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Save the date: Dublin's first cat café hopes to open its doors in September 2015

Crazy Cats Café will be the first such café in Dublin.

ON SEPTEMBER 16TH, word began to filter out that Dublin was getting its first cat café.

For those not in the know, a cat café is a café in which visitors are invited to enjoy tea and coffee and play with cats who roam freely around the café. The world’s first cat café first opened in Taiwan back in 1998.

catcafe Lady Dinah's Cat Emporium / Facebook Lady Dinah's Cat Emporium / Facebook / Facebook

Since then, they have become a veritable phenomenon in Japan, where dozens of such cafés now exist. (Obviously.) Cat cafés are also to be found in European cities such as London, Vienna and Amsterdam.

Now there’s finally one opening its doors in Dublin. Crazy Cats Café launched its Facebook page on September 16th and has since amassed over 245 likes and received several CVs from prospective employees.

crazycats Crazy Cats Café / Facebook Crazy Cats Café / Facebook / Facebook

Crazy Cats Café is the brainchild of Georgina O’Neill. She tells DailyEdge.ie that she first came across the concept of cat cafés when her brother showed her photos from one such café he visited while holidaying in Japan.

I said, ‘What in God’s name is that?’ He described what it was like and I thought, ‘What a novel idea.’

Despite never having visited a cat café herself, O’Neill decided to look into setting up a cat café in Dublin. In September, she launched a Facebook page to hint at the café’s imminent arrival, the response to which has been more than favourable.

It’s been surreal. I’ve had about 70 CVs come my way.

So, how will the whole thing work?

O’Neill states that the cats will be sourced from a cat charity, which will in turn be supported by the café. (She is reluctant to name names for the moment as details of the arrangement have yet to be finalised.)

The café will serve coffee and pastries, but O’Neill assures us that there’s no fear of finding any traces of fur in your  as cats will be kept away from the area in which food is served and prepared.

Speaking of similar cafés, O’Neill notes that one is due to open in Edinburgh soon after a successful crowdfunding campaign. Is crowdfunding an avenue she will be pursuing?

Yes, I think so. To do it right, you need proper funds, so I will be looking into crowdfunding.

O’Neill says she won’t begin looking for a premises until December, but is currently hoping to open the café in the Lucan area. She cites high rents and lack of space as reasons for not opening in the city centre. The latter, she says, would be detrimental to animal welfare.

One of the biggest issues is space. You want to have a big area as possible – you can’t squeeze eight or nine cats into a tiny room.

Finally, when can we expect to see it throw open its doors?

September next year, though it could be sooner. It depends on the crowdfunding element.

Cat lovers assemble.

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