If you feel like a meow with your mocha, Wellington's only cat café is reopening its doors for all lovers of coffee and cats.
More than two years after closing, the new Neko Ngeru café is back in business in Lower Hutt, to help smaller rescue operations rehome cats by taking in some of the animals.
Co-owner Richelle Okada says they focus on the older felines who are often overlooked.
"It's a great place to relax and get to know the cats if you're interested in adoption. People can come in and get to know their purr-sonality. Even if you're not, you can enjoy our kitty relaxation therapy!"
The café is fitted out with tables, chairs, cat toys and currently 10 felines. There are tiers of furniture, enabling cats to travel around the whole room without touching the ground.
Creating the space has come with some major challenges.
"The search for new premises was a saga of setbacks, deferred and denied dreams, and serious disappointments. Normal people would have given up."
This included issues around resource consents, builder shortages and unexpected costs. Okada puts it down to "the usual red tape" faced by most businesses.
"If making a cat café was easy, everyone would do it. Now we can get back to doing what we love: bringing cats and people together for their mutual benefit."
Okada and her partner Ken take care of the cats themselves. Because the cats stay in the café, enrichment activities are used for them to enjoy.
"They are perfectly happy staying indoors all the time. Once adopted, some of them could adjust to life with outdoor access, but it is not necessarily good for all of them."
Customers are not obligated to adopt a new pet, and not all of them are looking for a new home.
"The cats are available for adoption barring a few who are semi-permanent residents due to their affectionate and easy-going nature. Those cats set the tone for all the others and provide stability for all."
People are encouraged to book ahead if they want to visit as space is limited.
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