Sweet cat alert! Are you looking for an original place to meet a friend for a cup of coffee?

Or a place where you can come with your laptop and work in a nice ambiance? If that’s what you’re looking for, then you should come here - to a cat paradise, the Cat Café in Warsaw - Miau Cafe Warszawa.

Here is my review of this unusual cafe in Warsaw. 

The concept of Cat Cafes was imported to Europe from Asia. Don’t worry; it has nothing to do with cat eating! :)

Instead, when the first cat cafés in the world were opened in Taiwan and Japan, they were meant to be a place for the urbanites to unwind after the hectic working day, petting and playing with cats.

Such cafes became increasingly popular in these countries where, due to its land size and growing population, many townsfolk live in small apartments or condominiums which do not allow pets. The big city pace of life doesn’t help either – people are either stuck at work or in transport.

Before the rise of cat cafes and as an alternative to fulfill the human need to have a pet, Japanese invented the digital pet, The Tamagotchi in the nineties. Do you remember it?

But the consequences of having a digital pet with short life cycle were controversial: first, children were taking their Tamagotchi to school to be able to feed it during the day but got distracted from schoolwork and in the end the Tamagotchi got banned by the schools; and the second, children got attached to the pet, but the pet died too quickly and thus causing a psychological trauma. 

Ultimately, for a person who is unable to have a cat at home, going to a cat café and caressing a live furry puRRRRRRRRRRRing cat is a more attractive option than playing with a digital pet.

Cats have always been considered as healing animals in many cultures. Now, modern medicine even recognizes cat therapy as a mean to cure some psychological and physical disorders.

The majority of people who have a cat at home will confirm that cats can be beneficial to our wellbeing.

Stroking a cat relieves stress, winter blues, loneliness and anxiety. Watching a sleeping cat gives us a feeling of tranquility and peace and relaxes us.

Yes, cats cannot solve our accumulated personal and emotional issues, but at least they can help to forget about it and to take a distance from our problems. Cats are the best anti-depressants.

And of course, cats’ purring calms our shattered nerves down after a hard working day and improves our mood. 

Actually, just watching cat videos can raise your happiness level, and if you have a chance to have a cat or to come to a cat café, the happiness effect will double.

MORE TO DISCOVER IN WARSAW: 

The cat café in Warsaw was opened just recently, in January this year. When I got to know about it, I headed there immediately :)

I am a cat lover and I used to have cats at home since my childhood till around 16 years old.  Now that I travel a lot, it would be irresponsible to get a cat and not give my pet sufficient care. So, going to a cat café is a perfect solution for spending some happy time with cats.

The Miau Café came to life thanks to the crowdfunding campaign on the Polish platform, wspieram.to where the 1 700 residents of Warsaw pulled in the financial resources to make the idea of the first cat café in Warsaw come true.

Behind this idea was a leader, Ania Pawlicka, who inspired people and moved things forward.

There are seven cats in the café: Puma, Milusia, Alicja, Rudy, Louise, Thelma and Ksenia. All the cats in the café were initially stray and abandoned.  Before moving to the café, the cats had vaccination and currently they are under a constant veterinary care.

Now their home is the café, and they live and “work” there.

As you can imagine, “the working day” of the cats in the café is not very stressful.

The volunteer of the Miau Café shared with me what the typical day of cats is:

Early in the morning the cats are very active and they jump around the café; at 9 a.m. they get their breakfast with wet pet food; at 10 a.m. the first visitors of the café come and the cats get very curious about each guest. They will inspect your bags and belongings and can even try to hide in your bag.

Around 11 a.m. cats get sleepy; they come on your knees and have a siesta.

Throughout the day they wake up to get a snack of dry pet food; at around 4 p.m. they become active again and ready to play with you.

After the café closes at 9 p.m. and the cats get a dinner of wet food, the real party starts. The cats hunt, play and jump around, but you can see it only on the video surveillance.

I normally come here for the whole day to work and enjoy the cats' company when they are in both sleepy and in joyful, playful mood.

Sometimes these little helpers try to manage my mailbox :)

There is no entry fee to the café; you just have to take a drink or food to be able to spend time with cats. I must acknowledge the coffee and cakes are really delicious here. 

So, how to behave in Miau Café?

Here are some rules:
- Stroke a cat when it comes to you itself;
- Don’t disturb a cat when it is asleep;
- Feel free to play with cats;

- You can take pictures of cats, but please don’t use flash;
- Don’t stroke a cat when it doesn’t want to be stroked;
- Don’t speak too loud because cats get tired of noise;
- Don’t carry cats; they will come to you themselves;
- Don’t feed cats, they have special pet food prepared for them.

What else? This café promotes the adoption of animals. So if you are looking for a pet, you can find the announcements in the Miau café, or you can place your own announcement.

ul. Adama Naruszewicza 30/u2, 02-627 Warszawa,

Metro Wierzbno

Monday - Friday  9 – 21

Saturday  10 – 21

Sunday 10 – 20

THE BEST EXPERIENCES IN WARSAW: 

Come here, these cats will make you laugh and will put a smile on your face :-)

Thanks for reading!

WITH LOVE,

SASHA & THE ALTERNATIVE TRAVEL GUIDE 

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