Cat Café Invites Customers to Relax

You’re not in an average coffee shop when one of the staff has to casually shift a cat sleeping on the menu before you can order your latte. Even more so that the cat doesn’t bat an eyelid and continues to sleep with the café’s money tray resting on it’s back. This is Calico Café in Kichijoji, Tokyo.

Red and white sofas line the walls of the cafe while brightly colored cushions are thrown casually on the floor inviting customers and cats alike to kickback and relax. One customer, a young woman in her early twenties lays on the floor, lost in her own thoughts, stroking the soft furry back of Maruko, a Burmese. Her friend has wandered off to follow Kanna; a cat that is trying its best to get into the cathouse to avoid the gaze of the camera phones pointing in her direction.

Since the coffee shop opened its doors in 2007 there are already three other copycat cafes that have opened throughout the city. For most customers who live in Tokyo, the chance to interact with these moggy companions is a rare experience. Many would like to keep their own pets but apartments where pets are permitted come at a high cost.

One of the Calico staff explains that on an average weekend the cafe attracts up to 160 customers a day who will pay 800 yen an hour to play with the cats. “Cats are very relaxing to be around and just watching them play together leaves customers feeling really good,” she said. Another staff, who after taking a tally check is searching for hidden cats, adds that each cat is carefully selected after visiting reputable cat breeders to ensure only the friendliest and tamest of cats are chosen.

The most popular cat in the café is Maruko, who reportedly likes to be tickled under her chin. Next to her was the newest addition to the cafe, a three-month-old kitten that was absorbed in the process of trying to catch a fake mouse being dangled by a male customer who seemed as equally fascinated by the game.

The pet dog and owner market has gained in popularity over the past decade and stores which provide clothes, bags, accessories, and even designer goods for man’s best friend continue to open. Unfortunately cats have seemingly had a much rougher deal, with 1.16 million stray cats estimated in Tokyo alone and 240,000 unclaimed cats gassed across the country annually. Calico Cafe could, however, mark the start of a changing attitude towards cats.

Cat Cafe Calico
cafecalico.com/

Text:MT

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