Text: Paula LaBine
Taiwan’s next generation of “cats and coffee” spots are more than just places where travelers can have a latte with their feline friends. They’ve got a social agenda. Taiwan Scene guest blogger Paula LaBine, author of The Neighbor’s Cat visited several on her recent trip around the island, returning with this report on Taiwan’s cat cafe scene and suggestions for a few spots that fellow cat lovers might wish to visit.
Taiwan has long been a destination for cat lovers, ever since the first cat café (Cat Flower Garden, now called Café Dogs & Cats) opened its doors in Taipei in 1998. Since then, the trend has swept across Japan with the rest of the world recently catching on.
The country has remained a steady presence on the cat café scene with plenty of options to get your kitty fix, from traditional cat cafés to regular cafés with a shop cat, and now, cafés that feature adoptable felines.
While many Taiwanese cat cafés have rescue kitties in permanent residence (i.e. pet them all they want but don’t take them home), there is a growing trend of cat cafés helping felines searching for their forever homes.
A hybrid between a shelter and café, this version of cats and coffee is hugely popular in North America where local rescues and sanctuaries partner with cafes to get kitties out of cages and into a social setting where they can shine in front of prospective adopters.
Such cat cafés (sometimes referred to as ‘halfway houses’) are more rare in Asia, but I was pleasantly surprised to discover several throughout Taiwan as part of my quest to visit every cat café in the world.
These dedicated folks not only facilitate rescue/adoption, but also help educate the community on animal welfare issues such as TNR (Trap-Neuter-Return, a program where feral cats are humanely trapped, brought to a veterinarian to be spayed or neutered, vaccinated, ear-tipped, and then returned to their outdoor home). Such places also teach prospective adopters about cat care and the responsibilities of cat ownership.
As a foreign visitor, you probably aren’t going to be adopting a cat in Taiwan, but if you want to support rescue efforts while having a unique vacation experience, consider visiting one (or more) of the following cat cafés.
1.Camulet
I happened upon Camulet by accident walking to a different cat café and it turned out one of Taipei’s best…call it kitty serendipity.
Not only is Camulet a delightful place to enjoy a coffee break, the cats are also available for adoption, proving that a quality café experience and animal rescue are not mutually exclusive. (Read also: Coffee in Taiwan – How an Island of Tea-drinkers came to love the bean!)
Located in Banqiao district, the shop has been so popular since it opened in May last year, that my initial request for a Saturday afternoon table couldn’t be accommodated. Returning a few hours later, I understood why.
One of the nicest cat café facilities in Taiwan, this beautiful space has been designed for maximum cat interaction with seating at low tables that encourage lap visitors. With spare and modern interiors, soft lighting, and a rotation of cute cat videos, Camulet offers a perfectly balanced atmosphere of cheerful and calm.
Ten cats are in residence, all available for adoption. Many have found their way to the café by people who feed street cats, however, not all cats are suitable for this environment, and those in the café have been carefully chosen by the owner, who has studied cat behavior. She ensures the cats avoid stress by providing an escape room and limiting the number of visitors and very young children. Her socialization strategy appears to be working, as the kitties seem playfully happy, and six have found permanent homes so far.
The service is equally lovely with caring staff offering a large menu of salad, pasta and rice dishes as well as desserts and beverages. There is a minimum spend requirement of 200 NTD ($6.72).
With an ideal environment, friendly people, great food and adorable cats, Camulet is a high quality experience that is no accident.
2.Music & Cats
As an accomplished violinist, Emily Yen is well-known in Taiwan for her music and love of cats, holding concerts to raise funds for her shelter and cat café, Music & Cats.
I discovered the coffee shop through a fellow cat lover I met online while tweeting about cats and Taiwan. He offered to show me some of his favorite cat cafes that are lesser known and potentially challenging to find for foreign visitors.
We met at Qizhang station and chatted about travel and cats as we walked down Muxin Road until we reached Wenshan district, home of Music & Cats.
Our group received a friendly welcome by Emily’s friend, who introduced us to Emily while we sat down to chat over a cup of coffee. Emily has been rescuing cats for over five years and opened her café two years ago. There are currently thirty cats in residence at Music & Cats, and another twenty at her other facility.
She takes in cats that are difficult, and works diligently to socialize them. One such kitty is Mao Mao, a gorgeous white British Shorthair suffering from behavior issues since she was abandoned by her owner (it was discovered she is deaf). Things have slowly improved under the love and care of Emily, but she knows this fair feline would prefer to be the only cat in the household with a patient owner who can give her lots of time and space to blossom.
Developing a suitable adopter profile is part of Emily’s socialization process, and it isn’t easy finding such specific homes, but she perseveres.
We spent an hour meeting the cats and chatting about animal rescue in Taiwan before I took a few photos of Emily’s precious fur babies, including a great shot of Mao Mao, who had been elusive during my visit.
It was a happy ending that I hope translated into a good omen for the snow goddess.
3.Cat Art Home
Down a pretty lane in Yonghe district, near Dingxi metro is a small cat café filled with big hearts.
Open nearly seven years, Cat Art Home specializes in caring for Taipei’s truly forgotten felines- those that are ill, old or have other challenges. The caring staff has given these special cats lots of extra love and attention, such as one poor baby that had cancer and required hand-feedings.
Whatever they are doing is clearly working because every year Cat Art Home facilitates over 100 adoptions!
I visited on a busy Thursday afternoon and was lucky that the volunteer who greeted me spoke English as she was able to answer my questions about the facility.
She noted there were twenty cats in residence and introduced me to several, including a sweet little tabby, a former runt-of-the-litter and gorgeous white Lulu, a spirited girl that became a bit overzealous when my thumb got in the way of her wet treat.
We spent the next hour discussing the rescue scene in Taipei while a steady stream of regulars socialized with the kitties in the simple, yet relaxing atmosphere. The space is filled with quirky cat art and set to a soundtrack of lullaby music. (Read also: An Island of Festivals – Exciting Music Events Around Taiwan)
There is a 275 NTD minimum spending requirement with a variety of beverages and desserts available. (More on sweets: An insider’s guide to Taipei: Afternoon Tea in 5 Unlikely Places)
While the least commercial of the cafes profiled in this article, Cat Art Home’s commitment to helping Taipei’s vulnerable felines is most admirable and deserving of support.
4. Lang Lang Don’t Cry
Tucked away in the shadow of Civic Boulevard near Taipei Main Station is Lang Lang Don’t Cry, also known as Pet Halfway House, a hip café run by dedicated animal welfare advocates.
Opened in 2015, this two-story rescue and adoption center is unique in that it houses both dogs (first floor) and cats (second floor), plus a coffee bar/restaurant.
The day I visited was quite busy, but friendly Julia greeted me warmly and then prepared an outstanding iced latte while she gave me the lowdown on the café and their rescue efforts. The owners, Tan Jou and husband Alan Liu, decided to open the coffee shop as a way to socialize stray animals and increase their chances of being adopted. They have been very successful, with over 200 dogs and cats adopted in the past 2.5 years.
As more companies and individuals have joined them in their efforts, the café has outgrown its current space and is expected to move to a new location in the next year.
Tan and Alan’s approach drives much of their success, a combination of grass roots promotion and proper vetting of prospective adopters.
The shop uses social media to promote animals available for adoption, including cute photos and stories about their personalities. The café now has a large group of loyal followers that help spread the word about rescue and adoption.
However, the owners are also wary of owner abandonment and have stringent requirements for prospective adopters, such as spending time with the animal at the café, participating in an interview and home visit, paying for medical treatment, vaccines and microchip, plus signing an agreement promising they will not desert their pet.
Eventually, I made my way upstairs and was discovered four cats, two playful tabbies, one energetic black, and a shy orange. I became fast friends with Guo-Guo and he rewarded my head rubs with happy purrs.
One of the impressive things about Lang Lang is how much you feel a sense of community. It’s not just the friendliness of the staff either—fellow patrons smile at one another and share tips on which cat likes chin rubs or which dog prefers ear scratches.
With a central Taipei location, inclusive atmosphere, quality coffee and adorable animals, supporting stray animals has never been easier or more fun!
The Neighbor’s Cat is the alter ego of Paula LaBine, an itinerant cat lover who writes about cat cafés, cat travel and rescue/adoption. She is visiting every cat café in the world, 189 in 28 countries so far! Find her at theneighborscat.com or on Facebook/Twitter @catcafeviews.
More on Taiwanese cafes: Finding Local Flavor at Taipei’s Beer Cafes
3 comments
That method, you will have entry to all of the instruments that you simply want to truly make it work ought to you find your perfect match. Initially, you want to understand that European girls are usually not like several American ladies you’ve dated earlier than. You is not going to want to find the correct phrases and attempt to impress them. Local individuals need to search out compatible companions. Be happy to contact us everytime you want! As we’ve mentioned earlier, Instasingle is free for all customers. These websites are extraordinarily straightforward to make use of and provides basic gear for interplay between customers. How are these European dating sites unique from different relationship sites? Aside from regional differences that reflect in European dating websites, there are a number of normal ideas associated to this region. Although courting Ukrainian girls shouldn’t be rocket science, some ideas will make it easier to perceive them higher and win them over. The brand new dates additionally help to better understand the development of the EBA itself. Finally, Eastern Europe ladies are drawn to foreigners because they really feel better handled by them. TheLuckyDate is a perfect instance of how to satisfy European girls without worrying about location and age! Active customers, free search tools, a detailed persona check that helps a new member discover an ideal match, thousands of extremely beautiful women (most of them are very energetic customers with detailed profiles)-JollyRomance has a number of sturdy sides.
Whether it’s going for a jog alongside the Seine in Paris or practising yoga within the park in Stockholm, it seems like each European girl I’ve met in Western Europe places a excessive precedence on staying healthy and active. There are numerous great Western european dating web sites out there online. Being more romantic: western males give flowers and presents, prepare thrilling dates and like to shock. In France, a man may be late, but don’t take it personally; French males are notoriously unhealthy timekeepers. On the whole, European ladies choose to day a man just who they know and trust, rather than connect with someone on the whim. For example, a European man grows up differently than one from the United States, and is accustomed to some various things. We agree with the Bz B date for any such pin, additionally because the specimen dated by us was associated with a most characteristic Bz B dagger in one of many burials (Oberottmarshausen gr. It’s easy so as to add a bio, describe your self and your values, and even your ideally suited sort of person. But for the EU and EEA countries, it’s much more essential.
Here, you possibly can test five essential features supplied by our platform. To satisfy the wants of singles who want to work on mindful relationships, we offer several important opportunities. Not at all times accessible: Because single Ukrainian girls are so fashionable, they are sometimes not available once you need so far them. The overwhelming charmingdate majority of Ukraine single ladies relationship have increased schooling. All the options assist you to have a smooth and pleasant European dating expertise. â— Professional help. Our customer support middle is accessible without breaks and weekends, 24/7. You’ll be able to send a request at any time to get assist with the web site functions, European dating guidelines, and different points. There are some free dating websites in Europe, however they’re typically not price your consideration-they at all times have problems with safety, a lot of faux profiles, and zero reaction from buyer support. What relationship sites do Europeans use? As an example, you may customize your profile and use varied filters for search. Another customizable device is our search that relies on a number of filters. â— The UK. Similarly to the USA, British singles choose longer search but more stable and sustainable relationships.
Europeans value regular progress in relationships that begins with friendship. No, your gifts don’t must be expensive because these women value practicality. â— Spain. While there are various stereotypes about Spain, local people worth dedication. All in all, European dating is extremely in style amongst each native and overseas singles. Although European dating apps change the way we talk with individuals, local customs remain vital. To attach related folks, we use a custom matching algorithm. You can use the telephone number, the e-mail tackle, or the stay chat built-in into the platform. After registration, you get entry to all companies of our platform. Should you determine thus far a European lady, get able to cling out together with her best associates. Making an effort to get to know their families and gaining their approval will go a good distance in profitable their hearts. European dating often begins between associates or at the very least people who know each other. At the least in the Augsburg area, there is certainly no indication for either a substantial overlap or a hiatus between both durations. Therefore, one can assume that there’s hardly any overlap or no overlap at all between the latest BBP and the earliest EBA burials.
Alternatively, we’ve Sally, who not too long ago closed her traditional financial savings account and opened a high-yield on-line savings account. Google Calendar and Microsoft Outlook both have some reminder service performance. Applications like Google Calendar become profitable by advertising, while Microsoft Outlook earns income through software gross sales and licensing fees. Hit the brand new Event button so as to add an occasion, appointment or meeting to the calendar. WitÂh the best kind of consumer account, you may phone in e-mailÂs, calendar events and group messages with out touching a keyboard. Most have one other section that enables the person to tell the service on what date and at what time it should send the reminder. There’s usually a piece through which the user sorts in the reminder message. Find out extra in the following part. If not, the 2 corporations must discover a approach to work around the compatibility issue. In January 2015, Facebook unveiled its new business networking platform, Facebook at Work and has just launched an related chat app, Work Chat. As you sit in commuter visitors or get yelled at by the boss, those daydreams of proudly owning your personal online business in all probability rise up once more. A person found guilty of doing this in Singapore could be fined closely and/or jailed for up to 5 years.
While some nonetheless operate primarily by securing venture capital from buyers who hope the service finally will flip into a profitable enterprise, many online reminder companies have discovered different ways to cowl prices and even flip a profit. Other reminder companies are part of larger functions. What are the current threats and the way will we protect our pollinators. But since we don’t, there are a few things folks can do when utilizing voice recognition software to verify transcriptions are accurate. If the voice recognition software has hassle deciphering sure words, Jott flags the message and sends it to a human for transcription. Once the time trigger activates, the service copies the reminder message created by the person into the IM consumer’s send discipline and sends it to the suitable particular person. Jott asks the person for the message. It might send messages by e-mail, an prompt message consumer or to your mobile phone via brief messaging service (SMS). No one who uses instant messaging should have any problem utilizing eBuddy. Several services assist multiple IM purchasers like AOL Instant Messenger or ICQ. A method providers generate profits is to offer multiple ranges of membership. These companies charge clients in return for offering reminder services.
There are several reminder providers that cater to corporations or industries quite than people. Some companies ask for added info, such because the person’s gender or latamdate birthday. Next, we’ll take a look at online reminder providers that send customers messages in text format. For extra about social networking websites and associated subjects, have a look on the links on the following page. Make sure to use a powerful password and keep away from clicking on links from unknown senders. Or use the “Get help†button for a list of subjects as a information. Some reminder services let you set up a listing of recipients, even if these people do not have their own consumer accounts. The service makes use of the IM consumer the same approach anybody else does — it just has a very massive contact listing. When the time arrives, the service follows a easy set of steps and sends out the reminder. At the appropriate time, Jott sends the message to the consumer either by way of e-mail, a textual content message or each. The consumer submits data together with his or her e-mail deal with and cellular phone number. You can use most service reminders to send messages to you about specific events and appointments, but you have got to give the information to the service first.
The payment-primarily based web sites require a monthly membership charge and give you access to chat rooms, photo galleries, and even private profiles of different members. Usually, the company bills these accounts monthly. Documentation of demise accounts all around the state that started in July 1909 has supported very a lot within the diagnostic and statistical intentions particularly for the public administration. No matter how much you plan to make use of your account, you need to evaluate how a lot using the location will cost you. After creating an account, customers should submit data by way of the service’s person interface. Most providers have a pretty easy consumer interface (UI). First the person responds with a day (which can be in a date format equivalent to June 12, or it may be something so simple as “tomorrow”). It’s not the first time followers have received excited about a joint tour – final month a page on Ticketmaster confirmed “Beyonce and Jay-Z tickets”, however was deleted. The 32-yr-previous, best identified for his function as Loki in the movie, got here into Newsbeat to answer fans’ questions. One of the best on-line buying and selling accounts make it versatile to purchase and sell stocks. The extra you think, the better it is to ensure of the safety of your children.
Great weblog here! Additionally your website rather a lot up fast!
What web host are you the use of? Caan I gget your affiliate
link to your host? I desire my site loaded up as quickly as yours lol
Herre is mmy blog … Sites.google.com