Asians love cats. On any given day you will see an Asian teen girl wearing a cat-ear headband, aunties feeding stray cats in the street, and Hello Kitty and her friends can be found on everything from subway fare cards to doggie poop bags (we have both). A new trend popping up in cities here is the cat café, where you can play with a cat while you enjoy coffee and a snack.
Andie and I were shopping on a Sunday afternoon and had a few hours to spare, so we decided to try it out. Cat Café Neko no Niwa bills itself as “coffee and cuddles with cats.” We had visions of playing with kittens and stroking a cat sitting in our lap as we enjoyed our coffee, watching boats go by. The cafe is located at Boat Quay, with a nice view of the river.
When you arrive, you must remove your shoes (typical for Asia) and wash your hands to protect the cats from germs. (We later learned that they were all strays, and that one was found in a trash bin). Then you pay $12 per person to enter a glassed-in room filled with about a dozen cats, comfy chairs and benches, and cat towers.
There are many rules at a cat cafe. First, and most annoying, is that you may not wake a sleeping cat. Cats are nocturnal creatures, and we found ourselves in a room with a dozen motionless animals. We sat next to one, and he could not care less that we were there. Ever watch a cat sleep? It is slightly more interesting than watching paint dry.
Andie with one of the many sleeping, motionless cats.
Finally one woke up, but he had no interest in playing with, or even coming near, these paying customers. The cat toys they provided were very un-catlike. They had fluffy animals and balls, but where was the feather on a string? Where was the laser pointer? Where was the catnip? Whoever selected these toys must have shopped in the dog aisle.
Another rule is you may not pick up any of the cats. Now cats don’t usually want to be picked up anyway, but if you can’t wake them, you can’t pick them up, and they are all sleeping, then why was I sitting in a glass room with a bunch of strangers getting cat hair in my coffee?
A cat interaction at Neko no Niwa. You know, there are plenty of stray cats in Singapore that you can look at, for free…
As I was contemplating this dilemma, Andie stroked the stomach of one of the sleeping cats and it scratched her. At this point, I felt like asking for my money back. Finally, a bunch of the cats jumped up when one of the workers came in to feed them. They rubbed up against him like they were the friendliest cats in the world. Cats know who their daddy is, and it was not us.
Soon our hour was up, and it was time to say goodbye. We left the cats with about 9 other customers, who seemed to be very happy to be there. In hushed tones they happily observed the motionless cats sleeping in the window or hiding in their beds. We finished our drinks and left Neko no Niwa, unsure if we are really the target market for a cat cafe. Perhaps our expectations were too high, or perhaps we are just not zen enough. But one thing is for sure: we really love our dog.