posted February 16, 2014 08:18 AM            

The San Francisco Bay Area is getting the United States’ first and second cat cafes, a feline phenomenon by way of Japan that reimagines cafes as oases where patrons can kick back with a hot drink and a resident cat. Because who hasn’t felt their earl grey would go great with some ambient purring?

The two spots, KitTea in San Francisco and Cat Town Cafe in Oakland, are both in the planning stages but will function slightly differently. Health codes allowing, the two cafes are hoping for 2014 openings.

KitTea will be a halfway home for adoptable cats and has partnered with two shelters to populate the cafe. Its founders haven’t nailed down a location yet but aim to provide a relaxing alternative to bustling coffee shops and bring the stress-relieving properties of pet ownership -- and catnip-infused tea -- to visitors.

“What really drew me to the concept was the idea of a space that was relaxing and didn’t have a high frenetic energy like coffee houses do,” Courtney Hatt, one of the founders, said. “If this can be successful, I think there will definitely be people who follow suit … It’s going to be pretty big.”

Cat Town Cafe will be an extension of Oakland’s Cat Town shelter and will focus heavily on adoptions but will welcome anyone in for free playtime. One of its pioneers, Adam Myatt, is planning a miniature skyline of Oakland for the cats to crawl on and "be like Godzilla" with the city’s iconic port cranes reimaged as cat beds.

While Cat Town is also still scouting a location, the group has launched an IndieGoGo campaign to raise funds.

"It's a pretty weird concept and a lot of fun," Myatt told the East Bay Express. "Oakland is just the right amount of crazy to make this happen."

While the Bay Area is experiencing something of a boom, cat cafes have been popular abroad for years. The first one opened in Taiwan in 1998, but the phenomenon shortly after took off in Japan, where around 150 of them exist today.

Founders claim they've taken every precaution for healthy safety and feline happiness. Both cafes have plans for walls separating food-ordering areas from cat-interaction space, specific human-animal ratios, feline-only zones, cat behavioral consultants, hand-washing stations and separated litter boxes.

posted April 05, 2014 01:31 PM            

LONDON (AP) — Would you like some kitten with your coffee?

Feline company is exactly what one of London's newest cafes is offering — and stressed-out city-dwellers are lapping it up.

"People do want to have pets and in tiny flats, you can't," said cafe owner Lauren Pears, who opened Lady Dinah's Cat Emporium last month in an area east of the city's financial district.

"There's not many places in London you can just curl up with a book and chill out with a cat or two on your lap," she said Friday. "I think that's what our success is down to."

Cat cafes first took off 10 years ago in Japanese cities, where many people live alone in cramped high-rise apartment blocks that don't allow pets. Making feline friends became popular therapy for lonely or anxious workers.

"I can see how this would be good for someone lacking company," said customer Sara Lewis, as she stroked a cat sitting on her lap. "It's the best idea ever."

The cozy English tea room, named after Alice's cat in "Alice in Wonderland," charges customers 5 pounds ($8.29) for two hours of kitty company. Coffee and afternoon tea — sandwiches, cakes and scones — are on the menu at an additional cost.

Lady Dinah's opened March 1, and is fully booked until the end of June.

Pears raised more than 109,000 pounds ($181,000) through a crowd-funding campaign to get the cafe up and running. Despite more than a year of planning permission delays and figuring out how to maintain health and safety standards, she says the hard work has been worth it.

The 11 resident kitties were donated by people leaving the country who could no longer look after them. Kitty welfare is paramount: the cats get regular breaks away from people, and staff have been trained by animal behaviorists to care for them.

Lisa Vann brought her 8-year old daughter, who has learning difficulties, to Lady Dinah's for a playdate. "She's delighted to be here," she said.

The animal cafe craze shows no signs of slowing, with establishments now open in London, Vienna and Paris. A dog cafe, House of Hounds, is scheduled to open in London later this year.