Yee Haw, The Blue Cat Cafe in Austin, Texas Rocks

We’re delighted to have a guest post about The Blue Cat Cafe in Austin by Carine, a blogger who used to live near me in Westchester County, New York. She moved to Austin, Texas, stopped blogging for awhile and I’m happy she’s blogging once again, or I should say her cat is at Texas, A Parisian Cat In America. Carine is owned by three cats, but mostly Texas, who has traveled the world with her human. You can find him napping, analyzing human behavior, or playing with his fur family.

Editor’s note: As more cat cafes pop up around the world, they are no longer a novelty but what’s novel is how every cafe puts their own stamp on the space. There are continual efforts to get around health department rules and this Austin cafe should get Texas-sized kudos for an innovative approach. What’s also of interest is instead of copying a design esthetic of another country i.e. Japan, The Blue Cat Cafe picks up on the local Austin flavor and famous music scene. If you have visited a cat cafe, or have cat cafe location wishlist, let us know in a comment.

On October17, 2015, Austin got lucky. The capital of the state of Texas became one of the few cities in the US to have a cat café. After visiting Crumbs & Whiskers in Washington, DC, I had to visit the Blue Cat Café in Austin. The Café is located in a nice, east Austin neighborhood. You cannot miss it: the sight of its colorful food truck and its walls covered with exquisite cat murals could almost make you purr.

The café was launched thanks to a successful Kickstarter campaign. I had the opportunity to talk with Rebecca, the founder of the café and a charming cat lover.

The name of the café comes from her favorite cats, Russian blue cats, which she described as very smart cats. The visit costs $3 per person, for unlimited time, and no need for reservation. The menu is vegetarian and cat-themed with delicious cat dogs (I tried a vegetarian Pawstin Dog and found it very tasty). Rebecca wanted the café’s menu to show respect for all lives.

The café found an innovative and smart way to bring both cats and foods to clients at the same time while respecting sanitary regulations. The food is prepared outside of the café, in the food truck, and delivered through a window for clients to pick it up in the room where the cats are.

The Blue Cat Café is reminiscent of the home of a cat lover: although the place has obviously been built with both cats and humans in mind, it is evident that the cats have taken over, but to the benefit of both humans and cats. In fact, the t-shirts the staffs wear inform us: “Our cats look forward to tolerating your existence.”

The kitties are free to go where they like in the café and very demonstrative of their cattitude.

If they want to play, they respond to humans’ attempts to play with them. If they want to sleep, they either grace you with their presence next to you, or find some isolated place.

The café has very smart, natural tree branches, ideal for climbing and scratching leading up to the ceiling, that are easily accessible to cats for napping or spying.

As for cat/music lovers, what about drums turned into cat beds? Sounds a lot more peaceful than actual drums to me! Not surprisingly, the catification of the café and the kitty superhighway were designed with the help of Kate Benjamin. There are also several tables, chairs, and benches for humans to seat and enjoy a drink or something to eat.

The best part is that, of course, the cats can be adopted. Rebecca told me that on average, the cafe had one adoption a day. How wonderful is this? The café works with the Austin Humane Society, which, Rebecca pointed out, is doing great work to help Austin’s animals.

In three words: I loved it! If you are in Austin, TX, I encourage you to stop by this cat café! If you are a cat lover and are owned by cats, you’ll almost feel at home! The staff is friendly, the cats are pawsome, and you’ll be supporting a good cause while enjoying some purr therapy. What else can we ask for?

Blue Cat Café

95 Navasota St
Austin, TX 78702 USA
http://www.bluecatcafe.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thebluecatcafe
Twitter: https://twitter.com/bluecatcafe
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thebluecatcafe_austin/