Cat cafes are extremely popular in Japan and now that cafe trend has even spread to Malaysia. Country Pet Hotel houses the first cat cafe in Kuala Lumpur, and it also provides day care and grooming for cats and dogs.
While most cafes allow customers to bring in their own furry felines to make friends at the same time their owners chill, some cafes aim to provide a better life for cats.
Cat Cafe Nekokaigi in Kyoto was first opened in 2008, along with a litter of 13 stray kittens.
According to owner Mayuko Horii, “We adopted the stray cats from a volunteer when they were about two months old. Some cat cafe shops have rare or pedigree cats. But we value Kyoto’s abandoned cats.”
Horii’s cat cafe isn’t just a place to drink coffee in a venue full of cats. Business Insider reports that visitors pay about US$8 an hour to play with any of the cats, that do what they do best – napping and playing. They pay an extra $4 per half an hour, and it’s not compulsory for them to buy a drink.
Horii adds that strict rules are enforced to ensure that the cats are safe and sound. Some of them include no touching cats that are sleeping, and banning children under the age of 13 from touching the cats. Adopting the cats are also not allowed. “We refuse it because our other customers who love the cats will be sad to see them go. Those customers may not come back if the cat is gone,” she says.
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