By MB Rocheleau

Orange kitten sleeping.

The warm smell of coffee and pastries hit my nose as I swung open the door to The Purrfect Bean, Richmond’s only cat cafe. Located at 214 Lombardy Street, the Purrfect Bean is open Wednesday through Sunday from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. The cafe is two stories, with the first floor containing the cafe and the second housing the cats. The cafe is free to enjoy, but the cat sanctuary is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., with reservations for the cat lounge lasting 50 minutes and costing 25 dollars on the weekend and 20 dollars during the week. 

The Purrfect Bean is currently the only cat cafe located in Richmond, but it was not the first. Central Purrk was located in Shockoe Bottom before closing in 2019. The next closest cat cafes are in Newport News and Chesapeake. Over the last few years, the animal cafe trend has grown exponentially, with the most common being cat cafes. Along with animal cafes, other animal-themed places have popped up, including puppy yoga. Richmond’s Puppies & Yoga was reviewed by Amber Aldrich for The Match earlier this year.

At The Purrfect Bean, the downstairs cafe is filled with art centered around cats. It also contains many cozy seats, including chairs, benches, and couches. The cafe is open to the public; no reservations needed. People are able to go in, grab a drink or snack, and quietly study.

The upstairs, where the cats live, is smaller than the first floor. The room is closed off by a door and gate to keep the cats in. Within the room, there are couches, beanbags, cat trees, and many cat toys. There is always an employee located in the room to keep an eye out for both the customers’ and cats’ safety.

A gray and white kitten getting attention. 

It’s hard to review both the cafe and the cat area together, because they are so separate. My mom, Amy Macdonald, said, “The cat cafe is a bit of a misnomer, because the cats aren’t in the cafe, and nothing from the cafe can be near the cats.” When hanging out with the cats, you are not allowed to bring food in, so they are essentially two separate businesses. 

The food and drinks in the cafe itself were mediocre. My friend, mom, stepmom, and I sampled the Buttered Bagel, Iced Vanilla Latte, and Iced Chai Latte. The Buttered Bagel ($5) “was surprisingly good!” said my stepmom, McKenzie Jump, but she was a little disappointed that she “had to eat it as fast as I could not to miss time with the kittens.” Since food is not allowed upstairs before visiting, you need to allot some time for eating. Sadly, we were not aware of this before our visit, so we did not. The next thing we tried was the Iced Vanilla Latte ($7). Open High School Senior Rose Woodward tried the Latte and said, “It was good; it was just good.” Like most of us, Woodward felt that most of the cafe’s pull was the cats, not so much the food and drinks: “I wouldn’t like that cafe as much if it wasn’t for the cats.” 

As for the Iced Chai Latte ($7), Macdonald said, “It was fine; it was drinkable, nothing exciting.” I agreed. It was an Iced Chai Latte, that’s it; nothing more, nothing less. Though it was hard to distinguish our excitement for the cats from our disappointment regarding the food, everyone felt like it was a decent place.

Two soul-bound orange cats.

The best part overall, though, was definitely the cats. We spent around 30 minutes with the cats upstairs, playing with them, taking pictures, and hearing about the adoption process. The Purrfect Bean’s cats are all up for adoption, partnering with Purring Hearts, a “foster-based cat rescue proudly rooted in the Richmond community,” according to the Purring Hearts website. They are also a division of Lionhearts, Inc., a no-kill cat and dog shelter that is volunteer-run. While there, we were told that just a week prior, about five cats had been adopted through meeting families at the Purrfect Bean. It was heartwarming to see that new experiences like going to a cat cafe can turn into a new life for a cat.

While playing with the cats, the volunteer showed us a pair of kittens they had that were soul-bound. Soul-bound cats are mated for life and must be adopted together. When separated, they can get depressed and stop eating. The two soul-bound cats at the Purrfect Bean had met there and formed a connection. Hearing the stories about the cats as we played with them made the experience more meaningful. 

Overall, our experience at the Purrfect Bean was mixed, as it’s really two different experiences: the cafe and the cat area. The cafe was tolerable; the food was fine, the drinks were fine, and the service was fine. The lounge area was nice but not amazing. The whole cafe felt like an afterthought. The cat area, though, was great. There were toys and lots of places to sit with cats. It was such a rare experience, and Macdonald said, “I would recommend it to any curious cat lovers.”

All photos by MB Rocheleau.