Grab A Cuddle
The rise of pet cafés for those looking to get their fix of caffeine and cuteness
Owning a pet makes us happier and healthier, but for many, long hours at work, tight budgets, and small living spaces all make it difficult to own and care for a pet. To the delight of animal lovers who enjoy cozying up with a warm cup and spending time with some furry friends, pet cafés are by now found throughout the world.
The international movement originated in Taipei, Taiwan where the world’s first feline café, Cat Flower Garden, opened in 1998. Since then, all kinds of pet cafés featuring house pets and farm animals have sprouted in major cities in Asia and as far as Sweden, the UK, and the US. At these locales, customers usually pay for a one-fee-covers-all fixed time period or a cover charge plus individual items from a menu.
One could spend all day hopping between the many pet joints in Tokyo, comfortably the world’s capital of cuteness. In addition to snacks for customers and the cats, Meow Parlour in NYC’s Chinatown features events like yoga & kitties night as well as special hours for families with children, when the staff can be extra attentive to the cats and the kids. Canil, a dog cafe in Shanghai, currently has over 110,000 followers on Weibo, China’s Twitter. For animal lovers who suffer from pet allergies, many cafés like San Francisco’s KitTea Cat Cafe offer the option to adore the playful pets from behind glass. Furthermore, Thanks Nature Cafe in Seoul takes it to the next level: seeming like a perfectly normal cafe from the outside, it is actually a place where guests can sit down for drinks and waffles while petting some lovely sheep.