Santa Cruz de Tenerife Welcomes First Cat Café

Santa Cruz de Tenerife is getting its very first cat café, a unique spot for the Canary Islands. The Instagram page 'Paseando por Santa Cruz' shared the news about 'La Gatería Miaumigo,' a type of café already popular in many other countries.

A cat café is a place where you can enjoy a drink, like coffee or tea, while spending time with cats. You can play with them, or just watch them relax. Some cafés also offer quiet areas for reading or unwinding. Usually, you pay a fee based on how long you stay.

To operate, these cafés must follow strict rules to keep both the cats and customers safe and healthy. They also need the right license to run their business.

According to 'Paseando por Santa Cruz,' at 'La Gatería Miaumigo,' you only pay for the time you spend there. During your visit, you can enjoy tea, coffee, water, and Wi-Fi, all included in the price. You'll also get to interact with the resident cats in a peaceful and comfortable setting, perfect for reading, working, studying, or just relaxing.

This new cat café will be in Santa Cruz's Duggi neighborhood.

The world's first cat café, called 'Cat Garden,' opened in Taipei, Taiwan, in 1998. It became so popular that it caught the eye of people in Japan, leading to the idea spreading there.

Japan's first cat café, 'Neko no Jikan' (meaning 'Cat Shop'), opened in Osaka in 2004. Since then, cat cafés have boomed across Japan, especially in Tokyo, which now has over 40. A notable one was 'Neko no Mise' ('Cat Time'), opened in 2005 by Norimasa Hanada, who is seen as a pioneer of the modern cat café style.

Some cat cafés focus on particular cat breeds or even specific colors, like black cats. Many also work to encourage adoption and highlight the issue of animal cruelty. In Japan, you can even find similar cafés dedicated to other pets, like rabbits, which are very popular. These cafés have grown in popularity partly because many city apartments in Japan have rules against owning pets.

The trend then reached Europe. 'Café Neko' opened in Vienna in March 2012. A year later, on September 21, 2013, Paris got its first cat café in the Marais district. Spain's first was 'La Gatoteca,' which opened in Madrid in October 2013. It also serves as the base for ABRIGA, an NGO focused on cat adoption and protection.