Cat Houses and Cat Cafes - DId you Know?

Argh! Put me down as not a cat lover, however I certainly appreciate you doing the right thing by letting me and my fellow NCL's know that our otherwise wonderful dining experience could be sullied by the presence of many cats. Dog's are okay, but I'd hate to get stuck next to the person who insists on bringing theirs to Europe on the plane. Seriously though, thanks for the post, you just never know with these Europeans-so progressive ;-))

For the general font of knowledge, other cities with legendary cat houses:

Fallon, Nevada
Bangkok, Thailand
Yokohama, Japan
Marseille, France
Naples, Italy

This looks like a promising trend. So now you can have a Linzer Tortie Point!

I once visited a cat house in Florence, many, many, many years ago when I was very young and not too bright.

A friend was in London in May and tried to go to the cat cafe in London and it was booked through July! So plan ahead if you're interested.

These may be new to Europe, but cat cafes have been around for 10-15 years in Asia. It doesn’t stop with cats…there are dog cafes, too. I’ve walked by these cafes in Seoul. It makes sense when you think about it. Apartments are pretty tiny in a metro area of 25 million, and these cafes are a good way for folks to enjoy cats and puppies without having the extra burden of actually owning a pet. Plus, cats and dogs just make people happy. Drinking a coffee and enjoying a cat/puppy sounds like a good idea to me. Although I’ve not yet hit a real cat café, I did make it to the Hello Kitty Café in Hongdae a few months back. :)

For those of us who are allergic, not a good thing. But a duck cafe...now you're talking. I would even take extra allergy pills if there was a guinea pig cafe!!

We go to Cafe Neko in Vienna all the time. We can't have cats in our apartment so my kids and I enjoy their fancy felines while enjoying cake in the shape of a cat (and some darn good green tea). Reservations are not needed (or possible, I believe).

Nothing makes me happier than to venture into a shop and find a resident cat, and the one thing I hate about travelling is missing my 2 cats. After a day or so I'm jonesing for some cat snuggles (though truth be told, I sleep better without them angling for position and squabbling) and usually end up stalking cats to pester a bit. I can't wait to visit the cafes in Vienna and Budapest this August!

...But a duck cafe...now you're talking

That could get a bit slippery! On the other hand. if you could pick the one you want to eat-like a lobster out of the tank-that would be fun.

A side benefit of staying in a French gite or Italian argiturismo is there are usually friendly cats & dogs, and the owners are happy to share them with their temporary guests. Jack the donkey at the B&B in Lisdoonvarna, Ireland was one of many highlights of our stay there.

@Claire-a guinea pig cafe might be fun (mine, as a kid, went wild anytime she heard the refrigerator door open, thinking she might get a carrot). You'd have to make sure the raisins or pieces of chocolate in your pastry were actually raisins or chocolate pieces, though :-P

Elaine, I think Eileen has missed her calling. She could open a Cat Cafe at her house!

I definitely won't be mentioning these cafes to my hubby. He can't go into PetSmart without fawning over the cats. We will be staying at a few places in France that have animals for him to play with. I'm okay with cats, but prefer dogs.

Cat Cafes = Cat Houses? Probably not the same thing... ;-)

Emily...Emily.....Emily ....so YOU were the one holding out on me!! Well, maybe Thomas too. Now I have to plan a trip back to Vienna next summer just to visit Café Neko. Quel horreur!!! .
Seriously though, bummer that your flat doesn't allow cats; when I move to Vienna in 2021, that will be a deal-breaker for me when I am flat-hunting------thanks for the heads up on that.

Christa: I was just gone for 29 days and I missed my cats (and worried about them ) more than my kids. I do tend to stalk other peoples cats when I am away from mine, Cats on leashes are fairly common in Russia so they are easy to stalk.
We spent 12 days on a Russian river cruise where the captain had a Persian cat. When we went thru the locks, you could see Moshai's little ears sitting next to the Captain as he maneuvered the ship thru the lock. (Yes, that is what I am saying, as the cat maneuvered the ship thru the locks......Cat's Rule, you know!!) One day all the guests were invited up for a tour of the bridge. Moshai was dressed in a little Navy uniform, with a life ring round his neck and a Captain's hat on his head. The Captain spoke to us thru am interpreter, but do you think anyone was listening? NOPE; we were all fawning over the cat, taking his picture, and playing with his outfit. The cat was, on "guests on the bridge" days, HEAVILY sedated. The CO and the XO of the ship were chopped liver....Moshai the Persian cat RULED that bridge..

James - now that you are MUCH OLDER......are you smarter yet ???? you can visit the cat café in Budapest.

Andrea - I am considering a serious life change here, Eileen has 4 cats, I have 4 cats, Between us, we are halfway to a coven?? herd???? Bunch???? I'm thinking about moving to Sacramento so we can go into business together and open up a kitty kafe, What to join us???....great investment op!! And then I can start going to those meetings at Panera....think about it.

And last but not least........ED...
.I just knew that you would be bragging about all the other kind of cat houses!!!!! The not so fun ones.......of course, I guess that is a matter of personal opinion,

I live in a cat cafe. I'm typing this on the couch with a mocha in my hand and a cat on my lap. I had heard about cat cafes before, but forgotten. Thanks to Elaine and Emily, I see a visit to Cafe Neko in my near future. Like Christa, I miss my fur babies dearly when I travel.

Besides, think of the health benefits... The sound and vibrations of a purring cat lowers your blood pressure. Add that to the cleansing effect of green tea and you have a winning combination. Plus, chocolate is a bean. So it must be good for you!

I think you should definitely move to Sacramento. You and Eileen are well equipped to open your Cat Cafe. When will you be here?? :-)

Ed....remembering your days in the Navy?

"...plan a trip back to Vienna next summer...." I'm already working on it.

This concept may be more widespread than I'd thought. A poster in the Italy forum will be going to the Catican :-)

Tell me where the dog café is, and I'm there.

Tom, book a stay at MillHouse in Dingle and you can walk Seamus the Irish wolfhound. He belongs to the owner, RS guide Stephen McPhilemy. The do keep him out of the breakfast room as tabletops are easily within range and he likes sausages.

OK, any options that are a little more convenient to SW Germany?

@Cyn....my guinea pigs did the same. My husband used to say they could hear my car pulling into the driveway and start hopping around squealing because I was the one who fed them. Funny little guys.