Cat cafe soothes busy feline lovers

By Yoko Kubota

TOKYO, Dec 4 (Reuters Life!) - The 14 felines-in-residence at Tokyo's Cat Cafe Calico excel at their job of making customers purr with delight.

"This place isn't on my way from work, but even if I'm pretty tired, I'd still stop by," said 32-year-old system engineer and a Calico regular Kazunori Hamanaka, as he tried to take a photo of a white and brown Bengal cat curling up in a box.

"Stray cats run away when I try to stroke them. Here, it's great that I can do that," said Hamanaka, who is unable to keep pets at home.

He takes about 200 photos on each visit for his blog.

Calico is one of at least three cafes that have opened up in Tokyo this year where visitors can mingle with cats as they enjoy a cup of tea.

Takafumi Fukui, the 34-year-old owner and a long-time cat lover, quit his job at a television game company and started the cafe in March.

"In Tokyo, it's not that easy to have cats," he said, explaining that tight housing regulations often forbid pets.

Visitors to Calico pay 800 yen an hour or 2,000 yen for three hours in a big room where 14 well-brushed and shampooed cats hang out. After a thorough handwash, the visitor can play with the cats, read comics or just relax.