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!