Because everyone deserves a lazy afternoon – 05.16.15

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I love cats (and dogs, too) but I seem to not have the aura of the kind of human that they naturally / instinctively gravitate to. That, however, did not stop me from wanting to visit as many dog, cat or whatever else animal cafes.

My first cat cafe experience happened in Korea but my visit to Cat Cafe Manila was worth telling, not only because it is one of the first cat cafes in the Philippines, it is also uniquely home because it takes care of puspins (pusang Pinoy) instead of the ones with breed.

Cat Cafe Manila is currently on soft opening but they are guests to check out their 10 resident cats. Open from Tuesdays to Sundays from 12NN to 10PM, they allow maximum of 15 people per instance with booking via an app or site called Eventbrite. (What I did though was contact them via their Facebook page then I was sent the link where I could book). Php200 lets you in  which you pay at the entrance — half of which goes to CARA Welfare Philippines (Compassion and Responsibility for Animals) while the rest, you can consume with either their wittily named coffee drinks and Italian soda options. 

My Tita (aunt – who is the truly cat person) and I went there on a Saturday from 3-4 in the afternoon.  There were about less than 10 people when we arrived but it started to get busier in an hour. Well, it was a weekend and a convenient time in the afternoon at that.

I suppose as in other animal cafes, there are house rules to follow – which are understandable to maintain this common space between human visitors and our animal friends. Sanitation (which includes leaving your shoes outside) and keeping the noise level down, just to name a few.

We were greeted by this wall of notes from happy guests before us

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Be reminded! 

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They reminded us to be reminded

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The first cat I met was DOMINO

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And this is his space

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It was feeding time so they went to that spot

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I want that wall at home! (For books though)

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Stay outside, enemy!

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Look at those purrr-y creative drink names

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Corky board

(which includes photos of cat-loving celebrities! ^ ^ )

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Some of all cat-related souvenirs

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Cat everywhere! 

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Cats have name tags and it’s better to know them yourselves but this summary helps you get started

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Oww. Cat ears!

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Hmm. Interesting.

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Someone’s taking his nap

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TRIGGER here has been sleeping on this spot since we arrived. He indeed takes long naps!

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[From back to front]: And here are LING LING  (apprently because she is cross-eyed or “duling” in Filipino / Tagalog) and BASU

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And here is CHAKA, who is far from “chaka” which is a Filipino slang for ugly

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Well, maybe this kind of cat would be nice to me

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I am not a fan of juices but I love is kiwi juice! 

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Oh TRIGGER, you are still there! While SASHA busily chomps her afternoon snack

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Find the hidden sleeping cat

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These two fresh from their afternoon nap

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This one’s BG –  youngest in the bunch

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MICCO loves to sleep somewhere sunny

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DOMINO still here

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LING-LING and BASU awake earlier and now they are back to sleep

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SASHA (Tita’s favorite because she has the softest fur)

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OREO is my favorite because while she was said to be shy, she is the most playful

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And here is MAMA CAT – sleeping so soundly in contrast to that cat on the wall 

### Until next time, Cat Cafe Manila!

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We  were strictly at the cafe until 4PM because it looked like more people were coming in. I am just not sure about their extended stay policy but I noticed that some people were longer than an hour. Just go ask if you feel like you wanted more time with the sleepyheads. 🙂

OTHER PRACTICAL DETAILS : 

Cat Cafe Manila is located in 2nd Floor, 189 Maginhawa corner Maka-Dios Street in Maginhawa, UP Village. (It’s not as easy to spot as the other establishments in the building as it is located on the back part of the building (if you are on the main road). 

If you are familiar with navigation apps, cafe does not come out in Waze but it does in Google Drive so you might try that out.

You may visit their website Cat Cafe Manila for more details.