Last week, I received this text from my sister:
Check out this cafe in New York! https://www.konekonyc.com You can have Japanese snacks and pet cats! I’m taking my girl to meet your girls there on Sunday. Wanna join?
OK, I’m not a big cat lover. Dogs are more my style. But an opportunity to spend time with my sister and our daughters….I’m 100% in. So I replied, “Sure. Why not?” It definitely sounded like a pretty cool (Lower East Side cool) kind of thing to do on a Sunday afternoon in summer.
So Sunday arrived, I met up with my sister and her daughter, and we headed to the city. We arrived at the cafe, met up with my daughters (who live in NY), went up to the bar, ordered ourselves some coffee, and then headed in to play with the cats. The woman in charge shared a long list of rules: Don’t pick up the cats, don’t touch the cats if they are up in the perches, watch out for the cats with the purple collars – they bite! Once we had agreed to behave, we entered the cattery. The cats were few and were just sort of laying around (I guess that’s sort of what cats do. I’m not really sure what I was expecting. Maybe some cute kittens?). So we…sort of just sat around and pet a few of the feline friends who seemed interested. We tried to engage the cats in some play, but most wouldn’t be bothered. Two cats (brothers) were playing with each other, and that entertained us for a bit. Our hour was up, so we gave the kitties a last pat on the head and headed back to the cafe for some Japanese snacks.
I can’t say I loved the cat cafe. This may be popular in Japan, but I’m not sure it’s going to catch on here (Now a puppy cafe. That’s an idea worth investigating!). But spending time with my sister and our girls, watching them interact and laugh and talk. That’s worth everything, even an afternoon watching a bunch of sedentary cats.
Writing to Learn, Learning to Write 
Sounds like an interesting place! I wonder how your sister even heard about it. Is she a big cat person? Either way, I’m glad you had time with your family!
She does love cats and she has a way of finding the most interesting places to go! I’ve had so much time with family this summer. I don’t want it to end!
I don’t either!
My 20 year old daughter would LOVE to visit a cat cafe. When we were in Rome a few summers ago, a local cat shelter (amidst Roman ruins) was high on her list of must-see places. We did go and had a hard time pulling her away to explore other sites–like, um, the Colosseum! lol I had to laugh at your “sedentary cats” comment and can totally relate to your willingness and enthusiasm to hang out anywhere with daughters and sisters.
Cat Cafe not a place for one with cat allergies! Although it does sound like a cool concept for cat lovers! A friend of mine was just in San Francisco and she posted pics of her family at a similar establishment – perfect for her – and her family – she’s a cat lover! Admire you for taking one for the team and then writing so clearly about it! Thanks for sharing!