Getting my Fur Fix at the Cat Café in Chiang Mai

Some people have kids. Some people have cats. We have cats, cats that we’re already missing and it’s only a week into our trip. What of it?

Greatly in need of a fur fix and for a novelty experience, we headed out one rainy morning to Catmosphere, the Chiang Mai Cat Café. Yes, you read right, cat café. Coffee and cats. The best combination there is.

Getting to Catmosphere, however, was a bit of an adventure. We flagged down a songathew and I showed him the address. He seemed confused, and the more that I said “cat café” the more he looked unsure. When I thought I almost had him, I said “Cat Café. You know? Meow?” Yes, I mewed. That seemed to confuse him even more. Nonetheless he was determined not to lose our business and shoed us into the taxi. 60 Baht, he said, a bargain. Three stops for directions later, including one at an electronics store where the young guys looked it up on Goggle Maps, and we finally arrived. Rest assured, if you’re wanting to walk, you can. It just takes about 45 minutes to get inside the Old City. We walked back and it wasn’t half bad.

Hi, my name is Boba

Catmosphere is smaller than I anticipated. As you arrive you remove your shoes and put on a pair of fabric sandals, then you not only wash your hands but also receive a squirt of hand sanitizer when you walk through the door. Honestly, I thought it was great that they take such concern about their cats’ health and safety. It makes a change from all the malnourished street cats we’ve seen around the city.

What’s up? I’m Apollo

I was in fur heaven when we entered – the first people of the day because I’m a cat-keener like that. I didn’t even get a chance to count how many cats there were, but I think it’s somewhere in the vicinity of twelve. The tables in the café are low to the ground and you sit on cushions, all the better to be at cat-level. The space-themed café has a cute space-cat mural on the wall and all the cats have space-names: Luke, Leia, Boba, Apollo and Buzz to name a few.

Catmosphere provide you with a number of toys to entice the cats. The personalities abounded with some serial sleepers, others that observed and the rare few that got truly involved with the toys.

Food and drinks at Catmosphere are reasonably priced, considering the experience that you get. I think we paid about 300 Baht (the exact amount escapes me) for an enormous latte complete with cat design in the foam, a cappuccino and a piece of banoffee pie. Food envy crept over me as I ogled other people’s dishes: a bowl of heaping fried bananas with cream and chocolate sauce, cheesy fries and a decadent brownie. Let’s just say the food is yummy.

We stayed for about two hours and finally called it quits – not because I wanted to leave, but because people were waiting for a seat in the café. This is such a genius business idea for a country where there are few apartments that allow pets. So great to see a group of happy, loved and nourished cats. Wish I could come back!

Have you ever been to a cat cafe? Would you want to?