Neko Seek Song 1 Hour

[Danny Hosford]

Its hidden inside a nondescript office building. An elevator discreetly whisks you up to the third floor. The elevator opens into a small hallway where you must remove your shoes and put on a pair of slippers.

You are then directed to the counter to pay in advance. Six hundred yen (about $5) gets you all the cats you can stroke for an hour. A few hundred extra yen gets you a drink to quench your thirst after all of the heavy petting is over.

The cafe consists of two large rooms. There is the cafe area, which is exactly what it sounds like. There are couches and small tables where you can sip a cup of coffee while a cat sleeps on your lap or at your feet. It is a cozy space with soft lighting and classical music playing quietly in the background.

The other room, attached to the cafe, is best described as a cat playroom. No drinks are allowed in this room. You can play with the cats or just sit on one of the many couches and watch all of the four-legged loving go down.

The cafe was busy but not crowded. The vast majority of customers were women. There were a few men but they had all come on the arms of their girlfriends. The most enthusiastic customer was a middle-aged man with a 1950s rock-and-roll pompadour. He made a point of talking to all of the cats, clucking and cooing over their every move.

If you wanted a cat to play with you, you were better off buying some tuna from the cafe in order to lure them in. These ladies bought some tuna and they were instantly the most popular people in the room.

The woman with the pink cell phone on her lap could tell I was feeling a bit left out so she handed me a piece of her tuna. As soon as I started waving the tuna around, I had no shortage of cats wanting to sit on my lap. But once the tuna was gone, so were they.

Everyone was pouring out love to these cats but the cats weren't giving much back. Cats do not love stupidly and blindly like dogs. Cats can be affectionate and playful but they are also independent and solitary (or stubborn and uncooperative, depending on your viewpoint.) I was happy enough just to be near them.

I had never heard of cat cafes before coming to Japan and I'm surprised the trend hasn't caught on in the rest of the world. Cat cafes are a great idea, especially for people whose landlords won't allow pets in their buildings. Or for people who can't have a cat because they live with an allergic partner.

With all due respect, dogs do not love "stupidly and blindly". Try training a cat to be a guide animal for a blind person, stopping at traffic lights, patiently guiding the blind person onto buses and up escalators, into buildings, etc. (Good luck with that.) Try getting a cat to bring you a toy you've just tossed her (the response - a blank stare.) Cats are very selfish creatures, primarily concerned with having their own needs met (not unlike some men I've dated). Dogs, on the other hand, have emotional intelligence and sensitivity, which enable them to interact on a higher level with human beings. Cats are not capable of communicating beyond variations of "I want". Dogs are much more interesting. Dogs actually return love; cats simply absorb it.

I have three cats and two dogs who I and my family love dearly. There is no hiearchy of affection (although the old female calico seems to rule the roost). We take them for what each offers. Are they different? Of course. Through evolution, the cat has evolved to be a solitary hunter (retractable claws) and dogs are pack animals. Hence, the dog needs the approval of the group to survive.

That doesn't mean the domestic cat doesn't appreciate affection and can't give it. It just means that the displays are more subtle and less overt. Within our household, they all contribute to an overall harmony (or disharmony when they play or quarrel). It's yin and yang...or AM and FM.

We have learned to appreciate what they all bring to us. I have no illusions. Emotions like selfishness or love are human. Animals seek approval and display trust. To favour one over the other is like favouring a season or night over day (you can't have one without the other). No cat has ever tried to pull me off of my bicycle but I love the thrill that my dogs get when I walk them in the evening. My Great Pyrenees or Retriever are not welcome on my lap but any of my cats will fit quite nicely and their purr is soothing to my soul. Love? Don't kid yourself but we give and take what we can and we're all happier for it.

Joke aside, the Humane Society should consider this idea and open such cafes in different locations - the fees resulting from such an enterprise could go towards improving the living conditions for the animals, not to mention the comfort this would provide to both the animals and the visitors/clients.

You know, whilst I appreciate the quaintness attributed to Japanese culture in this story, there are many "cat cafes" in BC too. They're called the SPCA cat room where one can go in and pet and play with cats for hours, all for free. The best thing about these "cafes" is that, if one is allowed, the cat can come home with you. If you're not allowed a cat where you live, you've volunteered your time to socializing an animal that someone else will love.

To Meri Hill,

Greetings Meri Hill!

In the future, would you please not use ALL CAPS when you submit comments on the internet?

The reason is that on the internet, communication in ALL CAPS is reserved to convey ANGER, OUTRAGE, and all manner of negative emotions. In short, it is the equivalent of yelling at the top of your lungs at everyone else.

Thanks and have a wonderful day!

Martin

My cat CAN be an adorable loving cat but, she can be very agressive. Every time she looks at me she says 'I'll sit on your lap but I'll tear up your jeans.' My dog is an adorable loving dog and is the best. She can be annoying but somehow I enjoy every moment of it. If my cat was in that 'Cat Cafe' than she would be the worst of all, she would take the tuna in a flinch, so BEWARE!

Finally if some one is thinking about adopting a cat it gives a potential "parent" a chance to test the waters if you will to see if a cat is right for them. I wish them every success and hope it catches on in other countries

Emotions like selfishness and love are not unique to humans. Don't kid yourself - human "love" is no different than the myriad other social and mating behaviours that exist amongst sentient creatures.

It's a survival mechanism, a protective mechanism, a procreative mechanism. People have the unique ability to dress up their behaviour in poetry and romance and high ideals, so they're less honest and more hypocritical about their motivations, that's all.

Lisa, I have grown up with cats. My current kitty is one I rescued right after she was born (her mother was hit by a car while out for food and she was the only survivor from her litter); I weaned and raised her myself and she is one of the most loving animals I've ever had.

My husband's Japanese bobtail is on par with any dog you might care to name; they both answer commands and stay close by when one of us is ill. Really, cats can be selfish, but if they consider you part of their social group, they're anything but.

LISA: you sound as uninformed and naive about cats as you think some people are about dogs. Not every cat is the same, generalizing is dangerous. Both cats that I've had over the course of my life were able to do everything you said they can't. Maybe you've never had one?

It's too bad the comment deteriorated into diatribes about the noble qualities of one and the negative qualities about the other. Painting species in such broad strokes ignores the fact that personality is an individual thing. I've met some cats with incredible intelligence, friendliness and love, the same with dogs. Then again, I've met some downright ornery creatures from both species - just like humans.

My thanks to Sarah Marchildon for sharing her discovery with her fellow Canadians. Japan is an unusual country, and they do seem to love and revere their animals. I'm glad these kitties get so spoiled. Love the description of the cafe as a 'cat brothel'. There's definitely some serious lovin' going on there.

My cat is sitting on my lap as I type, unwilling to let me give my undivided attention to anything not him. That said, I'm torn about the concept of the cat cafe - on the one hand, a great place for people who cannot otherwise keep a cat to go and get their kitty-groove on; on the other hand, it seems somewhat exploitative, and some cats can be kind of stressed by living with so many other cats.

I would like to know how the cafes obtain the cats and what they do with them when they are old and/or perhaps not well. What happens to a cat that is not favored by people? I suspect that not all is not bliss behind the scenes.

"You know, whilst I appreciate the quaintness attributed to Japanese culture in this story, there are many "cat cafes" in BC too. They're called the SPCA cat room where one can go in and pet and play with cats for hours, all for free. The best thing about these "cafes" is that, if one is allowed, the cat can come home with you. If you're not allowed a cat where you live, you've volunteered your time to socializing an animal that someone else will love."

Dogs are not more intelligent or anything than cats.

The difference is, dogs have been bread into different races for certain tasks and to follow his master as obedient as possible for thousands of years.

A cat is still a autonomous animal that goes hunting on his own.

That's why you can train a dog so well, and a cat does what it wants.

I agree with Lynda, there are plenty of cat cafes all over, called animal shelters, and these don't actually require you to pay money to play with the cats, just a little of your time. Though it is great to give any cats the love and attention they deserve, time spent at a shelter where the cats might not have long to live would give you the same satisfaction, or maybe more, and they won't charge you to do something that should be free.

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