The rise of cat cafes
Be warned, felines are taking over. And they’ve trained their gaze on cafes
Curated By: Madhu Kapparath, Anjali Thomas
Neko in Vienna
After three years of negotiations with city officials over hygiene issues, Austria opened its first cat cafe in 2012. Cafe Neko—Neko means cat in Japanese—was opened by Vienna resident Takako Ishimitsu, 47, from Japan. Customers can stroke and interact with their five feline hosts, Sonja, Thomas, Moritz, Luca and Momo, who came from an animal shelter and now freely roam the cafe and take naps when they’re bored with humans. Here, Luca sleeps in his basket as a waitress serves some food to customers
After three years of negotiations with city officials over hygiene issues, Austria opened its first cat cafe in 2012. Cafe Neko—Neko means cat in Japanese—was opened by Vienna resident Takako Ishimitsu, 47, from Japan. Customers can stroke and interact with their five feline hosts, Sonja, Thomas, Moritz, Luca and Momo, who came from an animal shelter and now freely roam the cafe and take naps when they’re bored with humans. Here, Luca sleeps in his basket as a waitress serves some food to customers
