Eveclair Dear and I love spending the holidays together, café hopping. This year seems to fly by; National Day was on our mist before we knew it. I suggested a cat café for a relaxing afternoon, chilling with the cats this time.
Ethical Cat Cafés in Singapore-I am always very mindful when selecting a pet café to visit. I make it a point to go through as many reviews as possible to get an idea of what the environment is like for the animals, how they are treated and the behaviour of the establishment’s owners. Catopia Café had one of the highest favourable reviews on Google and Klook; this enticed me. I made a reservation on Catopia’s website and found it easy to navigate; select the time and date, and a popup with the house rules of the café will appear after you have accepted and read the terms. All you have to do is fill up a form, and you are done; payment is made at the cash register at the Café.
Getting to Cat Café in Bugis Singapore – Getting to the Café took a bit of time; we stopped at Rochor MRT Station and walked to the café. We arrived about half an hour earlier and were told by the staff to come back during our time slot because they were at total capacity with the previous group. We walked around the shophouse for a couple of minutes, unable to spot the café, but we found it after spotting the café’s Sign. Look out for a blue mural of a lamp out of space on the side of the shop house.
The Cafe was set up to bring people closer to cats in a safe social environment through interaction and education. Indeed, I believe the owner achieves precisely what he envisioned. Four staff were present at the café, three ladies and a gentleman who I think is the café owner. There are two stories in the café, and one of the younger staff seated us upstairs. She was very friendly and helpful in answering our questions, telling us about each cat and what its character was like. One staff was stationed upstairs and the others downstairs to ensure everything was in order, and the cats and people were interested in a safe manner.
Gentle and Sweet Cats- I was glad to be upstairs, as I have to know the sweeter cats; the more active cats were mainly downstairs with the owner but did venture up as they pleased. We enjoyed the hour petting the cats and eating waffles and ice cream; we were pleasantly surprised that the cats were not attracted to the food, just propping up onto the table out of curiosity. Dear mentioned that he never knew the cat’s fur was so soft; other than seeing the neighbourhood strays, he does not have much experience interacting with cats. His favourite was the playful adolescent cat who was playing with the air purifier the staff had to carry him away; when she did so, he playfully pawed and pretended to bite her as he wiggled in her arms; he is very fast, constantly speeding around the room and checking out the visitors.
My only unpleasant experienced was when one cat was mean to a cat whose previous owner declawed; the café cats are mostly rescued. The poor clawless cat was terrified and hid in one of the boxes. The whole commotion happened behind me and frightened me. The loud, forceful meow scared me; I gave out a scream when I thought the cat was attacking me. I regretted it because one of the café’s rules was to keep our voices down and the surroundings peaceful and conditions for the cats. The upstairs staff quickly attended to the clawless cat, kept her in her cabin, and ensured everyone was all right. One of the owners also came up to check all was in order and spoke to the cat, who was naughty, in a gentle voice, not to be mean. The staff explained that these two cats did not get along. I guess cats also have their preferences on who they get along with.
The café keeps particular cats in their cabins to protect them from others; I notice there is an area that some cats go to when they want a break from all the people. I am glad they are not forced to interact. Most of them were also asleep in various spots of the café.
Overall I highly recommend this café to all cat lovers, a good place for kids who are seven years old and up. A massive crowd of kids and their parents were on the first floor waiting for their turn as dear and I left the café. It is worth it at SGD$13.00, a purrfect time with a group of adorable cats.
Catopia Cafe
46A Dunlop St, Singapore 209375
Opening Hours
Mon: Closed
Tues – Sun: 10am – 6pm
For reservations, please make your
booking online on https://catopiacafe.com/
I've always wanted to visit a cat cafe. The waffles and ice cream look yummy & all the cats are so cute! I'm sorry you had an unpleasant experience when one of the cats was mean to another cat. Besides that, it does seem like you had a nice time!
I love the idea of cat cafes – especially if they're giving a home and love to rescue cats 🙂 Great review of the ones you visited x
mia // https://miasdiyprojects.com/
That is a nice Cafe. And also that they're not forced to interact. Plus a price tag to be there. Xx
Isa A. Blogger