I recently did a podcast with Sarah and Amanda where I talked about how I was working on blocking an hour out of the middle of my day to devote to reading. For me, maintaining a reading schedule is vital to my self care routine, but getting out of the office for a lunch hour can be challenging and guilt-inducing.
Then I learned that a cat café had opened blocks from my office, and everything changed.
Rewarding myself for observing my self-care time with some kitty therapy turned out to be a game changer. Three to four days a week I take a break, sometimes for a full hour, sometimes less, and hang out at the Safe Haven Pet Sanctuary Cat Café with the kitties.
Reading and hanging out with cats is incredibly restorative for me: I feel relaxed and focused when I leave, physically and mentally calmer.
So I thought today I’d bring you with me, virtually.
First of all, I love cats. I love dogs too, but I feel a certain kinship to cats that probably comes from also being persnickety and requiring several naps a day. Our rescue cat, Dewey, doesn’t get along with other cats meaning that he’s an only child.
All of the cats at the Safe Haven Pet Sanctuary Café are adoptable. Safe Haven is a cage-free, no-kill rescue that takes in cats who due to age, physical or psychological challenges, would risk euthanasia in another shelter. If the cats there don’t find their forever home, they have a place at the sanctuary for the rest of their lives.
So while I can’t bring another kitty home, I can socialize with (and hopefully bring comfort) to cats who are waiting to be adopted.
At first I worried I’d be sad hanging around cats who were looking for permanent homes or that the staff would pressure me to adopt. With the exception of an abuse case I discussed with one of the volunteers, I haven’t felt sad or depressed at the café at all. The cats are happy, relaxed and clearly content there. There’s no Sarah McLachlan playing over the speakers.
And the volunteers never once brought up adoption. I’d mentioned that I had a cat at home who needed to be the only feline in the house, and no one batted an eye. Instead they told me they were happy I could come and provide the cats with some socialization.
So what’s the café like?
There are couches and chairs and tables, places to read and study and work. There are rooms and hiding spots for the cats to retreat to if they don’t feel very social. There is, of course, a shelf of books containing romance novels.
You can’t have a space dedicated to comfort without romance novels.
And of course there are a bunch of cats wandering around doing cat stuff. There’s a lot of napping going on.
When I first went to the café, I intended to find a space to read quietly, and if a cat wanted to hang out, that was great. I wanted to provide calm energy, but not chase any kitties around making grabby hands.
I didn’t even think about it, but while I was doing this for the cats, I was also training my mind and body to accept that during this period of the day, I would be calm and relaxed and not distracted by work. I would focus on my book and be peaceful.
Pretty much immediately I had kitty friends who wanted to hang out. Mara, a sweet tabby, likes to lie pressed up against my thigh and get belly rubs. I often wind up with one or two cats snuggled up against me on the couch and another one or two sleeping behind my head. They don’t always need to be touching me, but they like to be near me and I appreciate that.
That said, all of the cats there seem to be receptive to the occasional head scratch. Some soak it up. I’ve seen children there who are pretty relentless in their petting, and the cats take it in stride. There are places that they can go (high up or in another room) to get away, but most seem receptive to the attention, some eager to play.
It’s often easier for me to socialize with animals than people, and the fact that the cats don’t demand anything from me (except occasional pets) helps ground me. The volunteers totally respect my space, allowing me to introvert at my leisure.
The cat café sells some bottled cold drinks, but welcomes carry-ins. There’s a coffee house next door so it’s easy to pick up a latte or a cup of tea to relax with. There’s no cost for visiting the cats, but they welcome donations. I budget a few dollars for every visit; basically what I would spend on coffee if I was going to read at Starbucks.
Going to the Safe Haven Pet Sanctuary café has helped me solidify my reading habit and given me another incentive to keep it. It’s also helped me tremendously in terms of finding a quiet, meditative space where I can focus on restoring my mental energy. My husband has commented that I seem less emotionally drained on the days when I read with the cats than on the days when I don’t.
If you want to help the Safe Haven Pet Sanctuary, they are set up on Amazon Smile to receive a small portion of certain purchases as donations.
Is there is a place that you like to go specifically to read? What spaces help you find comfort and peace?
And hey, do you have a local cat cafe? Here are a few directories that might help you find your own:
- The North American Cat Cafe Embassy
- Eater has a map directory of 17 that are either open or coming soon
- Meow Around has a list of North American cat cafes
If you know of one you’d like to recommend, please feel free to mention it in the comments!
Thank you, so much! I’ve been missing cat contact and, as soon as I have a place of my own, I will have cats again. But once I read the first sentence of your post, I said, “Of course!” and made an appointment at Meowtropoliton here in Seattle.
We’ve got a cat cafe here and I find the same kind of serenity there that you do. I wish every city had one! Ours has also adopted out something like 35 cats in the 4 months since they opened 🙂
Elyse, I’m so happy that you have this option.
I’ve been known to sneak reads on my lunch break whenever possible, but if there are other people around who chat—or just exist—it’s not as satisfying, if it’s even possible. (Hey, it’s my lunch break, I’m required by law to take it and will not be paid for my time if I neglect to take it, LET ME READ IN PEACE!)
This may be my favorite article ever—except for the reminder it brings thaf there are no cat cafes in my area!
Agree with Regina!I’m already in love with those
Sweet kitties!
This is AMAZING. Thank you so much, Elyse. I feel calmer just reading this.
Found one in my area and just might take my daughter over Christmas break. We have two cats, one of which would protest violently if we tried to bring another home but hey, why shouldn’t we go love on other cats for a while? It’s a win-win for everyone:-)
Thank you for a calming dose of kitties start my Monday. I adore cats, and this would be my idea of paradise, except that I’m horribly allergic to them and can’t even be in a room with one unless I take prednisone beforehand. It’s great to read a description of such a wonderful place though.
What a great post! Thank you Elyse!
My daughter lives in South Korea where there are all manner of animal cafes — she sent pictures of herself at a reptile cafe holding a large snake.
How utterly charming!
Oooh, there’s not yet one in Minneapolis, but I see one is planned (they have a kickstarter campaign going https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/thecafemeow/the-cafe-meow-location-renovations ). Can’t wait!
There is a fun contemporary that prominently features a cat cafe in the grovel: “The Taming of the Billionaire” by Jessica Clare. It was the first time I’d been introduced to this idea & I’m obsessed! There’s one opening near me soon 🙂
This sounds like my dream cafe! I don’t like close enough to one to visit, but I hope we see more establishments like this opening up over time. It’s a great way to socialize cats and promote shelters, and it’s a bonus for those of us who want to adopt a cat but can’t for whatever reason. I’m more of a dog person but I think they would distract me from reading, whereas most cats are content to just chill. Love the photos!
My grandmother grew up in a small town near Green Bay. The next time we’re in the area, I’ll be sure to visit the kitties and make a donation to such a wonderful space!
There’s one in my town. I’m not so much a cat person. But I could visit a furry beast. And also, they do yoga there, with the cats. And painting, with the cats. AND I work too much and am gone too long during the day for a dog…so I could think about getting a new cat. (I had one before, but she was really better friends with the dog I had then than she was with me.)
This was such a lovely post. I don’t have a nearby cat cafe, but reading this on my lunch hour was super relaxing all by itself. Thank you for writing it, and I’m really glad you and your local cat cafe have found each other 🙂
I love this so much! I didn’t think there were any cat cafes near me, but thanks to your links I found one in New Jersey very close by. I am definitely going to visit.
Cats and reading and coffee are three of my favorite things!
I’ve been to a cat cafe in Brooklyn, but it was very crowded on a Saturday afternoon and I felt kind of bad for the cats, being chased all over by people wanting selfies with them. This cafe charged for visiting ($5 per person per 30 minutes), and there was a group of 10 people who had been there for something like 2 hours, and were then outraged at how large their bill was! The cafe has a projector with profiles of the kitties up for adoption, but it was hard to match faces to names with so many people milling about. Elyse, your cafe sounds like it would be much more to my liking!
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