feel they have no other choice).

We do have to limit the amount of children per booking to 2, to ensure an enjoyable adult/child/cat ratio. For every two children, there must be one parent or guardian also booked to ensure a positive experience.

We do! One of the greatest things about cats is the health benefits they promote in us humans and we enjoy many visits from groups and individuals with Companion Cards.

If you are a Companion Card Holder, you can select this option under ‘participants’ when making your booking, and your companion’s visit will be free (with all the same inclusions).

Please note that only the person whose photograph and name appear on the card can use the Companion Card. You are required to show your Companion Card when arriving for your booking and if you cannot present your card, you will be charged the full price. The Companion Ticket is not valid unless the cardholder is present.

If you are running late to your chosen booking time, please let us know as soon as you can. There is a cut-off point at half past the hour for cats and and kittens, so even if you have booked, if you’re that late you wouldn’t be able to enter the rooms. This is purely to ensure a comfortable atmosphere for cats and other visitors.

If you need to reschedule your booking, you can do so by signing back into our booking system with the same details you used to make the booking. Please note that we do require 24 hours notice and we can’t reschedule bookings after that time has lapsed.

Refunds cannot be given if you are too late for your experience.

There’s no better gift than that of multiple cats and/or kittens ! You can purchase as many gift cards as you like here.

You should get all these instructions on your confirmation email but just in case it’s lost in the black hole of the internet, you can sign in to our customer area using the same details you signed up with.

Catflix Cat Cinema is $38.50 per person and includes a drink (and more). Prices increase slightly on weekends and public holidays to $40 per person.

Booking fees help us cover our transaction costs and booking software maintenance, ensuring we can keep Catmosphere running as smooth as possible.

Children under 5 years old are not permitted during the Catflix Cat Cinema experience.

Individual screenings will have different age limits. Please ensure you are not booking an underage child for a more mature movie as they will not be permitted entrance on the night and bookings cannot be refunded/rescheduled at that point.

The maximum number of people for Catflix Cat Cinema is 10 people but unlike our other experiences, there isn’t a 1 adult for every 2 children rule. This means you can have a group of children with just one adult, making it a great option for birthdays and special treats.

There is also a special discount for booking out the entire Catflix Cat Cinema experience and doing so will mean you can select which movie you watch from our catalogue (options for private bookings will return in December 2020).

If you are booking out the entire Catflix Cat Cinema experience, you can also select your movie from our database. Be sure to let us know via email what you want to see once you’ve made your group booking.

Our screenings always run at specific times (4pm and 6pm) and cannot be changed, even for a private experience.

Multiple experiences run simultaneously and, in some cases, one area will host different experiences at different times (the Cat Lounge becomes Catflix Cat Cinema after 4pm, for example), so timing isn’t flexible.

Just like an actual cinema, all visitors are required to stay seated during the film.

Catflix Cat Cinema has become one of the cats’ favourite times of the week, purely because they know exactly what is going to happen as soon as we begin setting up; people will remain in their seats and they will have free reign to go wherever they like and be with whoever they want to be with.

They know they’ll get rewarded with treats when they interact with people and they know they can also curl up on someone’s lap because that person is going to be there for a while.

When you continue to act in a way that is consistent with the cats’ expectations, they will continue to enjoy the experience as much as everyone else.

This experience lasts for as long as the film does, so it is usually 1.5 hours.

Catflix Cat Cinema is held in the Cat Lounge, which is on our first floor, and unfortunately not accessible to wheelchairs or those with mobility issues. We hope to bring a mini-Catflix experience to our ground floor in the future.

At Catmosphere, the rigorous maintenance of health and hygiene standards is of the utmost importance. After all, no one wants to take a sip of their latte and cough up a fur ball. For this reason, our cats and kittens are kept separate from the café.

Visitors and staff are required to wash and sanitise their hands upon both entry and exit from the cat area. Staff also clean hands after any maintenance of litter trays and when going between cat and kitten rooms.

Drinks are served in cups/glasses with lids, so cat hair cannot infiltrate them.

Currently we do not serve food but we hope to change that soon. We do have a wide variety of drinks just like any other cafe though. In the meantime, we are surrounded by lots of places that serve great food.

While our cafe is on the ground floor, unfortunately our Cat Lounge and Treehouse experiences are on our first and second floors.

The only experience that is currently wheelchair accessible is Kittyland. Please note that it is a standard sized door and we have had some issues with wider wheelchairs.

While there’s no dedicated parking, there is a lot of street parking. It’s best to come a little earlier for your experience to ensure you get a good spot close to the cafe.

Alternatively, we are located just a 5 – 10 minute walk from Central Station. When arriving by train, you’ll want to take the exit onto Elizabeth Street (North Concourse) and cross the road onto Foveaux Street. We are further up on the left-hand side.

Quick answer: no.

Long answer: no but when there are paid positions, we post on our Facebook page about it. At this time we also don’t offer work experience or volunteer positions.

We ask that people please not send us resumes unless we’re advertising as we tend to get dozens a week and hundreds when we are looking. Because of this, resumes and job enquiries are filtered out of our inbox, as we are a small team that don’t have the bandwidth to respond to everyone.