Miami Cat-Lovers Are In Luck
If you’ve ever been to Japan or at least heard about the many wonders of the country, then you’ve probably heard about the popular cat café. A cat café is a theme café whose attraction are cuddly felines that can be watched and played with. Cat cafés are quite popular in Japan with various types of cat cafés, including black cats, fat cats, rare breed cats or ex-stray cats.
Well good news for cat-lovers in Miami because the city got its very own cat café! Cat Café South Beach opened its doors last year, and serves up freshly roasted coffee, treats, and of course, cuddly kitties.
The 2,900-square-foot space will offer a good selection of coffee drinks, along with sweet and savory items from local vendors like Honeybee Donuts and Cindy Lou’s Cookies. Celyta Jackson, who noticed a huge number of homeless cats around her Miami Beach condo, runs the shop. After she fostered some kittens, friends suggested she open a cat café.
“I started hammering away at the idea two years ago. It turned into a business plan, and now we’re opening,” Jackson told the Miami New Times.
While that is Miami-Dade’s first-ever cat café, feline playrooms have actually been popping up around the United States since 2014 in places like Meow Parlour in New York City and Cat Town in Oakland, California.
With the rising popularity of cat cafes comes a second playroom in Miami. The Cat’s Meow Café is scheduled to open sometime later this year. Elizabeth Gallardo, a Miami native who is passionate about cat advocacy, decided to open up Cat’s Meow not only as a way to give people a space to cuddle up with their hired kitty companions, but also educate them about cats.
Aside from the feline playroom, the café portion of the Cat’s Meow will operate like a coffeehouse, with drinks and pastries available for purchase.
By: Maytinee Kramer
