The Purr Vegan Cat Cafe Dublin: Everything you need to know for a cute visit

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Are you looking for the one cat cafe Dublin offers? In this post you will learn about everything you need to know about The Purr Cat Cafe, the only cat cafe in Dublin Ireland. Cat cafes are some of our favorite places in Europe to visit as a couple.

For a while, the only cat cafe in Dublin was called the Cat Lounge but it closed and sadly left the city and its inhabitants with no place to hang out with cats. Luckily, some good news came our way and the Phibsboro Cat Rescue Dublin opened The Purr in 2021 and after being closed for a few months due to the worldwide health crisis, it reopened in 2022. 

We recently visited this Irish cat café, one of the few cat cafes in Europe, and are now sharing everything you need to know to have the best visit. Whether you are looking to adopt a cat in Dublin or just want to hang out at one of the cutest cafes in Ireland, add a visit to the cats in Dublin to your itinerary!

If you are traveling through Europe, you might want to check out Porto’s cat cafe in Portugal, Java Whiskers, one of the best London cat cafes, and PurrPurr, a cat cafe in Warsaw!

Why going to the Purr Cat Cafe Dublin Ireland is perfect for couples on a budget

As you know, we travel with a clear budget in mind so we are always up for any activity that ticks both romance and budget-friendly boxes. The Purr cat cafe Dublin ticks both boxes. 

Romantic cat cafe date

Whether you are locals looking for unique date ideas in Dublin or a couple looking to explore the secrets of Dublin, visiting a cat cafe is one of the cutest things you can do with your partner (unless you hate cats or are allergic but that’s a different story). Of course, the best part is hanging out with the cats and playing with them in the cats and kittens playroom. This means that sometimes, if you’re lucky, kittens for adoption Dublin offers are at the cafe. In our experience, cat cafés are also usually vegan so it gives you and your partner an opportunity to try new treats and discuss your experience afterwards. That’s the case of The Purr. 

Cheap budget

Cat cafes are usually free to enter and that’s the case for The Purr Cat Cafe Dublin. You can come to the café, order your drinks and treats and hang out by the window to observe the cats. There is also an option to book a 30 minute session in the relaxation room, which is connected to the cats’ room. This option allows you to hang out more closely with the cats and costs €10. The money goes to the charity towards all of their expenses. The 30 minute session must be booked online ahead of time and it is recommend to show up 10 minutes early. 

Disclaimer/Ethicality

In our experience, the cat cafe in Dublin seemed to be taking good care of the cats. When booking a session online, this Dublin cat cafe has a disclaimer that they don’t force the cats to come to you during the session. The disclaimer is very clear that the cats might come to you or they might not, depending on their rescue situation. The cafe looks out for the cats’ well being first. 

When entering the relaxation room, we asked if we could pet the cats (in the case that they did come to us) and were advised that it is better not to. In our situation, the cats were feral cats (from the street) and weren’t used to human contact so it would have been too aggressive towards them. We obviously support that the well being of the cats is put first and that they are being respected as living beings rather than toys. 

We have heard of people complaining about the fact that they were also told not to pet the cats. We think that it’s important to remember that animals deserve respect to, and that they are not there to please you as a visitor. If you want to pet animals, we would recommend going to walk alpacas, which is another fun and cute thing to do in Ireland. 

The Vegan Cafe Experience

When you first enter this cat cafe Ireland offers, you follow a ramp that takes you to a large window opened on the cats’ room followed by the vegan cafe.

The vegan food and drinks

At the cafe, you will find a range of vegan drinks and vegan treats. That include vegan hot chocolates, vegan coconut snickers, vegan cookies, vegan butter, vegan cupcakes. The café also offers sandwiches and soups if you want to go for lunch.

Where to sit at the cat cafe

If you are just coming to see the cats through the window, you can grab some food and drinks and sit on the benches or watch the cats through the window. If you are coming for a session, you can either get food and drinks before or after your session. If you order before, you can enter the room with your food and drink. 

Our experience at the cat cafe 

We decided to go into our session without food or drinks as we wanted the focus to be on the cats and be able to play with them without having to care about our food. We both had a hot chocolate afterwards and it was very good. This is a cool cats cafe if you are looking fro get drink but in a different setting than the usual cafes. 

The Purr Cat Cafe Dublin experience

Although The Purr cat cafe is a cat rescue in Dublin Ireland, a visit is not solely reserved for those who want to adopt a cat in Dublin. In our case, we were not looking for a cat for adoption in Dublin. We simply cannot adopt a pet at this stage of our lives but still love hanging out with them. This is the only one of the cafes Dublin City centre offers that allows us to do that. 

The experience

We arrived a bit in advance of our session and waited for about 10 minutes. When the time came around, we were asked to sanitise our hands and wear those plastic bags around our shoes. The volunteer also gave us some cat toys so we could interact with the cats. 

When entering the room, you’ll notice two rooms. One is reserved solely for the cats so they can have their own space. It is connected to the relaxation room which is where visitors hang out. In that room, you can eat or drink your purchase and hang out with the cats.

At first, the cats were a bit hesitant to come around us and didn’t care about the toys. But after a while, they seemed a bit more interested and we managed to get some cute interaction with them. One even stood on its back legs to play with us, it was super cute! 

After 30 minutes, we were informed that the session was over and left the room. Note that sessions are not private so there will most likely be other people with you in the room. 

The cats

As this is a cat shelter in Dublin Ireland, the cats are rescues, meaning they were saved from the street. They are technically up for adoption. However, the volunteer explained that in the case of feral cats, a cat adoption would only take place with someone who has experience with cats. 

Although feral and a bit shy at first, the cats ended dup playing with us. It turns out they were just being cats! 

Practical information about this Ireland cat cafe

If you live in Dublin and are looking for a cat cafe near me, you will find The Purr Cat cafe Dublin. This is a cat cafe Smithfield neighbourhood offers on the North side of Dublin. To get there, you can take the Red Luas from the city centre and stop at the Four Courts stop. The Dublin post code for The Purr is D07 RW97. Then you’ll have to walk a few minutes. An alternative is to walk from the city centre which takes about 30 minutes. 

There is a charity gift shop near the entrance where the charity sells handmade items by local and international artisans. 

The cat cafe opening hours are Saturdays and Sundays from 11am to 6pm and Fridays from 11am to 7pm. 

If you are looking for cat cafe Dublin jobs, the charity is always looking for volunteers. You can learn more about it here. 

Any questions on The Purr Cat Cafe Dublin? Drop them in the comments or on insta and we will get back to you asap.