Coffee, Tea or Meow? 10 Cat Cafes Around The World

Sirena Bar in Beijing

(images via: Juliannetran, Jakarta Globe and China Travel Depot)

Since the first cat cafe appeared in China six years ago, about a dozen more have opened their doors to cats and cat-lovers. One of the more well-known cat cafes in China’s capitol is the Sirena Bar, owned by Beijing natives Zhang Lange and Geng Yi. All of the cats at Sirena Bar have been spayed and neutered to keep their natural aggressive tendencies at bay, and they’re not allowed to leave the bar lest they join the estimated half a million cats already roaming the city’s mean streets.

(image via: Juliannetran)

Like any regular restaurant or bar, it can take time to build up a loyal group of customers who are vital for the business to survive. Cat cafes are no exception, though Zhang says she is now breaking even two years after opening Sirena Bar with the tills registering about 70,000 yuan (roughly $11,072) monthly.

Shanghai’s Cat & Jazz Coffee Café

(images via: Expats In China, ZaiShanghai and Global Times)

Shanghai’s Cat & Jazz Coffee cafe, located at Rm. 301, No. 3, Lane 79 Ronghua Dong Lu near Gubei Lu takes a slightly different approach: the customers are the pampered creatures though the cats are still a close second. One visitor related that “soft music fills the dimly lit space, helping create an inviting and warm aura.” You’ll be even warmer once one of the 8 cats on hand decides you’d make a perfect pillow.

(image via: ZaiShanghai)

Elegance abounds at the Cat & Jazz Coffee cafe though be prepared to pay for it – menu prices aren’t recommended reading for the faint of heart nor the light of pocketbook. Still, if a “flat-faced cat whose fur was cut short except for the fur his head and feet, creating a pair of stylish furry boots” is your preferred accompaniment to chai and cheesecake, you’ve come to the right place.

From Russia With Love

(images via: RIA Novosti/Alexei Danichev)

Cat’s Republic, located not far from St. Isaac’s Square in downtown St. Petersburg, is Russia’s first cat cafe. Opened in the summer of 2011, the cafe has proven to be a hit with children and adults: the former like to visit during the day while the latter make Cat’s Republic a must-do in the evenings. No sightings of Russian president Vladimir Putin have been reported but it’s only a matter of time as VP is a noted animal fan.

(image via: Hungeree/Reuters)

Eight cats currently call Cat’s Republic their home, of which four were formerly “employed” as mousers at St. Petersburg’s huge Hermitage Museum. Interestingly, for post-Soviet Russia, “the main rule of the cat cafe is never to insist on any interaction the cat is not willing to engage in, because the citizens of the Republic are free cats.” So much for Meowist-Leninism.

Small Things CATS and Books in Sudbury, Canada

(images via: SmallThings.ca)

A cat cafe in Canada? Strange but true, though the curious will have to time their visits carefully: Small Things CATS and Books is run by volunteers from the community and is only open for feline interaction on Catur-, er, Saturdays from 1 to 5pm. As the saying goes, “Have a coffee and a sweet. Play with our friendly adoptable cats; meet up with friends.”

(images via: The Sudbury Star and SmallThings.ca)

There are no permanent staff cats at Small Things; the idea is to come in, relax with the cats and hopefully adopt one (they’re priced from $15 to $95 depending on their age – elderly cats are free). The cats at Small Things come from the Greater Sudbury Animal Shelter and are friendly, fixed, vaccinated and dewormed. And you thought the only thing to see in Sudbury was the Big Nickel!

London Crawling

(images via: Indiegogo and Biz Penguin)

Old and busted: Cheshire cats. New hotness: Lady Dinah’s Cat Emporium in merry olde London! Well, maybe: if Lauren Pears, the project’s driving force, can raise enough money via crowd-funding website Indiegogo the cat cafe will be a go-go. If things work out, the cafe (which is named after Alice from Alice In Wonderland’s cat) will feature about 20 cats acquired from the Mayhew Animal Home.

(image via: NUS Cat cafe)

As per British health and pet regulations, the cafe would be split into three separate parts: one area for the cats, another where cats and customers can interact, and finally a cat-free space where food and drink would be served. To date over 14,500 Pounds have been raised with 31 days left in the campaign so if a cat cafe in London sounds like the cat’s meow, visit Indiegogo and make it happen!