Recently at The Cat Cafe, we’ve sent a few members of our clowder to their new homes. We’ll miss having Princess Caroline, Nicholas, and Sebastian around, but we are glad that they found their forever homes!

After we sent these three cats home, San Diego Humane Society brought three new cats to us. They’re all boys, and we think you’ll enjoy seeing them around The Cat Cafe.

Since we sent one bonded pair home, it only makes sense that we would get another bonded pair in. Meet Nixon and Onyx.

Nixon is the bigger of the two, weighing nearly 16 pounds. He’s a three year old orange tabby, and he’s the more inquisitive and curious one of the two. You’ll see Nixon walking around the playpen, introducing himself to people, and hopping into their laps. He’s still getting used to the space, so after a while, he likes to go into the retreat, but it’s only for a little while.

Onyx is the smaller and more shy of the two cats. He likes to find a spot to hide, and he’ll stay there for most of the day. Generally that spot is out in the playpen, but sometimes he’ll find one in the retreat and spend his time there. This 14 pound boy likes attention, but be sure to be gentle and slow with him until he’s ready for it.

Tiny is the last of the three cats who joined the clowder at The Cat Cafe recently. Don’t let his name fool you. He’s a big boy, weighing 16 pounds. We think the reason why Tiny got his name is because of his tiny little meow. It’s the kind of meow you’d expect from a cat half his size!

Come on by to meet the latest arrivals at The Cat Cafe and to spend some time with some of our longer term residents!

Our partners at San Diego Humane Society have been working very hard to make sure that we have a good number of cats in. As we adopt cats out, they bring new ones in. And this week, they brought a couple of interesting cats in.

We really don’t get exotic cats in too often, and we know that you’ve seen how quickly the bengal mixes and one purebred bengal we’ve had in get adopted. They don’t spend much time with us, because people want to adopt them so quickly.

Moxie, however, is going to stay with us for a little longer. Unlike the other bengals, it takes some time before she becomes comfortable with new environments. She’s also been through a lot, having lost her brother, then her home, and then being unable to go to a person who wanted to take her but couldn’t because of living restrictions.

Moxie has been with us a couple of days, and she hasn’t come out into the playpen yet. That’s very different from the bengals we’ve had before, who were in the playpen within hours.

Those who are interested in potentially adopting Moxie are going to have to be patient. We will let her come out into the playpen to interact with customers at her own pace. Until that happens, she can’t be adopted.

While Sammy is not a bengal, he’s a really cool cat. He’s friendly, and enjoyed getting chin scratches within just a few minutes of arriving at The Cat Cafe. He’s also a senior cat, but don’t let that stop you from taking a look at this handsome grey boy.

We think Sammy may make it out into the playpen for you to interact with before Moxie does. One of the things that is important to remember about bengal cats like Moxie is that they can be stubborn.

Come on by, and enjoy spending time with Sammy, Moxie and the rest of the clowder at The Cat Cafe!

We’ve read a few stories over the past week about cat cafes in Japan and Toronto having issues. In Tokyo, The Cat’s Paw was shut down when authorities, responding to reports of potential health issues among the cats, found 62 cats in a space where only ten cats were permitted.

“We warned the cafe in January and told them how to treat their cats better, but the neglect continued,” said an official at the Tokyo Animal Welfare Center. “So we took action.” It is unclear whether the cafe will be allowed to reopen, with the authorities requiring improvement before that is allowed.

And in Toronto, allegations were made by a former employee of TOT Cat Cafe that the cats were not properly fed or given access to water. This led to Toronto Humane Society pulling their animals from the facility.

These two situations have caused many animal welfare experts to ask potential cat cafe customers to choose their venues wisely. And we agree with this.

The situation at The Cat’s Paw would not happen here at The Cat Cafe, because all of our animals are spayed and neutered. And the idea of putting 62 cats into this space? Unthinkable. We’d never do that.

We share the viewpoint of Takako Saito, who runs the Asakusa Nekoen cat cafe in Tokyo. “When you care about the cats, you don’t see them as a money making product first and foremost. You give the cats plenty of hiding spaces and you don’t disturb a sleeping cat to make it play with customers.”

We have had customers complain that our rules for interacting with the animals are too restrictive. We make no apologies for them, and if this results in lost business, that is something we are willing to accept.

We believe that in the end, if we ensure that the customers treat the animals well, we will have happier and more interactive cats here at The Cat Cafe. And that will enhance the experience for both customer and cat alike.

Please let us know if you have any questions about this. As always, we here at The Cat Cafe thank you for supporting us!