Cat cafes are everywhere these days. That’s cool and everything — after all, more cats and more coffee is clearly a very good thing for everyone concerned — but most of the places seem to stick to a cookie cutter formula when it comes to the way they’re designed.
Not so with the Kawaii Kitty Cafe in Philadelphia. This vividly-colored beacon of adoptable kittenness takes the standard concept and turns it into something that looks like a living version of a Hello Kitty cartoon.
Here are nine reasons why the Kawaii Kitty Cafe rocks.
1. The design is awesome
First up, get ready for a blast of technicolored eye-candy when you check out the Kawaii Kitty Cafe’s interior. Hand-painted wooden blocks fashioned into feline-related shapes by local artists adorn the pink and white striped walls, while the resident cats get to lounge on pastel-hued furniture pepped up with anime-styled pillows. Plush life!
2. Marvel at all the cats’ crazy names
You will not come across a better named selection of adoptable kitties than the Kawaii Kitty Cafe’s clowder. Get ready to make friends with Miss Cake, Professor Pizza (pictured above in his natural element), Daniel Day-Mewis, and the incomparable Mr. Ravioli.
3. The most puntastic sign
The chalkboard sign outside of the Kawaii Kitty Cafe plays host to some fantastically punny feline-related slogans. Recent highlights include a homage to the Notorious B.I.G. (“I love it when you call me Big Paw Paw!”), a plea for responsible catnip use (“If you don’t talk to your cat about catnip, who will?“), and the very tempting inducement, “Live nude cats! Free lap dances!”
4. Miss Cake’s love affair with a superstar
This one’s straight from the tabloids: Kawaii Kitty Cafe icon Miss Cake is currently involved in a very heated (and possibly misjudged) love affair with Lil BUB. Well, a stuffed replica of Lil BUB. Kitty love can indeed be blind.
5. Cats heart tea time
Oh, did we mention that the area of the cafe where humans can order coffee and snacks comes complete with giant cut-out artwork of a cat sitting in a teacup?
6. Cats, coffee and art
Also, cappuccinos with cats etched in the froth exist!
7. The cats enjoy movie nights
More cat cafes should take a tip from the folks at Kawaii and start screening movie nights. As a recent showing enticed, “Have kitties walk on you and knock over your drinks while you watch The Big Lebowski.”
Oh, and please let those two curmudgeonly cats watching from the balcony be called Statler and Waldorf.
8. These cats know how to stay hydrated
Yep, there’s even a resident water tester at this establishment. Her name is Princess Puddingpop (because why not?) and, as the caption to this profile pic of her explains, “If you ever need your water tested she will gladly lick it for you.”
9. The concept is working
Beyond entertaining fans and visitors, the Kawaii Kitty Cafe’s eye-catching design and social media profile seems to be proving very effective at actually getting the cats adopted. Recent residents who’ve moved on to forever homes include Mr. Ravioli (pictured above with his new play pal, Elliot), Wes Mantooth, and the curiously-named Jub Jub.
