Cat cafés and rescue groups offer a slower, more personal way to meet adoptable cats than traditional shelters. In Toledo, cat cafés and rescues often work together. They help cats find homes, give shelter to those that are harder to place, and offer a space for the community to gather. Here are some of the top cat cafés and rescues that make the Toledo area a vibrant community for cat lovers.
RubyCats Cat Café
618 Adams St. | 419-820-7829
RubyCats Cat Café celebrated its first anniversary in January, but the idea began much earlier as a suggestion from founder Tallie Carter’s daughter, Ruby. What started as a family conversation grew into a nonprofit cat café where adoptable cats can roam freely and visitors can relax and spend time with them.
The café also honors the history of its building through the Joyce Fae Jacobs Cat Care Fund, named after a longtime neighborhood caretaker who spent decades looking after stray cats before RubyCats opened. Jacobs, the former owner of the Camel Bar, was a neighborhood legend for her compassion for cats. The fund helps cover veterinary care and enrichment for the cats, preserving the building’s legacy while supporting the café’s mission today.
Tabby & Fido’s Cat Café
300 N Main St. Bowling Green | (email protected)
Tabby & Fido’s Cat Café opened in 2023 as the first cat café in Northwest Ohio. It offers a calm lounge where visitors can relax with a drink, browse local artists’ work displayed for sale and meet adoptable cats. The space also functions as a casual place to work or study, with free WiFi and seating that encourages lingering.
The mother-daughter-run café works with local rescues to house up to 12 cats at a time as they wait for new homes. Since opening, the café has helped over 200 cats get adopted and hosts events like cat yoga and sound baths to help people unwind and connect.
“We have many wonderful reviews, but I think Ethan Martinez, one of my dedicated staff, said it best when he said, ‘I feel like I’m in a Hallmark movie when I’m here,’” the owner shared.
Willow & Whiskers Cat Lounge
Pop Up Shops | 419-705-5934
“At its core, Willow & Whiskers exists to give FeLV-positive cats the chance they’re so often denied,” said owner Stephanie Allen. “We believe a diagnosis shouldn’t define an animal’s worth or future.”
Founded by a team with backgrounds in emergency veterinary medicine, Willow & Whiskers Cat Lounge was created to address a gap in caring for cats who test positive for feline leukemia.
Because FeLV-positive cats require separate housing, they are often overlooked by traditional shelters with limited space. Willow & Whiskers offers a different approach. Still in its early stages, the organization pairs rescue work with a bookstore-based funding model, using donated books, community events and outreach to support medical care and advocacy.
Paws and Whiskers Cat Shelter
32 Hillwyck Dr. | 419-536-1914
Founded in 1996, Paws and Whiskers Rescue is one of the oldest cat welfare groups in the Toledo area. In a single year, the shelter took in almost 900 cats and found permanent homes for even more.
Beyond adoption, the rescue offers a range of programs designed to make companionship more accessible. Operation Cat Connect matches adoptable cats with local veterans seeking support. Through the Reading with Cats program, children are invited to read aloud in a calm, welcoming environment, helping socialize the cats and build literacy skills. The Senior to Senior program extends the mission further, allowing adults 60 and older to foster senior cats, with the shelter covering food, supplies, and veterinary care to help remove financial barriers to cat ownership.
Tabby Tails Cat Rescue
22550 Mermill Rd. Custar | 419-430-0005
Tabby Tails Cat Rescue operates out of a 19,000-square-foot former elementary school. The largely free-roam rescue doubles as a sanctuary for cats most at risk of euthanasia in traditional shelters. This includes disabled cats, feral cats, and cats with behavioral issues or serious health problems. Whether they are adopted or stay at the sanctuary, every cat is promised a safe and loving home.
Tabby Tails was started in 2020 to provide a safe home to cats often labeled as “bad.” The founder quickly became passionate about caring for disabled cats after Charlie, a blind cat who was one of the rescue’s first residents. In 2025, the rescue helped 165 cats find new homes.
