Have you ever heard of a Cat Cafe? If you haven’t… you’re missing out!

The Star Wars themed Cat Cafe

It’s not a cat themed cafe, or a cafe that just has pictures of cats...it has cats. Yes, there are many cats (around 15) wandering around a small cafe. The cafe also serves food and beverages for humans, but you go there for the cats, not the food.

A few weeks ago, I went to a cat cafe here in Chiang Mai, Thailand. I was surprised at how well-kept the cats were - there was almost no hair anywhere! A lot of the cats liked to play with strings and toys, but some just slept. Not all of the felines were in the cafe, some of them were upstairs, away from human beings; I also think that the ‘bathroom’ for the animals was up there, because I saw no cat relieving themselves in the public room.

The employees were all very nice. It would be hard not to be happy when you are with cats most of your day!

Most of these furry felines at the cat cafe, Catmosphere range from ‘Cute kittens’ to ‘Sleepy adults’

I enjoyed my visit, so much that I am going again this week; and generally, I prefer (preferred) dogs. Okay, before you explain to me why you think cats are better, let me tell you this: I now like cats just as much! I know I’m not the only one who likes cats, but not everyone does. However, I think that even if you don't like cats, you will enjoy the cat cafe.

I will give you some reasons to visit and then some downsides to the cafe, so you can decide if it is worth your time.

Why you should go:

1.    CATS!!!
2.    Free play time with cats
3.    Good food
4.    Air conditioning
5.    A very social atmosphere

Why you shouldn't go:

1.    CATS!!!
2.    You have to buy something to enter
3.    It’s not cheap
4.    A long line (If you get there after about noon)
5.    You can only stay there for about 2 hours before you have to leave (if there is a line)

Now that I have given you 5 reasons to visit a Cat Cafe and 5 reasons not to visit a Cat Cafe, I think you should be closer to your final decision.

Personally, I think the good things outweigh the bad things, but of course there are compromises.

Let’s go through all of the reasons why you should go, shall we?

-    CATS!!! I think this one is pretty self-explanatory

-    Free play time with cats. All cats that are in the cafe can play with you. If they want to, of course.

-    Good food. We bought a brownie, some fries, and a coffee; all were good (I wouldn’t know about the coffee, though; my mom likes it), but it wasn’t the healthiest snack.

-    Air conditioning. A very important thing here in Thailand; if AC wasn't available, it would be too hot.

-    A very social atmosphere. Everyone there is very nice and happy, I'm guessing because of the cats.

This wouldn't be a very good post if I didn't explain the reasoning behind why you shouldn't go, so here it is:

-    CATS!!! If you don't like cats, this might not be the place for you.

-    You have to buy something to enter. Yes, for every person that goes inside, at least one item on the menu must be purchased. But most money is spent to keep the cats healthy and to keep this wonderland in business.

-    It’s not cheap. Everything on the menu ranges from about 60 - 120 ฿ (2 - 4$). Today, the exact exchange rate is 1$ to 32.46 ฿.
 
-    A long line (if you get there after about noon). Luckily, we arrived at 11:00 and left at 1:30. We left because a line was starting to form and we didn’t want to negatively affect anyone’s experience.

-    You can only stay there for about 2 hours before you have to leave (if there is a line). We stayed there 2 and a half hours, probably because it wasn’t a busy day.

Have you ever been to a cat café? What did you think?

If you haven’t been to a cat café, will you go? What is holding you back?

Note: This is the first time I have heard of a “Cat Cafe” in my life, I don’t know if they are new and only in Asia, or if they are now an international phenomenon.

Lars Wagoner is a member of the Youth Travel Blogging Mentorship Program

All photos courtesy and copyright Lars Wagoner