Ever since Japan opened up a Cat Café in the 90s, we knew America would have them. And we did. The first ones were in California and now they have reached the other coast with the opening of the Meow Parlour, New York City’s first Cat Café, located at 46 Hester Street, New York, New York 10002 on December 15th.
Still Not Sure What They Are?
If you haven’t heard, a cat café allows people to go and eat and hang out with, what else, cats. Each café has to go through quite the process to make sure they are still under health codes and part of that means no kitties in the kitchen. But, it seems fairly easy to get one open in most cities. And, as cat cafés are catapulting in popularity, they are popping up all over the U.S.
If you think this is strange, guess what one of the rules is? Remove your shoes before entering. That’s right, aside from hand-sanitizing, they also ask you remove your shoes to help avoid the spread of diseases to the kitties that live in the café. Wear clean socks, please.
Meow Parlour
They got around the health food laws by having their Meow Parlour Patisserie around the corner for the actual cat café at 34 Ludlow Street. You can buyyour treats (including cat-shaped cookies) there and then bring them to the Parlour to enjoy around the cats. They plan on offering service to the Parlour in the near future, so you can order your food and have it brought to you while you enjoy feline company.
Like many cat cafés, you rent access to the space, where you can play with adoptable, free roaming cats. That’s right, every cat there is a rescue from KittyKind waiting for his furrever home. It’s a great way to meet a kitty buddy in a more relaxed environment than a shelter.
Currently seven kitties call the café home (for now), though they say they can have up to twelve.
You can rent space for a little as a half hour ($4), long enough to grab some coffee and pet a kitty or two. Or, stay for the maximum, five hours ($30), and get to know one of the residents better, maybe it will be love and you will take her home with you.
Planning a Visit
They are open Thursday-Tuesday from 12pm to 8pm. They have special times for children under 10, which are 3-5pm every Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday.For more information, visit their website. www.meowparlour.com.
Below are more pictures to enjoy of the cafe:
All images were published with full permission from Meow Parlour. www.meowparlour.com