Ces Belles de Rêves

America’s First Cat Café Opens: Drink Coffee Alongside Adorable Cats

Yesterday, America’s first cat café opened in New York City. Cat lovers, you now have only three more day to sip coffee and eat pastries alongside adorable cats! Purina One teamed up with the North Shore Animal League, the country’s largest no-kill shelter, to create this pop-up café that’s the temporary home to rescue cats. While the concept of a cat café has been around for a while, with Asia and Europe leading the way, this is the first time one has opened in the United States. Two permanent cat cafés are scheduled to open in San Francisco this year.

The concept is simple. Visitors pay an hourly fee or cover charge to sit and lounge with cats. This one, on 168 Bowery, is free. Sixteen cats roam the premises and you’re welcome to pick one up and snuggle with it. If you fall in love with a particular one, you can even adopt it! (Read about each individual cat, here. Looks like “Sushi” is featured in the photo, above.) To get your feline fix, stop by the store from 10a to 7p each day till April 27. If you’d like to learn a little something, you can listen to different cat experts talk about cat health and behavior. The store’s capacity is limited to just 65 people, so you may have to wait in line.