Cat Cafe Tour of America

Hi. I like cats. Like, a lot. You know what else I like? Trendy cafes. Thankfully for me, these two things have been colliding in city after city here in America.

Cat cafe's technically originated in Taiwan, but really took hold when they made their way to Japan. After many successful establishments popped up there, they traveled to New York and have spread like wildfire ever since. The basic idea is that you can roll up to this coffee shop, eat your pastries, relish your morning Joe, cuddle cats, and not have to deal with the downsides of pet ownership. Many cat cafes donate a portion of the money for your visit to local shelters, and house adoptable cats for people to bond with and provide a forever home to.

Java Cats- Atlanta, Georgia

As a cat owner, I was excited to hear about this little bit of heaven on Earth, but I also recognized all that could go wrong here. Many cats are very social, but they have a threshold. When they're done with you- they're done. Also, having many cats together could cause them stress, as well as having a revolving door of strangers wanting to hold and pet them. So with these things in mind, how do the cafe's ensure that their cats are as safe, happy, and healthy as they could be? For starters, all the cafes that I've been to have had rooms where the cats could get away, high up shelves, and places to hide. This ensures that they can get away from the other cats, and from the humans. There are many, many food and water bowls placed around, so that isn't an opportunity for contention between felines. Also, the intention behind the ones that I've been to hasn't been to house these cats for a long period- rather to socialize them and give them a better chance at being adopted, as many adult cats have trouble finding homes. The cats brought to the cafes are chosen carefully, they select only the ones that seem to need a lot of attention and human contact, and if any aren't happy in their new environment, they are returned to a more stable one.

The owners of the coffee shops really love these cats and want them to be living as well as they can, while the situation isn't always ideal, I do believe that it's a big step up from shelter life and may be a gateway to an even better life with an owner.

SO! With all of my thoughts out there, I'm going to start posting reviews of the Cat Cafe's I've been to! I've had so much fun going from place to place and researching new ones to try, and even have a visit on the books for this weekend. So if you have any interest in checking out one of these places for yourself, follow up on my posts about them and I'll try to be as helpful as possible!