The benefits of spending time with animals, and the healing effects on the heart and mind have been noted over and over. Society is seeing an influx of various levels of service animals, ranging from domestic pets to certified service dogs, and self-delegated “emotional support” animals. (Paws up if you remember the “emotional support peacock” not being permitted on the plane....) Since I'm the owner of a cat cafe, that's what this article will discuss. Talk about what you know, right?
What happens when your (MEAN) spouse says no, your kid is allergic, or your landlord management company either says “No way!” or asks for a large pet deposit and/or an increase in the rent. Or you are a university student, living the dorm life where no pets are permitted, or you're avid traveler who doesn't want to commit to full time pet ownership, or you miss your cats at home? What's a cat lover to do? Enter in the Cat Cafe!
The first cat cafe was established in Thailand in 1998, while the first in Canada was in 2014, in Montreal, QC. Since then, they've been popping up everywhere, taking various formats including traditional brick and mortar or a pop-up event format. Edmonton's first cat cafe was established in 2017, and has since been joined by a second one. Cat Cafes are great for those individuals who cannot or do not want to commit to full time pet ownership. Most Canadian cat cafes operate on a cover charge or minimum purchase model and timed in order to make sure they are remaining sustainable and avoiding people coming in, buying a coffee and camping out for 10 hours. You see, there are some pretty strict rules about animals and places where food is prepared and served. In Alberta, there is a requirement of absolute separation between the food prep areas and the area where the cats are permitted to roam. Sadly, no kitties will get to lay on top of the nice warm espresso machine, much to their disappointment.
The majority of North American cat cafes will partner with rescues, although some of them will operate their own rescues, and thus will feature adoptable cats. A few cat cafes have adopted an entirely permanent resident model. The biggest benefit to hosting adoptable cats, for potential adopters, is the opportunity to spend some time with a cat in a more relaxed setting than a traditional shelter/pet store situation may be able to offer.
“Time spent with cats is never wasted.” -Sigmund Freud