Updated and revised article!

Cat cafés -or catfés-, even more so then other pet cafés, are booming. In Singapore alone there are five!

What is the attraction of these cafés, who are their customers, how do they operate and are they all that purrfect for both the customers and the cats? Let’s explore this trend, shall we?

(From now on; where it says cat-cafés you can also read “pet-cafés”, like dog-cafés, owl-cafés and even sheep-cafés. No, I’m not kidding!)

What’s the attraction of cat-cafés?

Cat cafés are great for people who -for whatever reason- do not have cats of their own, even though they love them. It is like a rental-pet-service, since you usually pay an entrance fee, often per hour. (More about that later.)

What reasons could people have for not having a cat when they clearly adore them? There are lots of possible reasons:

• cats are not allowed in their building or house
• someone in their family has allergies
• they travel a lot (like myself), which makes it hard to take care of a pet
• they don’t have enough money ( pets can be pretty expensive)
• they are not up for the responsibility
• they want to see if they really like cats as much as they think they do

So for all these reasons, visiting a cat cafe can be a great alternative and a way to get/give some cat-love.

Who are the customers?

I have seen pictures and videos of cat cafes around the world, where the audience was mixed in terms of men and women, old and young.
But from my own experience I have seen mainly two types of customers:

• girls. To be more precise: girls and young women between the ages of 15 and 25. Usually coming as a duo or as a small group of girlfriends. Cat cafés have a high cute-factor and girls love that.
• young couples. Meaning young in terms of age, like high-school lovers. And young in terms of the relationship. They are madly in love and the boy indulges in his girlfriend’s need for cute-overload.

I have never seen anybody visiting the cafés that was even remotely my age.

How does a cat café work?

• you pay an entrance fee, often a price per hour
• you enter in a reception area where the cats do not come. This way they cannot escape and you can do obligatory sanitization things.
• you leave your shoes there, possibly you are handed clean socks that you are obliged to wear
• your hands need to get sanitized
• in some cafés you need to bag your bag. For one, the cats can not enter in or damage your bag. But also, germs from your bag cannot harm them.
• there are house-rules. The most common ones are:
  -do not disturb sleeping cats
  -do not pick the cats up, let them approach you
• you can buy a drink (very small choice, usually)
• you can buy some cat or dog treats/food

What is the ambiance like in a cat café?

There are big differences in pet-/cat- cafés. I have been to a dog cafe, where I felt like a visitor in a dog shelter. It was loud, chaotic, smelly (dogs peed and pooped, which was cleaned with disinfectant constantly). In other words; no café feeling at all.

I liked the cat cafés much more. For sure they were peaceful and relaxed. And they felt a bit more like cafés. When you visit these places, you will find that some feel like a ‘normal’ café with only some (maybe 5) cats. Places may have seats and tables like in a regular café, serve coffee in nice cups and have pastries, and the decor looks nice. Other cat cafés feel more like a big space for cats where you can sit for a while. They may serve up a cappuccino in a paper cup, but they do not feel all that ‘home-ly’. Some may have up to 30 cats roaming around.

How purrfect are cat cafés for humans and cats?

In the cafés where I was, the animals seemed to ‘suffer’ from sensory overload from all the other cats and from all the visitors. Many seemed a bit fed up with all that attention and wanted to be left alone to snooze. Occasionally they would seek out the company and TLC of a person or were eager to play with some cat toys.
But apart from that: the staff I have seen was extremely loving, the animals looked purrfect and well groomed and -especially when they are adopted animals- I think they have a good life overall.

For humans: don’t set your expectations too high. I was quite disappointed the first time. The café feeling that I was looking for was not there, the cats were not interested in interaction and the rest of the clientele were giggling teenage girls.

Where to find pet-friendly cafés in Singapore

Let’s start with cat-cafés:

• Meomi Cat Café - 668 North Bridge Road G/F
• Cuddles Cat Cafe -#03-01 Scape
• The Cat Cafe - 241B Victoria Street, L/3
• The Company of Cats - 6B Mosque street
• Neko no Niwa - 54A Boat Quay

The only one of the above places I visited is Cuddles Cat Café at Scape. The place is done in a relaxing, lounge-y way with 30 beautiful cats roaming around. It’s a comfy place to hang around, with bean bags and pillows.

When I visited Cuddles Cat Cafe, I was worried about their rules. To be precise about the lack of some very important rules: 1. that sleeping cats are to be left in peace and 2. that cats are not to be picked up. I feared for the stress levels of the cats.

After I gave this as feedback, I heard back that they sharpened their rules and policy. I was satisfied with and impressed by the response, leading to a good review and recommendation here.
Unfortunately it has been brought under my attention recently (see comments below) that 1. the situation for the cats in Cuddles Cat Cafe has not been improved, contrary to what I have been told and 2. there have been cat deaths for which the Cat Cafe is now under investigation by the authorities.

Being overseas at the moment I cannot re-visit Cuddles Cat Cafe to see how the situation is now. But I find the news alarming enough to advice cat lovers to judge critically this cat cafe and in doubt to choose one of the other four cat cafes in Singapore.

Let’s have a look at pet-friendly cafés in Singapore; usually cafes and restaurants that are friendly to customers with dogs:

• Happenstance Cafe - 35 Opal Crescent
• Dee-ohh-Gee Café - 110 Upper Bukit Timah Rd, Goh & Goh Bld
• T.A.Z. Café & Bistro - 10 Jalan Leban
• Sun Ray Café - 79 Brighton Crescent, Serangoon Gardens
• Paw Pet-radise - #01-07 Monville Mansion, 530 Balestier Road
• We are the Furballs - 45 East Coast Road. This is a dog-cafe.
• Happy Daze Sidewalk Deli - 11 Maju Av
• Artistry - 17 Jalan Pinang
• Coastes - Siloso Beach - 50 Siloso Beach Walk
• Canopy - 1382 Ang Mo Kio Ave 1, Bishan Park
• Tanjong Beach Club - 120 Tanjong Beach Walk
• Kith Cafe Sentosa Cove - 31 Ocean Way #01-08, Quayside Isle
• Cafe Melba - 90 Goodman Road, Goodman Arts Centre, Block N #01-56
• K9 Kulture - 100 Turf Club Road
• Sunday at the Training Shed - 8 Port Road
• The Furry Cafe - 1 Sophia Rd #1- 52
• Green Door Cafe - 13A Dempsey Road
• Torte - SWCO Building, 96 Waterloo Street
• Wine Connection - #01-19/20 Robertson Walk, 11 Unity Street
• Jones the Grocer - 12 Dempsey Road
• W39 - 39 Jalan Mas Puteh
• Brussel Sprouts - three locations around town
• Cafe Iguana - 30 Merchant Road, #01-03 Riverside Point
• Roundhouse - 100 Turf Club Road
• Alkaff Mansion - 10 Telok Blangah Green
• Casa Verdé - Singapore Botanic Gardens Visitor Centre, 1 Cluny Road
• The Garden Slug - #01-59/61 Bright Centre, 55 Lorong L Telok Kurau
• Boomarang - two locations along Singapore River
• The Merry Men - #01-02 86 Robertson Quay
• Brewerkz - 30 Merchant Road , #01-05/06 Riverside point
• Toby’s Estate - 8 Rodyk Street
• Riverview Hotel - Robertson Bridge, 382 Havelock Road

Be aware that the character of these pet-friendly cafes and restaurants varies. Some are dog-cafes, where they serve food for humans as well;-), others are regular cafes or restaurants that have a staff and policy that is friendly and welcoming towards dogs. Some are more suitable for during the day, others for the evenings.
Many may prefer you to sit in their outdoor area, if you bring your doggie along.

Since many F&B outlets on the list are a bit far away, be sure to check their opening hours and exact policy towards pooches first!

I visited a number of the cafes and restaurants that are dog-friendly, but never with a dog.

I for example visited Artistry many times. It’s a nice place for coffee, cake and art. And apparently for dogs too. Other cafes and restaurants from the list that I know and like are Brussel Sprouts, Café Iguana, and Casa Verdé.

I have no plans to visit another cat café any time soon, but I do intend to visit some of the pet-friendly cafés from the list above. With my BFF and her darling dog Cash.
EM Bar by The River was our to-go-to place for food and drinks with the dog, but they suddenly closed. Very sad:-(.

High time to find us a new favorite dog-friendly-hang-out place! Any place in Singapore that you recommend?

Have you visited any pet or cat cafés? Where was that and how was your experience? Do you have any recommendations on either cat-cafes or pet-friendly F&B outlets in Singapore? Please let us know in the comments. We would love to hear from you.