CAT CAFE

Cat ‘Luca’ sleeps in his basket as a waitress serves some food to customers in Vienna’s first cat cafe.

After three years of negotiations with city officials over hygiene issues, Austria opened its first cat cafe last Friday. ‘Cafe Neko’, “Neko” meaning cat in Japanese, was opened by Vienna resident Takako Ishimitsu, 47, from Japan.

Customers can stroke and interact with their five feline hosts, named Sonja, Thomas, Moritz, Luca and Momo, who all came from an animal shelter and now freely roam about the cafe and take naps.

Cat ‘Sonja’ licks herself clean while lying on the floor in Vienna’s first cat cafe May 7, 2012.

Photos by LEONHARD FOEGER