Cat Cafe Opens Up In Reykjavik – Meet The 3 Adorable Residents

The first cat café in Iceland recently opened up in the center of Rekjavík.

The aptly named Kattakaffihúsið, which means ‘The Cat Café’, is located on Bergstaðastræti 10, which is just a short walk from the famous Hallgrímskirkja church.

The feline friendly café offers a variety of different coffees and teas as well as traditional Icelandic pastries, vegan and vegetarian treats, and plenty of kitty cuddles, of course! It’s a concept that’s become quite popular around the world in recent years, especially in Japan.

The idea came about after new governmental regulations enacted in October of last year allows coffee shops, bars and restaurants to set their own rules in regards to pets being allowed on the premises, as long as all health guidelines and rules are strictly followed.

The café owners, Gígja and Ragnheiður, got the idea when they started working with a local animal shelter to help find permanent homes for adult cats. Most people who go to a shelter end up choosing kittens, which ends up leaving some of the older cats without the prospect of a happy life. The hope is that the cat café will help a few of these older cats find their forever homes.

Gígja and Ragnheiður suspect there will be about three or four cats residing at the café at any given time, but not just anyone will be able to adopt the resident cats. “We want to make sure we choose the best possible person to adopt these cats,” Gígja said.

“We’ve had a really good response, it’s been crazy busy since we opened up at the start of March. The coffee shop is particularly popular with cat lovers who have cats at home but enjoy meeting other cats. There’s a huge cat lover community in Iceland, and we’re also popular with tourists”.

If you’re thinking about checking out The Cat Café for yourself then keep in mind these two simple rules regarding the cats: please don’t pick them up and never wake them up.