Imagine stepping into a local café, inhaling the rich aroma of brewing coffee, and taking a closer look at the menu. Alongside the house coffees, espressos and caramel macchiatos, however, there’s a rather more surprising addition: cats. Yes, you read that correctly, fuzzy felines are on the menu in cafés everywhere from Japan to Vienna. Don’t be alarmed, though - they’re not for eating. The animals are there to keep you company and help you relax.
Cat cafés are venues that offer patrons quality time with friendly cats while they (the clientele, not the cats) sip hot drinks and unwind. Thus, the cafés are sort of like supervised pet rental stores. This unique business idea originated in Taipei, Taiwan in 1998, while the first Japanese cat café was opened in Osaka in 2004. In a mere 15 years, the concept has exploded across Asia and has even begun to sink its claws into Europe. Read on for a closer look at 15 of the world’s most incredible cat cafés.
15. Cat Republic - St. Petersburg, Russia
The Cat Republic art café is located in St. Petersburg, Russia. As of February 2013, this unique venue was home to 15 felines, including the Don sphynx (Russian hairless) pictured above. As well as providing people with tea and coffee, Cat Republic aims to teach the public about cats and how to care for them correctly. Special events include classes on cat care and opportunities to hear from zoo psychologists and felinologists. The café has ties to both the Vsevolozhsk Cat Museum just outside the city and St. Petersburg’s State Hermitage Museum. It opened in 2011 and saw a sharp rise in popularity as people of all ages came looking for the chance to hang out with the fuzzy creatures. [More] [Video]
14. Cateriam Cat Café - Tokyo, Japan
In Tokyo, where many landlords forbid keeping pets, a cat café may be one of the few places where locals can unwind in the tranquil company of a domesticated animal. Cateriam Cat Café is located in the hip Shimokitazawa district of the Japanese capital. The café currently has 11 felines for visitors to play with and offers customers DVDs of the cats as well as other related memorabilia. Some of the resident cats even have their own Twitter feeds. Cat cafés are booming business in Japan - so what’s the big draw? Well, customers say that they frequent them for more than just creature comforts. They go to relax in a peaceful, cat-filled atmosphere when they’re feeling tired and stressed out. [Cateriam Cat Café on Facebook (in Japanese)] [Video]
13. Minimal Café - Taipei, Taiwan
When it comes to the café’s cat population, Minimal Café in Taipei, Taiwan is anything but. According to a customer who visited the café in June 2012, there were more than 15 cats in the main café and a further 15 in the basement. Since some customers choose to stay there for several hours, if not all day, Minimal Café offers everything from chicken to soups and salads, instead of just limiting the menu to specialty beverages. One online reviewer described the café as a “great place to chill.” He wrote, “With free Wi-Fi (password upon request), bossa nova music and loads of cats, this place is a trap! You can’t get out, you just want to have a cat on your lap while you read/study.” [Video]
12. Cat Café - Budapest, Hungary
Cat lovers in Budapest, Hungary must have been thrilled when Cat Café Budapest opened in early 2013. The café currently has 13 lovable felines for visitors to stroke and hang out with. Customer Zsofia Sos explained why she frequents the spot: “I am in town all day, and when I get home in the evening, I don’t get enough time with my own cats…so I sit in here to play with the cats, they cheer me up,” she said. One online reviewer stressed that Cat Café Budapest is “not just a novelty café.” The review continued, “I was impressed with the way they managed the balance between interaction with the (very friendly) cats and running a regular café. The staff were very friendly and efficient, and the café had a good selection of teas and coffees, along with some cake options.” [Cat Café Budapest website (in Hungarian)] [Video]
11. Nekokaigi Café - Kyoto, Japan
Pets can get quite expensive in Japan. Some have even referred to them as potential “luxury items.” Perhaps that’s why cat cafés have enjoyed so much popularity. According to the BBC, around 150 cat cafés have opened in the country over the past 10 years. While many are located in Tokyo, Cat Café Nekokaigi is in Kyoto, on the Japanese island of Honshu. The venue offers cosy furniture, a relaxing environment, cat companions (of course) and a range of specialty beverages - from coffee to chocolate milk. As with many of its Japanese counterparts, Nekokaigi Café has very specific rules to guide customers’ interactions with the friendly felines. For example, no children under the age of 13 are allowed into the café, and customers are prohibited from giving drinks to the cats, waking them, picking them up or using flash photography. [Video]
10. Café Neko - Vienna, Austria
When it opened in 2012, Austria’s Café Neko (which is Japanese for cat) became the first European cat café. Located in Vienna, the café is very firm about one particular rule: no dogs allowed! Getting permission to open the café, complete with adopted cats, proved no easy feat for owner Takako Ishimitsu, who hails from Japan. It took three years for Ishimitsu to obtain permission from Vienna officials to open the café, as they had concerns about hygiene. Interestingly, cat cafés have also encountered opposition from animal welfare activists, who suggest that the constant attention and petting stresses the animals out. [More images] [Café Neko website (in German)] [Video]
9. Godabang Cat Café - Seoul, South Korea
Godabang Cat Café, which is located in the Hongdae area of Seoul, South Korea, is home to approximately 20 cats of different breeds. Still, according to The New York Times, the café is spotless, despite its booming feline population. One blogger reports that Godabang Cat Café doesn’t smell like cats at all, which is great news for anyone who’s a bit sceptical about entering for fear of a feline overload. Godabang Cat Café is situated close to the Konkuk University, which must be good for business. A lot of young people seem to be enjoying the fuzzy residents of the café in the photo above, in any case. And as an added bonus, if one online review’s claims are to be believed, Godabang Cat Café has the best hot chocolate in South Korea. [Godabang Cat Café
website (in Korean)] [Video]
8. Cat Café - Shanghai, China
The cat café pictured above - reckoned to be the third of its type in Shanghai - is a perfect place for cat lovers to hang out in and relax. In fact, The Huffington Post reports that cat owners can even “farm out” their felines to the bar. It probably isn’t too much of a surprise to learn that the owner of this place is a cat lover herself. Twenty-five-year-old Ding Jieru opened the venue in early 2012. Miss Liu, the owner of a similar café in Chongqing, China, told CNC World, “I was once an ordinary office worker, stressed and tired. But now I can play with cats every day. I think it’s the happiest thing for me.”
7. Calico Cat Café - Tokyo, Japan
Calico Cat Café in Tokyo, Japan is so busy on weekends that it’s advisable for customers to reserve petting times in advance. The café is tucked away among the busy streets of Tokyo’s Shinjuku ward and is home to over 20 cats of various breeds. However, getting the attention of the felines may be easier after purchasing cat food at the front desk. One reviewer said, “The entire cat café is very quiet, which is a nice change from bustling Tokyo. Can you think of a more ideal place? People just sitting around, sipping coffee and sodas, petting cats.” [Calico Cat Café website (in Japanese)] [Video]
6. Café Katzentempel - Schwabing, Germany
Café Katzentempel opened in May 2013 in Schwabing, Germany. The café is Germany’s first of the cat variety. It’s home to six cats, including two new Siamese kittens, and offers a menu replete with vegan options. Yet even though the venue serves food, hygiene is definitely not an issue at Café Katzentempel, as the kitchen is disconnected from the café. Still, as an added precaution, all food is covered up until it is delivered to customers. The cats themselves are rescue animals and are chosen for their friendly personalities. And should the café become too overwhelming for the creatures, they can retreat to their own private room. [Café Katzentempel website (in German)]
5. Gio Cat Café - Seoul, South Korea
Gio Cat Café, in the Hongdae part of Seoul, South Korea, was opened in March 2006 and has more than 20 feline residents, including exotic breeds like the Scottish fold, Persian and Russian blue. Although blog Tokyo Penguin claims that the café lacks something in atmosphere, the cats themselves seem to make up for it by being extremely friendly. While occasionally café cats might seem aloof or can only be petted once bribed with food, this doesn’t seem to be true at Gio Cat Café. Tokyo Penguin wrote, “At least a dozen came running at me once I entered the café… There were constantly three fighting on my lap and five or more sitting near me. You can grab some toys to have fun with the more playful cats.” [Gio Cat Café website (in Korean)] [Video]
4. Ailu Cat Café - Hanoi, Vietnam
A veterinarian school dropout and cat lover named Tran Huyen Huong opened Ailu Cat Café in Hanoi, Vietnam in September 2012. The café has a large teenage crowd, and all of its advertising is done through Facebook. It’s also quite popular - so popular, in fact, that it’s packed at the end of the week. According to CNN, “You have to book a cushion on weekends.” Student Vu Quynh Thu explained why she enjoys going to Aliu, saying, “Watching all these cats helps me relax.” Relaxation and de-stressing from school and work seem to be common reasons to visit cat cafés around the world. And this very fact may make the concept transferable from Asian countries like Japan, South Korea and Taiwan to Europe. Cafés look set to open in London and Paris, so it may only be a matter of time before they make the leap to North and South America.
3. Charming Cats Café and Pet Shop - Lat Phrao, Thailand
The owners of the Charming Cats Café and Pet Shop in Bangkok, Thailand have expanded the cat café concept even further. Not only is the venue a place for drinking hot drinks and stroking felines, but you can buy animals there as well. It may just be the most ingenious cat café yet, as quality time with the cats is sure to make customers want to own one themselves - and the café is said to accommodate more than 30 different cats. This particular store was opened in June 2012, but Charming Cats Café and Pet Shop is just one of multiple cat cafés in Bangkok. [Charming Cats Café and Pet Shop on Facebook]
2. Nyan da Café - Tokyo, Japan
Nyan da Café in Tokyo, Japan might just take the cake for the most cats in residence. With as many as 40 felines, this cat-centric venue claims to be Japan’s largest of its kind. It has various rooms with different atmospheres and exudes the smell of feline musk. One reviewer said that Nyan da Café felt more like a petting zoo than anything else and added that the drinks weren’t that great. Nevertheless, one employee claimed that the place gets about 30 visitors a day during the week and 80 on Saturdays and Sundays. The café is perfectly situated in Odaiba, which is located on an artificial island in Tokyo Bay and has become a major commercial area. Thus, Nyan da Café offers shoppers a break from their busy run-arounds. [More] [Nyan da Café website (in Japanese)] [Video]
1. Cat Café Nekorobi - Tokyo, Japan
One of the perks of Tokyo’s Cat Café Nekorobi is that once customers pay the admission fee, they have access to cats, food and drink - at no extra charge. Wi-Fi, televisions, video games, phone chargers and laptops are all available for customers to use as well. This venue seems to appeal to tourists as well as locals, and one traveller (and visitor to Nekorobi) claimed that “cats are very good therapy after a long flight!” Even though the concept might seem foreign and a bit bizarre to us in the West, we can’t help but wonder whether this business paradigm isn’t a potentially global one. Visitors to these cafés all seem to agree: cats are great for relaxation, de-stressing and pure enjoyment. Besides, cat lovers are everywhere. [More] [Video]
I think the number #12 pic actually shows the recently opened cat cafe in Montreal. Cos CAT CAFE BUDAPEST has green walls and not red.
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