A Review of the Cat Cafes of Asakusa

I have been doing rather well cat-wise recently. Two new cat cafes last week, a visit to my 'regulars' at Ebisu, and now two new cat cafes this week PLUS a return visit to one of the previous week's ones. During one visit I picked up a leaflet advertising an exhibition of cats in Edo era art (I blogged about an exhibition of this I went to). Looking it up online I found it was 3.5 hours away from here, and briefly pondered a day trip. I wonder if I could have fast-onset CCWS (crazy cat woman syndrome)? I do seem to have overdosed.

Calaugh Cafe

There are nine cats at this place which is definitely the most 'cafe' like of these places I have been.

You are sat at a table to start with and given a drink menu. There is no charge for the first hour - you just have to order a drink - which was admittedly twice the price of a normal drink but then also cheaper than a normal hour at a cat cafe. You then find a cat and let the rest come naturally.

A number of cats were on shelves that ran around the top of the room, under their own personal spotlight sun-lamps. Others were just chilling out.

Some were playful, while others were sleepy.

This one reminded me of our beloved family cat Sweep who died about 12 years ago now. I've been watching "The Blacklist" recently and at one point Red says "You're not really dead as long as you are remembered" but I digress. All in all this was a nice place and you get a drink. But it's not what I'd call a classic cat cafe.

Asakusa Nekoen Cat Cafe

My review in five words? I would not advise visiting.

There is nothing actually wrong with this place. The cats are all in good health and look well cared for. They have all the facilities, places to sleep, toys, affection and so on. But there was a smell. Like the place needed a really good airing and someone had done something on the carpet a while ago and it hadn't been cleaned up properly. Also there was cat hair everywhere. That might seem like an odd thing to say but all the other cat cafes I've been to have been very clean. Obviously cat beds and toys get hair on, but the floors are cleaned and hoovered regularly. In this place it was all over everything. But. There were three kittens and a remote controlled mouse. OMG.

I managed to get the three of them in shot all at once.

The kittens seriously loved that mouse. They were going nuts, chasing it all over the place. They would catch it and knock it upside down and then look at you, waiting for you to turn it the right way up so they could set off after it again. After the mouse ran out of batteries they frantically chased and play-fought with each other.

So tiny! And then suddenly all three of them were worn out and had gone to sleep in different places. One inside a play tube, one on a cat bed much too big for it and one on this scratchable chaise longue.

Once they fell asleep I was out of there - the smell and cat hair got to me.

My way home took me close to the cafes I visited last week so having been a bit disappointed with these two I went back to Cat Cafe Nanny, blogged about last week. Those kittens - the ones who tried to get under my maxi skirt last week and are older than the ones above but still quite young - this time made a beeline for the skirt of my shirt-dress. I was kneeling on the floor and one of them dived under while the other two, confronted with a small, moving shape behind fabric, proceeded to attack. Hilarity and slapstick-in-miniature ensued.

The little lion was upstairs, sunning herself.

So adorable! I also got a better look at the cat with the crazy sideburns.

His fur is crinkled - brindled? Is that the word? It is like stroking a sheep. He was interested in the comic I was looking at, which was in the bookcase there.

All the stories feature cats!

I have to keep an eye out for this one. When I got back downstairs to the kittens I found two of them had managed to get up on top of the sleeping cage and bookcase. They were loving it up there!

I tried to lift one of them down but he was having none of it. I think they were enjoying being so much higher than everyone else for the first time.

I have a few more cat cafes to visit before giving my verdict, but so far Nanny is my favourite cafe of all the ones I have visited. If only Bruiser were there it would be my number one, but he's not so I won't be leaving Ebisu's Nyafe Melange behind any time soon.