Food & Drink
Seattle’s First Cat Cafe is Now Open
Seattle Meowtropolitan opens its doors in Wallingford
By Lyra Fontaine January 13, 2016
This article originally appeared in the February 2016 issue of Seattle magazine.
Seattle has the second-highest number of “cat ladies” in the country, according to recent market data, which found that nearly one in 10 single women in the city live alone with at least one feline friend. And now there’s a place for all feline-philes—regardless of gender or relationship status—to enjoy the company of cats while indulging in another typically Seattle purr-suit (sorry!): drinking coffee. Just opened in Wallingford, Seattle Meowtropolitan (seattlemeowtropolitan.com), is the region’s first cat café.
Though you can’t bring your own kitty, the café is partnering with Regional Animal Services of King County to foster about 10–15 cats, in hopes of finding them homes. Customers can enter the designated “cat lounge” (which is separate from the food prep area) and cuddle to their hearts’ content while enjoying pastries and a locally roasted coffee drink, such as a “catpuccino.” Founded by former UW students who were inspired by Taiwan’s cat café craze, the café opened with a bump of $13,000 from a crowdfunding campaign. It’s a paws-itive sign for the people behind neko (nekoseattle.com), another cat café slated to open in Capitol Hill with crowdfunding assistance later this year.
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