Q: How does it work?

​​

A: The front of our shop is the café, designed to serve coffee and other drinks and treats. No cats ever enter this area for safety and health reasons. All of the cats stay in a separate area called the Cat Lounge, a room that we provide free to Leon County Humane Society to serve as a foster home for their cats up for adoption. The café has plenty of seating ideal for studying and hanging out including bar seating along a viewing glass that overlooks the Cat Lounge.

 

Walk-ins are charged an hourly rate of $15.00 per person for the Cat Lounge with a maximum capacity of 10 people. Anything that you order from the coffee bar you are welcome to bring in with you to the Cat Lounge. Walk-ins are accepted based on availability. We highly recommend you reserve a spot in the lounge before coming in to ensure we have room for you. Reservations can be made online for $14.00 per person for an hour. All reservations start at the top of each hour, so please plan accordingly for check-in and ordering beverages. 

​

Your patronage to our business has - so far - helped over 1,700 cats find homes since May of 2018. Through being open, we've allowed our rescue partner the space to grow, doubling the number of cats they save yearly. We appreciate your support, and the cats do too! 

​

Q. What is your policy for children?

​

Adult supervision and accompaniment is required for children under 13 at all times. Walk-in admission is $15.00 and online reservations are $14.00.  

​

Children under 5 are not allowed in the cat lounge.

​

We request that children under 13 do not pick up the cats or carry them around. Petting and playing is great and an adult supervisor can assist with placing a cat into a lap. We know many children have experience picking up and holding cats, but we also know every cat's tolerance is different. This rule helps keep everyone safe. 

​​

Q: Can I bring my cat?

A: All of the cats in our Cat Lounge are from Leon County Humane Society and go through a strict vetting process. To protect your cat and the cats from LCHS, we request that you leave your kitty home, as it would be impossible to verify vaccines and other necessary medical information from all outside cats. Also, it would likely not be a very pleasant experience for anyone, especially your cat.

​

Cats aren't like dogs, they're space oriented. Even indoor/outdoor cats don't stray more than a mile usually. When outside their comfort zone they get scared and anxious. Even if your cat was adopted from the café, their space is now your home. Taking them out of that space will cause anxiety. A cat that comes to our café from a kennel in the shelter loves the cat room. A cat that comes from a home to the cat room spends a few days depressed. A home is better than the café, so give your cat the stimulation and play in the comfort of your home. Feel free to ask staff for advice on keeping your new kitty occupied.

​​

Q: Can you take in cats?

A: Unfortunately, we are not a shelter and cannot take in stray cats. We act as a foster home for Leon County Humane Society, but we do not act as a rescue, just an adoption center. If you have found a stray cat or need to surrender a cat please contact Leon County Humane Society. You can email their cat coordinator about the possibility of LCHS taking the cat in at cats@leoncountyhumane.org 

​

If you adopted from us and need to return your cat, we will absolutely accept returns from our program - but we want to make sure we are prepared to help them acclimate, and would prefer returns to go through our adoption partner - after they decompress at LCHS, we prioritize them for moving back into the cafe. We promise to always keep their best interest as our focus. If you need to return, please email the cat coordinator at LCHS at cats@leoncountyhumane.org

  ​

Q: Do you have merchandise?

A: We have merchandise such as t-shirts, mugs, tumblers, stickers, pins and more available in our cafe as well as online in our gift shop. Shout out to team member Lyn Collins at @LynDoesArt for many of our purr-fect designs. Additionally, we have cat-themed art, pins, and stickers designed by local Tallahassee artists/team members. 

​​

Q: How can I be involved?

A: If you are interested in becoming a volunteer for the Cat Lounge, we appreciate you! We do however have a limited number of volunteer opportunities available. If you're interested, please submit a volunteer application at www.leoncountyhumane.org/volunteer. If you are vendor looking to supply wholesale products in Tally Cat Café, you can contact us at tallycatcafe@gmail.com or message us on Facebook! If you are looking to join our team, stay updated on our Facebook page for future job opportunities.

​​

Q: Why Leon County Humane Society?

​​

A: All three of Tally Cat Café's owners have been involved with LCHS in the past. There are plenty of amazing rescues in Tallahassee, but we have a relationship with LCHS that we appreciate and trust. LCHS goes above and beyond in our experience to give their animals the best possible care, and that is very important to us when considering our customer's safety in the café.

​

Q: What if I'm allergic to cats?

A: No problem! If you just want to stop in for a cup of your favorite local coffee in the morning, cats never enter the area where coffee is prepped or served. They are always isolated in a separate room, and it is always your choice to interact with them other than admiring them through our window.

​

Q: Who takes the photos?

​

A: It's a group effort, but the majority of photos right now are taken by team members Bethan Roberts and Katie Stryker. Many of the photos on site can be attributed to Abby O'Laughlin Photography. 

​

Q: I adopted my cat from you, but now my cat is sick! What do I do? 

​

A: Our rescue partner has a policy where they give 14 days after the adoption to utilize a free vet visit with one of our vet partners. If your cat is coughing, sneezing, seems lethargic, has diarrhea, eye or nose discharge, ect, please email our rescue partner at cats@leoncountyhumane.org and they will assist you in scheduling a vet appointment. You can see more in your adoption brochure, also included at the bottom of this page. 

​

Q: I adopted a cat from you, but I can no longer keep them. Can I bring them to you? 

​

A: As you know from your adoption contract, your adopted cat is welcome back into our rescue partner's adoption program at any time during their lifetime. However, we've found that having cats return from their home back to the cafe after an extended period of time in their adopted home (more than 1 month,) they typically benefit from a few days decompressing at the Leon County Humane Society. Additionally, knowing in advance they're coming back to us is extremely helpful so we can prepare. If you need to surrender your cat, please email their cat coordinator to set up a time to surrender at cats@leoncountyhumane.org if needed, the café is happy to help LCHS with transport, but we need to know our rescue partner has a spot set up for them. 

​

Q: I tried calling but I can't find the number!!!!

​

A: We used to have our phone number readily available, but we only have one phone line that we use all day for processing adoption paperwork and communicating with adopters. More than one call gets a busy signal, and our purristas behind the bar typically have their hands full making drinks and are unable to answer the phone anyway, so we try to make most things available online! If you need to reach us, you can message us on social media or email us at tallycatcafe@gmail.com and we will get back to you asap, but we appreciate your patience. 

​

Q: I need help with rehoming a cat I didn't adopt from you, or stray animals.

​

A: See our rescue resource card below for some options on rescues and shelter who may be able to help. Our rescue partner is Leon County Humane Society, and for intake inquiries, you can email photos and information to cats@leoncountyhumane.org

​

The difference between a shelter labeled as a "kill" shelter or a "no kill" shelter is based on whether or not they're considered open intake, not whether they purposefully want to euthanize animals. No one wants to euthanize healthy adoptable animals. However, a limited intake facility will just say that they don't have space and say no to new intakes when they're too full and can't humanely provide care to additional animals. An open intake facility, like the shelter, is supposed to be a last resort for those who need to surrender an animal. Even if they're full, they know they're the last resort before an animal is dumped, and if they euthanize it's because they have so many animals being surrendered that there's no possible way to provide humane care for that number of animals. If they aren't able to properly house the animals coming in, or don't have the resources to provide care, they may be forced to humanely euthanize. Please reach out to as many rescues as you can before using the shelter as a last resort, but don't feel guilty for ending up at the shelter - they rarely have to euthanize for space and make every effort not to.

​

If you have found an animal, please bring them by a vet or the shelter to have their microchip scanned, or utilize Tally Cat Cafe's microchip scanner sign out to see if they have a chip so they can be reunited with their owner. 

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​