Cat cafe in historic Tainan building draws crowds
Cat cafe in historic Tainan building draws crowds
2025-02-21
More animal cafes are looking to capture a slice of the market by offering more therapeutic features. Now even an old Japanese-era dorm on Tainan’s Chikan East Street also houses one. Although tucked away in a small corner of West Central District, the promise of sitting in the company of its feline stars is drawing lots of visitors.
Hidden down a narrow alley, this Japanese-era building boasts plenty of classic charm. Stepping stones shaped like cat paws betray the surprise waiting inside. Twelve cats call this cafe home. They line the glass-enclosed walkway, and sometimes poke their heads inside private rooms to the delight of customers.
Visitor
It’s soothing. I don’t need to have my own cat. I can just play with other people’s, like playing with other people’s kids.
These kids are having even more fun playing with the cats. They don’t have one at home, so they come here to play.
Visitor
This way is gentler. They won’t get afraid. We can’t get close to cats very often. This is my first time playing with one.
Other visitors came for the classic Japanese building.
Visitor
I mostly came for the architecture. It’s beautiful and they renovated it well.
This old building is on Chikan East Street in Tainan’s West Central District. After World War II, it was used as a police dorm. In 2016 it was registered as a historic building with the Tainan City Government. The traditional wooden structure maintains most of its original appearance. Its nostalgic and comforting atmosphere attracted a famous cat cafe from Kaohsiung, which chose it for a new location.
Chang Hui-ying
Manager
We’d already chosen all the cats. First, they had to be relatively calm and friendly toward people. Of course, we let them get used to everything before we opened. First was getting them used to the space, then it was getting them used to people coming and going.
To protect the building while keeping the cats happy, they put a protective layer on the walls and carpet that they could scratch. The hallway also has cat towers, scratching posts, and all kinds of toys.
Chang Hui-ying
Manager
Space that’s too crowded makes them uneasy, so over here we made a hallway specifically to give the cats more space.
The cafe also separates the cats according to disposition and age. It’s a first for Tainan, combining a historic building with a cat cafe in a reflection of the city’s pet-friendly policies.
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撸貓店正夯! 貓咖進駐台南市歷史建築吸民眾造訪
2025-02-21
越來越多的寵物餐廳，打著多了療癒功能，搶佔市場大餅。台南市的歷史建築，「赤崁東街日式宿舍」，也有寵物咖啡廳進駐，雖然隱身在台南市中西區的街角，但打著有喵星人陪侍的噱頭，吸引民眾造訪。
窄巷裡的日式建築，充滿懷舊氣氛，貓掌形狀的步道石，透露著屋內的玄機。果然裡頭12隻喵星人，就在玻璃走道旁，有時候還會走進包廂裡探頭探腦，讓來訪的民眾，好驚喜。
[[民眾]]
“蠻療癒的，不用自己養，玩別人的貓，就跟玩別人小孩一樣。”
小朋友更是樂開懷，逗貓棒甩得盡興，家裡沒有寵物貓，來這裡享受撸貓的樂趣。
[[民眾]]
“這種比較溫柔，比較不會怕，難得可以接觸貓，我也是第一次玩貓。”
也有人更喜歡的，是日式建物的懷舊氛圍。
[[民眾]]
“最吸引我的地方應該是建築，因為很漂亮，整理得很好。”
這座「赤崁東街日式宿舍」，座落台南市中西區的，戰後作為警察宿舍使用，在2016年登錄為台南市歷史建築，木造的四連棟建築，保留了大部分原貌，懷舊溫暖的味道，被高雄知名寵物咖啡廳相中，選擇到此駐點。
[[貓咖負責人 張惠瑛]]
“我們都已經有挑選過，第一個個性比較穩定，然後比較親人。當然在開始營業之前，我們會先讓貓咪有一段適應的時間，第一個適應環境，第二個適應人來人往。”
為了保護古蹟牆面，也保持貓咪的愉快心情，除了牆面貼膜，鋪設寵物貓抓地毯外，貓咪廊道上有貓跳台、貓抓板各種玩具，安撫貓店員們的心情。
[[貓咖負責人 張惠瑛]]
“太擠迫的空間，會造成牠的壓力，所以我們在這邊，特意把廊道做出來就是讓貓咪，可以增加一個活動空間。”
店家還會依照喵星人的個性、年紀，分配牠們的工作場域。這也是台南市第一次有古蹟建築，與寵物咖啡廳合作，呼應推動友善寵物的政策。
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