In Brazil a Cafe, Cats, and Coffee Combine for a Great Cause

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Different cultures can have different tastes. However, there are some things that seem to have more wide-ranging appeal. One excellent example would be the concept of cat cafes, which are cafes where interested individuals can watch the resident cats as well as interact with the resident cats. For proof, look no further than the fact that such businesses started up in the Taiwan of the late 1990s but have now spread to Brazil as well as a wide range of other countries.

Those who are curious should know that Gato Cafe in Rio de Janeiro provides interested individuals with the chance to interact with the resident cats in a comfortable environment. Said business was founded by a woman named Giovanna Molinaro, who became inspired when she visited a cat cafe while in Japan in 2018. Gato Cafe strives to stand out based on a couple of principles. One, it puts a strong emphasis on the well-being of its resident cats. Something that isn’t guaranteed when it comes to cat cafes. Two, it doubles as an adoption site for abandoned cats. Something that has become particularly important in recent times.

Why Is Gato Cafe’s Mission So Important?

Fundamentally speaking, being a stray cat is a very unpleasant experience. Generally speaking, pet cats don’t have a great deal of experience in finding food for themselves as well as meeting their other necessities. As a result, forcing them to fend for themselves isn’t much different from putting the average city dweller out in the wilderness. If anything, it might be even worse.

After all, cities aren’t exactly filled with an abundance of wildlife, thus making it that much more difficult for stray cats to find sources of food. On top of this, it should be mentioned that stray cats face a lot of competition for the limited sources of food in their environments. This is because cats can breed very fast, so much so that a single female cat can produce about 12 kittens in a single year. As such, a stray cat population can see explosive growth, which can have horrible consequences when an excessive number of cats are trying to survive on insufficient resources.

A lot of animal welfare organizations are putting a lot of effort into combating this problem. However, they aren’t doing the same thing in every single location. Instead, it is common for animal welfare organizations to use a mix of methods because stray cat over-population is a complicated problem without a single easy solution.

For example, spaying and neutering stray cats is very common because that reduces the number of kittens that will be born, which in turn, reduces the number of kittens that will wind up in the care of these organizations. Something that is extremely important because limited resources means that there will come a point when these organizations have to start prioritizing because of their inability to provide an adequate level of care for every single one of their charges. Similarly, it is also common to see organizations working to get cats into the hands of interested individuals as well as interested organizations that can care for them. Often-times, this means matching potential pets with potential pet owners.

However, it is interesting to note that such efforts are broader than that. For instance, there are organizations that run programs working to match more independent cats that aren’t necessarily well-suited for being pets but can still get along with humans to some extent with businesses that could benefit from the presence of a mouser. In any case, Gato Cafe’s efforts to match potential pets with potential pet owners have become particularly important in recent times.

This is because the COVID-19 crisis has hit Brazil particularly hard, meaning that there has been a huge surge in the number of cats that have been abandoned in the country. Sometimes, this has happened because the cat owner has either died or experienced such a deterioration in their health that they are no longer capable of caring for their cats.

Other times, this has happened because a bad financial situation has caused them to make cuts, which is a process that can hit cats very hard because of the mistaken belief that they are capable of caring for themselves out on the streets. Whatever the case, Gato Cafe is offering cats that have already proven themselves to be capable of being pets a chance to connect with interested individuals. Something that can provide them with the chance of seeing a new home.

What Are the Pros and Cons of Cat Cafes?

As mentioned earlier, cat cafes don’t necessarily put much emphasis on the well-being of their cats. Certainly, they like to claim so because they tend to appeal to consumers who see that in a positive light. However, the truth of things can be quite different from what is claimed, which is as true for cat cafes as it is for any other kind of business.

In any case, it is important to note that cat cafes can have both pros and cons, thus making it important for interested individuals to evaluate each one based on its own particular combination of characteristics. For starters, cat cafes can be beneficial for both the humans and the cats.

Not everyone has either the time or other resources needed to take care of a cat of their own. As a result, cat cafes can be a way for them to meet some of their emotional needs as well as otherwise interact with the animals in a positive manner. Meanwhile, the cats get care as well as the chance to become better-socialized, both of which increase their chances of getting adopted. Something that can further increase when the cat cafe is pushing such programs.

Unfortunately, not every cat cafe handles their operations in the way needed to ensure positive outcomes for both cats and humans. For example, the presence of animals introduces additional complications for food preparation, which can be managed but will need a conscious effort from the cat cafe to do so.

Similarly, cat cafes require extra effort to make sure that the environment is clean, that the cats are taken care of, and that the customers interact with the cats in a manner that won’t irritate the latter. All of which can’t happen without serious effort and thus serious resources.

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