NZ's First Cat Cafe Planned

New Zealand may be getting its first Cat Cafe, as soon as next month.

Popular in Japan and more recently extending to Australia, cat cafes offer a place for cat lovers to sit back, enjoy a coffee and (more importantly) get some one-on-one time with some feline pals.

A Kiwi pair are starting up the business in Auckland and are currently campaigning on crowdfunding site Kickstarter, to raise capital for initial costs.

The following is taken from their Kickstarter page:

"Based in Auckland - New Zealand’s largest city, and spread over 200+sq metres, The Cat Lounge will have modern fit-out and relaxed atmosphere. Half of our site will be run like a normal café, serving locally sourced & award winning fresh roasted espresso coffee and a range of delicious treats baked fresh in store each day. 

The other half of our building will be a cat lovers dream! Big comfy couches, free wifi, fully stocked book shelves, Huge TV playing movies & the best and funniest cat clips we can find, and of course home to 10 - 15 of the cuddliest, smoochiest cats and kittens around, who we will source from rescue shelters around Auckland. The room will be filled with plenty of toys for the cats ( & People! ) cat runways & platforms on the walls, scratching posts, pillows and fluffy rugs for when there is no more energy left to play. 

The welfare of our cats will be our top priority. They will live in our Café and will have regular vet checkups to make sure they are happy & healthy.The living area for the cats will be like a huge playground! They will literally be able to climb the walls, play with toys or curl up on a beanbag and snooze. The cats will also have their own space where they can get away from people if they need some peace and quiet. We will work with our local cat rescue centres to only bring suitable cats into the café - we will only take on cats that will thrive in the company of people and other cats."

"For food hygiene reasons, the kitchen & café area will be kept separated from the cats rooms so all of our food and drinks will be prepared in a cat - free environment. All our food will be available for dine-in or take-away, & you will have the option to take food & drink into the cat room for your visit if you wish."

Good luck, we'd love to see this happen!

Source: Kickstarter