The Cat Cafe

I did not find this place on my own. My neighbor and guest blogger Beverly invited our tower friends to visit Neco Cat Cafe. Surprisingly (or not) only the cat owners on our floor decided to make the trip. It seemed like such a foreign experience - I had to try it! Cat cafes are more popular in mainland Japan where small living spaces mean fewer house pets resulting in a kind of pet rental business. Neco Cat Cafe is the only one I have heard of on the island of Okinawa, but the business model is the same. You pay a cover charge to spend time surrounded by happy cats.

When you open the door to the cafe you are in a small vestibule with shelves for your shoes. You must wear the slippers provided by the cafe when inside. Inside the cafe you are greeted by the owner with a spray bottle. Your hands are sprayed with a disinfectant before you can touch any of the cats. She also explains the rules (do not feed the cats, do not pick up the cats) and asks for you drink orders. We paid around ten dollars for an hour in the cafe with a drink included. Our neighbor who got lost and joined us later paid for a thirty minute session with no drink instead. After you make your drink selection you are free to wander around a tiny cat paradise.

There was a solid wall of windows so there were plenty of sunny napping spots. There were cat beds and baby cradles made into cat beds. All of the food bowls and litter boxes were kept out of sight. My favorite part had to be the cat transportation system along the ceiling where cats could walk over our heads.

Our drinks were delivered with cat-themed covers so that the kitties could not steal our drinks if we walked away from the table. I ordered a mango juice, and I was glad for the ice. The whole cafe was sunny and very warm.

At every table there was a list of the "cat staff" so we could call them by name. I believe that some of the cats were available for adoption, but I know that the cover charge we paid was used to care for all of them. There were some more exotic breeds among the "staff," the scottish fold, ragdoll, and munchkin to name a few. We spent our time petting the cats (even if they were aloof) and watching one of the kitties attack all of his sleeping coworkers. While I don't feel the need to frequent this cafe since I have a pet of my own, I was glad I got to experience another culture that also appreciates the simple pleasure of spending time with cats.