Imagine a cosy place which you can have coffee, cakes and... cats side by side with you. Nope, it is not inside any house but cat cafes. 

A definite heaven for all felinophiles (all who loves cats) as one can have one hour or so cuddling with the cats with the luxury of drinking his or her favourite drink. Many cities, including Seoul, Vienna, Paris have their own variations. Recently, the cat cafe fever hits Singapore with Cat Cafe Neko no Niwa, which opens its paws during Christmas 2013.

So why are cat cafes so popular around the globe and how they have changed the concept of cafe?

 

Cat Flower Garden, the world's first Cat Cafe which opened in Taipei, Taiwan in 1998 merged both tea house and kittens sanctuary to bring patrons a different experience from conventional cafes. Since then it becomes very popular among locals and tourists, especially the Japanese.

In Japan, their first loves are mobile phones, sushi and cats. However, due to restrictions imposed by many Japanese landlords, they cannot own their own cats unless they own their own house. Coupled with long hours of working, Japanese do not have the luxury of time to take care of cats. Without both time and space, cat cafe brings about the comfort of having neko (Japanese for cats) without worrying about ownership and responsibilities. It is no wonder that places with similar lifestyles, such as Paris, Vienna are great places for setting up such cafes.

Since then, over 150 cat cafes spawned all over Japan, with Tokyo having the bulk of such shops. The oldest cafe can be found at  Neko no Mise in Tokyo. However, it is an expensive affair to visit one of these shops. You will need to pay 900 Yen to spend one hour with the furry ones and an additional 200 Yen with every additional 15 minutes in Calico, one of the most popular cat cafes. Cat Cafe Nekorobi also charges 1000 Yen for the first hour during weekdays and 1200 yen during weekends.

Beside cats and drinks, cat cafes offer other entertainments such as Wii, board games and even vending machines. Neko no Mise offers its patron with soft music, stuffed sofas, and a wall entirely lined with manga books. Some also have specific cat characteristics such as black cats and rare breed cats.

However, you must adhere to cat cafe's rules of handling the cats such as refrain from disturbing any sleeping cats.

With the Singapore's first cat cafe in Boat Quay, you can now experience this furry company on your lap. Cat Cafe Neko no Niwa also brings a warm message to its customers by promoting adoption of cats. It's sure gonna be a Paw-ry fun time being in this cat heaven for a day.