25 April 2014

New York City Gets Its First Cat Café

[Click here to view the video in this article]





Image by Tod Seelie/Gothamist



Cat lovers in New York City rejoice, for the city’s first-ever cat café has just opened, according to Gothamist.



Cat cafés originated from Japan, and the Big Apple is the latest location after Vienna, San Francisco, London, Seoul and Singapore.



Located at 168 Bowery in Manhattan’s Lower East Side, the pop-up café is run by pet food brand Purina One and features 16 cats from North Shore Animal League, the world’s latest no-kill shelter.



Unlike other cat cafés, the food and drinks are free–the menu offers espresso and other coffee drinks, as well as an assortment of pre-packaged pastries. Patrons can also opt for the adorably-named ‘cat’achinos’, or lattes topped with cute cat foam art.



The cats lounge in the main space, which is filled with tables, couches and cat-friendly furniture, away from the food area.



They were carefully selected to ensure they would be comfortable around people, according to Matthew Carroll, offsite coordinator for North Shore Animal League.



Purina One said it was inspired to open the café to highlight feline health issues, and to promote the benefits of its products.



No word yet on whether the company is launching another cat café, but it has said it is “open to it.”



The cat café operates til Sunday, 27 April and opening hours are from 10am to 7pm. With a capacity of 65 people, you’re best advised to hot-foot it there if you want to dine in the company of fluffy felines.



Check out a couple of videos of the adorable kitties in action below and browse more photos here.













Image by Tod Seelie/Gothamist





Image by Tod Seelie/Gothamist





Image by Tod Seelie/Gothamist





Image by Tod Seelie/Gothamist





Image by Tod Seelie/Gothamist





Image by Tod Seelie/Gothamist





Image by Tod Seelie/Gothamist





Image by Tod Seelie/Gothamist





Image by Tod Seelie/Gothamist





[via Gothamist, videos via Gothamist , images via Tod Seelie for Gothamist]