Let’s go to the cat café

Cafés with animals as part of the experience are common in Eastern Asia. In countries such as Japan and South Korea it’s not surprising to find cat, dog or bunny themed cafés. Usually you’ll be given the opportunity to hang out with the animals while enjoying your cup of coffee which is perfect if you’re an animal lover or miss having your own pet.

I’ve previously been to animal café’s Cat café in Toronto and a bunny café in Seoul. I’ve shared more about that experience HERE.

The concept of animal themed cafe’s was previously unknown to Stockholm, but more Eastern Asian concepts are starting to open up (we have bubble tea and Japanese cafés now too which makes me so happy). If there’s one thing Swedish people enjoy, it’s a classic fika (Swedish word for sitting down and enjoying coffee and cake) so I’m not surprised that new types of cafés are opening up.

What is Java Whiskers?

Java Whiskers is a cat café located near the Odenplan area (which is also the nearest subway station) in central Stockholm. Here, you are welcome to spend time with cats as well as enjoy a Swedish fika. There are also sandwiches and pies available and you’ll find vegan and allergy friendly options as well.

My experience

Under the current circumstances with Covid-19, you begin your visit with booking a time slot on the Java Whiskers website. You may pay the entrance fee directly on the website, but you can also wait until your arrival.

Arrival

On the day of your visit, make sure to be on time and dress comfortably. Hopefully, you’ll get to play around with some of the cats. When you arrive, the staff members will greet you and ask whether you want any coffee or cake brought into the cat room. They offer a pretty good selection of coffee and cakes, especially for being an animal themed cafe. I’ve previously found that these kinds of cafe’s tend to be sub-standard when it comes to quality and availability of food and drinks.

You will place your order (the staff will bring your order to you when you’re in the cat area), pay and move on to the house rules, which I’ve shared more about further below in this post.

Being with the cats

Once inside, you can choose freely where to sit. You may however also move around and interact with the cats in various places of the room. When we arrived, many of the cats were rather sleepy, but that didn’t mean that they were hiding from us. Mostly, they were relaxing on the furniture and more than happy to receive cuddles. The personnel gave them treats once, and hearing the sound of the treat bag coming out really caught their attention. It was fun to see how eager some of the cats were to have treats, while others continued sleeping in their respective spots.

About the cats

They currently have nine cats living in the café. All of the nine cats are rescue cats that are available for adoption. The café serves as a temporary cat home and new cats are brought in as other cats find new homes. Some of cats are more extroverted than others, but the cat’s that you’re seeing have all chosen to be in that room with you. They have a separate room in the back, which they can withdraw to for their toilet needs and personal privacy.

The cats are at most times nice, cute and happy to interact with you. They are, however quite calm animals so it’s unlikely for them to run around creating havoc in the cafe. It is also fun to see them interact with each other.

Things to know before coming

Java Whiskers have set up a few house rules that you need to respect during your visit. They are as follows:

• Be respectful to our cats upon every interaction. You are not allowed to chase-, physically coerce- or pick them up from the floor
• There are toys available in the café that you can use to play with the cats No other items can be used as toys
• Do not feed the cats
• We have a shoe limit when visiting the cats
• There’s also a ten year age limit for visitors
• Photos are allowed, but without flash.
• Respect social distancing rules towards other groups of people. This was not an issue at all when I visited as there was only two or three other groups there during our visit. There’s also a visitor limit in place, which is great for both the cats and from a Covid-19 perspective.
• You also need to wash your hands for at least 20 seconds and top up with hand sanitizer.

You will find the rules as well as the booking terms and conditions HERE.

Pricing

There is an entrance fee for the cat room, which is listed below:

• Weekdays -149 SEK/h (About 14 USD)
• Sat & Sun -179 SEK / h (All bookings are per person) (About 16 USD)
• 99 SEK / h for students and seniors (60+) (every day) (About 9 USD)

The listed prices do not include coffee, cakes or any souvenirs (which they actually have for sale). While the price point is a bit steeper than my previous animal cafe experiences, I found that this cafe was also better than the other one’s I’ve been to. It was a lot cleaner, they had more and better beverages and cakes available, and you could tell that the staff members were passionate about their work.

Charity work

If you’re still on the fence about the price, keep in mind that a lot of the money go towards sustaining the cat cafe. They also do a lot of charity with rehoming these cats. You’re not only contributing towards a better living for the cats but you’re also ensuring that this continues to be a home for future cats.

Coming here is definitely a fun weekend activity, and I thought the experience was worth the money as it’s more exciting than sitting down and having a cup of coffee. The 10 year age limit also ensures a calm atmosphere which made my experience far better than with many other café’s I’ve been to.

Overall experience

If you enjoy the concept of coffee and cake in a beautiful environment, think of this as one of those, but with cats. Cats are a lovely bonus if you’re an animal person like me, and especially if you miss having your own pet. My chai latte and Swedish chocolate ball was good although not extraordinary. Time-wise, I thought that booking this activity for an hour is just about enough.

I had a very relaxing experience and found this as a perfect Sunday activity. You could tell that the staff members cared a lot for the well being of the cats as well as the cafe itself. Everyone was so nice and service-minded during our visit. They also shared a lot of information about the cats, so don’t hesitate to ask if you have any questions. Overall, this was a beautiful, cozy and relaxing way to spend a Sunday afternoon. I really want to return and show this café to my family as I’m sure they’d love it too!

What are some of your best animal experiences? Let me know in the comments!