Aussie sparks fury for running a ‘cat cafe’ – but there’s a catch

A mum has sparked fury for running a “cat café” from her living room — charging $40 per session — but patrons will need to bring their own coffee.

The woman started the unique small business in her family home in Canberra — with six “adorable” foster kittens for customers to play with.

The café runs three days a week, with prices starting from $20 per adult for one hour (minimum two hours) and $25 per child for one hour (minimum two hours) — with exclusive sessions available.

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But there’s a catch: The café will not be serving customers food or drinks.

“It is a very small cat cafe run from my living room… with BYO coffee so I don’t have to get food preparation skills or insurance anytime soon,” she explained.

The mum has gone viral after her Facebook advert was re-shared on Reddit on Monday.

“This lady is really charging for people to come housesit her cats, and calling it a ‘cat café’,” one person said.

The post has been met with more than 900 comments — with many stunned over the woman’s business.

“That’s not a cat café. Cat cafés provide food service and space to relax with cats/kittens. This is just a living room,” one pointed out.

Another said: “It’s a living room you pay at least $40 for the privilege of being in.”

One suggested: “Would I hang out in somebody’s living room and play with their cats? Maybe. Would I pay money? No way.”

Another added: “How is this a cat café if you have to bring your own coffee?”

The concept originated in Taiwan — but quickly became popular throughout Japan, particularly in major cities where apartment buildings are often too small to comfortably own pets.

Cat cafés are typically public spaces where tourists and locals pay money to hang out with cats.

Interestingly, not all cat cafés around the world serve food and drinks.

“I lived in Korea for a year where animal cafés are super big and there’s one every few metres but many don’t offer any food at all and only bottled or canned drinks that you have to drink away from the animals — for hygiene and safety reasons,” one said.

“So the ‘café’ part of the name isn’t to be taken super serious even for actual animal cafes in many cases.”

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