Teasing the cat while drinking coffee, can hygiene pass?

Recently, a themed cafe on Changsheng Road in Hangzhou has become popular because there are more than 10 cute cats in the shop.

However, according to the reporter's understanding, the cat-themed cafe is nothing new in Hangzhou. As early as four or five years ago, someone tried it. Recently, the trend of "cats" drinking coffee with you has blown up again. So, can the Cat Cafe go on in Hangzhou?

The cafe invited 16 "cats" to act cute.

Chubby Garfield, sexy Bengal leopard cat, English short-haired cat rolling on the ground.

At the "Mr. Meow" cafe on Changsheng Road, the reporter saw a group of lovely "cats" lying lazily on tatami mats, rolling mischievously in (plastic) caves, and some even cooped up beside female customers, acting cute and "flirting" with each other. While the young people on the side, some meekly touched the kitten, some picked up the SLR to give the kitten a "close-up", enjoying the alternative environment accompanied by the "cat". The cafe is divided into two parts: the cat area and the cat-free area. Obviously, the cat area is more popular with customers, and all guests entering the cafe are required to wear slippers provided in the store.

Xiao Chen, a clerk at the cafe, told reporters that the idea of the cat cafe originated in Taiwan, China, and later became popular in Japan. "the cat itself is a docile and clingy animal, so customers need to pay attention to hygiene and cleanliness, and put on slippers in order to avoid passing germs to the cats in the store."

Xiao Chen said, "there are a total of 16 cats in the store, three big cats, the rest are kittens, and the youngest is only one month old."

In the cafe, there is a large carpet in the middle of the cat area, which is also the exclusive area for "cats" to play, teasing cat balls, M-shaped water-grinding cat scratching boards, and five-story cat jumping platforms. There are all kinds of entertainment equipment. "in the morning, in the middle of the day, and in the evening, the cats are released to accompany customers to drink coffee, but guests are only allowed to touch them, not to hug them, mainly to prevent kittens from falling. Here, people and cats can live in peace." Xiao Chen said.

Coincidentally, there is also a cat cafe on Wen er Road. The name of "dim sum" on the menu has attracted the attention of reporters-the cat with steamed stuffed bun face is accompanied by a cat with a steamed stuffed bun face. The price is 0 yuan.

The fat boss Gao is a cat lover. At first, because there was no room for cats at home, he simply brought the cat into the store. Unexpectedly, he became the treasure of the town shop. The three Garfield and Persian cats in the store had a group of die-hard fans. "the next cafe is about to open, and we will consider putting cats in the store." Boss Gao said with a smile.

Cat-themed cafes have attracted a lot of praise and criticism.

These simple and lovely cats are loved by many young people, especially female customers. In the "Mr. Meow" coffee shop, Zhuang, a student at the City College of Zhejiang University, told reporters, "the boss's idea is quite creative. I used to chat and drink coffee in the cafe, but now I am accompanied by kittens. I feel that the whole atmosphere is full of life and a stronger sense of experience."

"sometimes I come to the cafe with friends and worry that my son is not safe at home alone. I didn't expect that there are kittens in this cafe, so it's nice to bring children here. While we are chatting, children will not be bored to play with animals. " Ms. Feng, who lives on Qingchun Road, brought her son, who is in a big class in kindergarten, to sit in the cat cafe.

"the family is not allowed to keep pets and is usually under a lot of pressure at work. When they know that there is a cat cafe, they are always looking forward to coming here to get close to them and spend a comfortable afternoon together." Said Xu Hui, a young white-collar worker who works in a bank.

Although most people like the business, the cat-themed cafe has attracted the attention of many cat lovers.

Some netizens said they did not support such a business model. "for the kitten in the cafe, the youngest is only a few months old, and the child grabs it inadvertently. What if the kitten gets hurt?" Netizen "Xiao Zhuang ha" said.

"the cat is already a very arrogant animal. Do you consider the feelings of the cat when you put it in a cafe to receive guests like a shop assistant?" Miss Wang, a citizen, said.

In addition, there are some citizens who question the legality of the operation of cat cafes. Will cats affect the hygiene of eating in restaurants? The reporter learned from Hangzhou Health Supervision that the management of keeping pets in catering places is still blank. Take the cat cafe as an example, there is no need for operators to provide health certificates related to cats for the time being.

How can pet-themed cafes go far?

Recently, the reporter came to a "there is a cat" cafe on the teacher's road. It is said that this cat cafe is the first one in Hangzhou to eat crabs.

"the cafe opened four years ago and was named 'there is a Cat' because Meow, the author of the comic book of the same name, is my friend, and we all love cats." Wu Hui, the person in charge of the store, told reporters, "in the past two years, there were quite a lot of customers. Meow held a new book signing party with us, which attracted a group of fans who also loved cats, and they became loyal fans of our store. But now, business is really not as good as it used to be, and the number of passengers is much less. "

Wu Hui believes that the cat-themed cafe is still a niche market for cat-loving consumers. "some customers didn't see the sign. As soon as they came in and saw the kitten coming up, they yelled and ran out." Wu Hui said, "after four years, I have a relationship with these cats, and some of their fans even fight to see them. As long as they still have customers, they can barely manage."

At present, there are 600 to 700 coffee shops in downtown Hangzhou, and about 20% of them close or change owners every year, which is a relatively conservative figure. "Hangzhou Cafe is very competitive. If there is a market, it can continue to operate. If there is no market, it will soon be eliminated." Lou Boeing, secretary general of Hangzhou Coffee and Western Food Industry Association, said, "in my opinion, a cat-themed cafe undoubtedly has two functions." One is to create marketing gimmicks, which is beneficial to marketing and publicity, and the other is market segmentation, which locates cafes by crowds. "

"such a market is still relatively niche, so it is also very easy to become saturated. If similar cafes continue to emerge, operators still need to have business strategies for the future. " Lou Yingbo reminded, "A few years ago, there was a 'dragon tongue' cafe on West Lake Avenue, which was built into an 'underground dragon palace'. Walking downstairs to the ground, you can see many valuable fish raised by the boss, such as arowana, hundreds of thousands of them. Later, when the cafe closed, I think it was because the operating cost was too high, it was already a minority, and the demand was shrinking, which eventually led to the inability to open. Pet-themed cafes have just opened, it will be a new phenomenon, but consumers are too fresh, operators should also shift their energy to quality and service. "