Hairy host: Owner Takako Ishimitsu holds Moritz, one of the five resident moggies in Vienna's first cat cafeIt's a cafe with a difference. Your imperious hosts don’t lift a finger, but wander around as if they own the place. And the odd hair in your coffee is to be expected.
For Europe’s first ‘cat cafe’ opened earlier this month in Austria. Customers sip their tea and lattes while resident moggies Sonja, Thomas, Moritz, Luca and Momo settle on their laps or purr underneath their chairs.
Takako Ishimitsu, the cafe’s 47-year-old owner is originally from Japan where such cafes are not uncommon. There, pets are often forbidden in apartments, so people seek out designated pet cafes for animal companionship instead. For the price of a cappuccino, they can watch the cats and play with them to their hearts’ content.
Catnap: Luca sleeps in his basket suspended above the tables as a waitress serves customers in Austria's Cafe NekoThere are at least 39 of these cafes in Tokyo alone, some specialising in particular types of cat, such as black cats or fat ones. Takako says that she wanted to bring this unusual aspect of Japanese culture to Europe to provide comfort to people who longed for a pet cat, but couldn’t keep one for reasons of space or economy. Each of her cats was rescued from a local animal shelter.
Part of the furniture: One cat plays with a toy mouse while another lies under a chair as customers enjoy lunch
Takako spent three years negotiating with city officials over hygiene issues before being granted permission to open Cafe Neko (neko means cat in Japanese.)
But it’s not only hygiene obsessives who will be unhappy with the cat cafe’s arrival in Vienna — signs on the windows make clear it has a strict ‘no dogs’ policy.
Main attraction: One of the five cats brought in as part of a concept imported from Japan, where pets are banned from apartments and animal lovers have to go elsewhere for creature companionship
The tigers who came to tea: Three of the Cafe Neko cats take up a whole table for themselves
Do take a seat: Customers watch Moritz sitting on a chair. Each of the five cats is living the good life after being rescued from a local animal shelter
Cat du jour: Even the menu at Cafe Neko comes with portraits of the five most important members of staff
Your lunch is getting cold! This father and son look engrossed in playing with one of the cats
source: dailymail
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