As a cat lover, I was always fascinated by the concept of cat cafés, but I always thought I’d have to go to Japan to visit one. Last year, we had the joy of having the first cat café opening here, in Amsterdam.

If you have visited Amsterdam, you probably know that most of the cafés and restaurants own one or two cats. They keep the mice away and entertain the customers. But to have eight cats in the same café is something unusual. In this lovely space on the Marco Polostraat, decorated in Scandinavian style with vintage accents, you feel like you’re in a cosy living room. Kattencafé Kopjes is the home of eight beautiful rescue cats, who are now happy to receive a lot of love and attention. Well, as happy as a cat can be: when they decide they’ve had enough love, they can climb on the cat trees or on the stairs that cover the walls and go up to their safe refuges close to the ceiling.

You need to make a reservation if you want to visit the cat café, they are very strict with the schedule as they only accept a limited number of people in the room at the same time. You will recognise the place immediately by the cat shaped door mat and the cats sitting at the big windows. You are asked to sanitise your hands before entering and the hosts will explain the house rules. Then you can enter the cat paradise, relax on a sofa with a cat on your lap while drinking a coffee and eating cake.

We visited Kattencafé Kopjes last Saturday and it was a lovely experience. The red velvet cake was good and we managed to eat it all before Donnie, the thief cat could put his paws on it. Donnie is sweet but he has diabetes and he’s guarded all the time because he does his best to steal cake, which he is obviously not allowed to have. There is something about the fact that you know you are there amongst your people, crazy cat-ladies and gents, just like you, that makes the place having a friendly feel and make you feel at home. And seeing so many cats around you will make you happy and chilled (cat lovers know what I mean)!

Here are a few photos, to introduce you to the stars of the cat café:

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