Lisbon is about to see the opening of Portugal’s first cat café. From tomorrow (Saturday) ‘Aqui Há Gato’ “will allow clients to interact with the cats just as if they were in their own home,” says the café’s Facebook page, stressing the project is also designed to help adopt rescued street cats.
“If someone falls in love with one of the cats, there will always be the possibility of them leaving with a new friend, and helping the fight against animal abandonment,” says the Facebook post.
Cat cafés have already taken off in a number of cities around the world, thus the woman behind this project, aptly named CATarina (Mendes), is pretty sure she is on to a good thing.
“Looking at the successes in other countries, we’re confident this will be something Lisbon residents take into their hearts,” she told Público.
The café is planned to work on two levels. First, there’s the ‘full Monty” for €5 in which clients can enjoy light meals, coffee, yoghurts and other delights as well as the library area, where they can read books and/or newspapers in the company of furry felines. Alternatively, for €3 people can just pop in to enjoy the library space, and read comfortably with a cat on their lap.
Opening hours will be varied, with doors opening at 10am every day but Tuesday. Closing times Wednesday to Monday are 7pm, with late closing (8pm) on Fridays and Saturdays.
In the heart of old Lisbon, Aqui Há Gato can be found in Calçada da Estrela.
For more information, go to the café’s Facebook page ‘Aqui Há Gato’.
