To most people visiting a café where you could play with adoptable rescue cats for an hour is the best way to spend a piece of your day. To me? Well, let’s just say I was doing it for my niece. Because I don’t like cats. I’m a dog person, 100%.
But saying that, I enjoyed my visit at Catfé. Not as much as others would have, and I never even touched a cat, but it was still enjoyable. That is saying a lot from a self-proclaimed non-cat person.
The Breakdown
Catfé cat café has two sections. The part where you check-in and buy your beverage and/or a food item, and the part where the cats are enjoying life. Obviously, the section where you check-in and buy sustenance is a lot smaller than the cat section.
There are three doors to get into Catfé, to protect any cats from being let out into the wild. The main door leads you into the entrance where you find two more doors. One into the food area and one into the cat area. Plus, once in the cat’s area, there are three rooms for said cats.
MAIN CAT ROOM IN CATFE
The main room for the cats contains employees, merchandise that can be purchased, tables, chairs, benches, shelves, cubbies, and toys. The tables and chairs are metal with wood. The benches are wood and the floor is cement. Nothing for the cats to shred. It means there isn’t a lot of comfortable furniture for you to relax in but that isn’t really why you visit Catfé.
As soon as you walk into the main cat living space, there is a door on your right. That door is for a special room where there was a cat who didn’t like to hang out with other cats. You could go into that room and pet said cat but he couldn’t come out and only one person was welcome in there at a time.
A second cat room is further into the main cat living space. It’s where other cats are placed when they aren’t hanging out with people. Considering its cats and people are paying to hang out with them for one hour at a time, it’s not surprising you won’t find them all lovingly rubbing up to everybody all the time. They need private time and rest time. While you will find cats doing their own thing like sleeping on a shelf or in a box in a cubby, there are people roaming around and sometimes the cats just need private time.
What You Can Do
To allow random people and cats to connect, Catfé has an assortment of toys and obstacles. There were cloth tunnels for the cats to climb through, or even hide. There were plush toys, this cool feathers and stuff on a stick thing, climbing posts with hiding spots, and a ring with a ball rolling around.
Some cats let people pet them but I don’t remember seeing anyone holding a cat. I think it just depends on the cat and their mood. None of the cats were aggressive, I never even heard a hiss while I was there. I’m guessing it’s the staff’s job to make sure the cats have private time so they don’t get to that point.
THE DETAILS FOR CATFE CAT CAFE
Because the cats come first at Catfé, you can’t just walk in and hangout with cats. You have to make a booking first. Each booking is only open for, I think 6-7 people, and they are one hour long. You arrive and check-in. There is an admission to enter, but it is less if you purchase something to eat or drink. I enjoyed a cute purple cat macaron. You need to keep your receipt because it is how you get in to visit the cats.
You take your food and drinks as well as your receipt over to the cat area reception. They show you the rules, things are explained to you, and you must wash your hands. Then you are free to engage with the cats to your heart’s content for the rest of the hour.
I went to Catfé as something to do that my 12-year-old niece would enjoy but I left enjoying the time I spent with those cats. I think it is a great way to spend some free time, do something different, or just plain spend some time with cats. It’s a great time for families, dates, or by yourself when you are having a bad day. It really was quite enjoyable. And that’s a non-cat lover telling you this.
Related Articles
Mink Chocolates and the Best Hot Chocolate I Have Found So Far
Cacao 70 – A Bit of Chocolate and Ice Cream Heaven
Summer Street Festivals in the Vancouver Area