Forbes: will cat cafes become a new trend in the United States?

From the street, Meow Parlour in New York looks no different from other stores on the border of Lower East Side and Chinatown: weather-beaten and stylish. But when I saw that the store's rules included "Don't pull the cat's tail", I knew there must be something different in it.

I made an appointment in front of the glass window of the medical office, passed through the other glass door, took off my shoes and sterilized my hands with hand sanitizer. Then allowed to enter the temple: a simple and modern room in which a dozen cats lie lazily, groom, play and look so cute in the arms of makeshift human playmates. This room is equipped with modernist architectural furniture, fully suited to the physical engineering of cats, this well-decorated cat kingdom is entirely the world of cats; we humans are just passing by.

Patrons of Meow Parlour pay $4 per half hour to buy coffee, tea and snacks and use Wi-Fi in cafes while cats pace, run and wander around. I thought the customers here might be cat-crazy women, but they actually represent the typical social class of New York-from fashionistas to professionals from different backgrounds.

During my visit to the cafe, the only people who didn't show up were children, who had their own time to visit, and then the cats had to rest for a while-maybe they needed it.

Cat cafes have been popular in Asia for decades, but they did not become popular in the United States until last year. According to the Japanese newspaper Nikkei Trendy, the world's first cat cafe opened in Taiwan in 1998, followed by a cat cafe in Osaka in 2004. Nowadays, cat cafes are especially popular among Japanese people.

In 2014, the number of cat cafes around the world increased dramatically. Last October, Cat Town Caf é, the first cat cafe in the United States, opened in Oakland, California, followed by Meow Parlour in December. Cat cafes are springing up in Denver, Portland, Oregon and San Diego.

What on earth can people do in a cat cafe? "it depends on the time of day," said Adam Myatt, co-founder of Cat Town Caf é. "watching cats sleep is a common activity. Cats sleep a lot of the time. "

At Meow Parlour, I saw kittens napping in baskets, sleeping in secret holes in cloth boxes that mimic shoeboxes (the most popular cat bed all the year round) and geometric furniture, as well as custom-designed hexagonal beds that are perfect for two cats to rest. Guests can touch sleeping cats, but they can't wake them up or pick them up.

When the cat gets up and walks, guests can cuddle, pet and tease the kitten, of course, gently; all kinds of cat toys are available here. If the cat needs quiet time, or when it needs to take care of its private affairs, it will enter the private room through the secret kitten door.

What is the overall atmosphere? As an employee of Meow Parlour told me, "the word I hear again and again from guests is' cool'."

There are more activities than teasing and cuddling cats. The two cat cafes work with local animal rescue organizations to find permanent accommodation for the cats. "our core mission is to get cats out of the shelter." Meyatt said.

Mr Meyat said Cat Town Caf é's adoption rate was "really fast", with nearly 120 cats adopted in the first four months of the business, compared with only 200 at the animal shelter that worked with the cafe in 2014. If you stay in Cat Town Caf é for less than three weeks, the cat will be adopted.

To help guests decide whether to get along with cats, photos and "personality" descriptions of each cat are posted on Meow Parlour walls, including different types such as "athlete", "ninja" and "BFF" (best pet friend).

Both cafes serve drinks and snacks-Meow Parlour's snacks are made by the corner bakery, including cat-shaped biscuits and macarons. This cafe is not allowed to bring its own food to ensure that all the food is not harmful to cats.

Are there any cafes that feature other animals? In Japan, the concept has evolved into many forms, and now there are cafes with the themes of dogs, owls, snakes, turtles and even falcons.