My Cat Cafe

My Cat Cafe

In the heart of the Osu Kannon you’ll find an iconic, giant lucky cat, surrounded by restaurants and cafes. Follow the eyeline of this giant cat to find the 3rd floor cat cafe, “My Cat.” Or then again, don’t. After looking up cat cafes in Nagoya to visit with a friend and my mum, we gleefully trekked out on an adventure day to Osu and up the stairs… until we reached the 2nd floor landing. A distinct odor of litter box hit our nostrils. Cautiously optimistic, I said “it must just be that the litter area for the cats is separated from the cafe and the smell has escaped into the stair area.” Up one more flight of stairs, we were greeted by a staff member who shuffled us into a tiny introduction room, then pointed to a laminated sign which indicated we must wash our hands before we went in, and pay 800¥ for a 30 minute session playing with the cat staff - we agreed to the terms while we tried to hold our breath to keep from inhaling the ammonia fumes heavy in the air. Surely, surely the smell was cordoned off from the main cafe. After changing into slippers, we were allowed into the main cafe room, a small square space staffed by five aloof but friendly cats. The room was decorated with dirty, torn beige carpeting, fogged over windows, several cat trees in various states of disrepair, and five litter boxes that were all in dire need of cleaning. There was no seating for guests, and no surface felt clean enough to set our belongings down. It took approximately 3 minutes before our lungs screamed for escape - the smell was unbearable. Please don’t take this as an over exaggerated review from a disgruntled patron - our eyes were actually watering. So we went back into the entry-way space where the only human staff member rejoined us (she didn't enter the cat’s space while we were there) to hand us the refreshments included in our fee, then we left My Cat Cafe behind, with an overwhelming feeling of helplessness at how horrible that space was for the cats forced to live there. I have searched for resources to report these cats’ living conditions multiple times to no avail. I feel guilty having given My Cat Cafe my money. Do not patronize this establishment - it is an unsanitary and inhumane place.