Cat Cafe!

I mentioned in an earlier post that one of my Christmas presents this year was a gift certificate to a local cat cafe. Now speaking form experience, a cat cafe is a business where you can go hang out with and play with cats. Presumably you can also buy drinks, though no one was.

This particular cat cafe had an enclosed entryway where we left our shoes, read the house rules, and were given a number that connected us to the record book of entry times. The rules said that we could take pictures, but no flash, we were not to wake up sleeping kitties, we were not to bring food or toys for the kitties (though we could use the toys provided) and, sadly, we were not allowed to pick the kitties up.

When we first went in, we put our bags and coats in a locker and then went to see the cats. It was one big room with a variety of cat climing structures, shelves for cats to sit on, couches for cats and people to sit on, a kotatsu (heated table) in the back corner and about 12 people. There were young couples, a family with a toddler, and middle-aged women. There were also two young workers. One was vigorously brushing a tom cat who was very much enjoying himself. There were about 12 cats. Each had a bio on the wall with his picture, name, breed and personal information.

Things were a bit awkward at first. A lot of the cats were sleeping or out of reach. People would stand up, go over the cat structure, pet the cats in reach, and then go back to their chair so as not to hog the critters. Things livened up, though, when one of the middle aged ladies bought some cat treats.

As you can see from the picture, there was a cabinet on the wall - perfect for lounging - with a sign on the front. It says that you can pay 100 yen (about $1) for cat treats and you can pay 300 yen ($3) for "special" cat treats.

As soon as the cats heard the cabinet open, they all came to life. The lady with the treats was swarmed by a wave of anxious felines. She started handing out little bits of kibble as fast as she could go. The orange tom cat who had been on the grooming table was right up front and would attack her hand as soon as she stretched it out with a treat. He often snagged the treat before it reached the intended recipient.

Having seen how excited the cats got over regular treats, the woman's friend decided to splurge on the special treats. It turned out special treats included little dried fish mixed in with the kibble. The woman became a cat tree. She was accosted from all angles. One cat jumped up onto her shoulder (she was sitting at the time). He was continually pulled off her and continued to jump up onto her and try to crawl down her arm to the cup of treats. He often stuffed his head right in (at which point the staff would pull him off again. The woman was a bit shaken by the extent of the attention and passed the treats to her friend, who was a bit faster distributing the treats. She also covered the top of the cup with her palm so there would be no face-dunking. It was quite a scene.

Once all the cats were out and about, it was more fun. At one point the black cat that had been climbing all over the lady with the treats jumped up onto the staff desk and snatched a pink Stitch puppet before running off with it. The puppet was a cat toy, so that was no problem, but the staff remarked that this cat had never shown interest in the puppet before. He was interested now, though - biting, growling, rolling around. The treat ladies went over and put the puppet on to fight back. That went well. Eventually they moved on to another cat and I took over the puppet. The treats had clearly energized our little black friend. He fought the puppet for a good 20 minutes. When he seemed to lose interest, I put the puppet down, but once the puppet was motionless, the cat jumped it again and started growling and rolling and jumping like before.

All in all, it was a fun trip. It was sad that we couldn't hold the cats, though. It definitely didn't scratch that cat-snuggling itch to just play with and pet the cats. They were cute, though, and it was a fun hour.