Author: Huang Nina
Northwest Asia Weekly
Meowtropolitan Cafe’s Cat (Courtesy of Meowtropolitan Cafe)
Taiwanese-American Andrew Hsieh and his four partners opened “Cat’s Disneyland.”
Seattle Meow Metropolis Cafe in Wallingford is Washington State’s first cat cafe, opening in December 2015.
Hsieh wanted to open a cat cafe in Seattle because it was a good idea for him at a time when other cities like San Francisco and Washington, D.C., were also seeing a cat cafe craze.
His co-owners are his classmates at the University of Washington (UW), all Asian. They knew it was popular in Asian countries, including Japan and Taiwan, but never thought it would work in the US.
He mentioned that the world’s first cat cafe opened in Taipei in 1998, and the concept has since spread to Japan and other countries around the world.
make an impact
Seattle Meowtropolitan Cafe’s mission is to create an experience between humans and cats.
They advance their mission by placing cats in need in foster homes, partnering with cat rescues and shelters, and providing resources to organizations working to improve cats’ lives.
They worked with shelter partner King County Regional Animal Services to house cats in cat lounges.
All the cats that live in the cafe come from shelters, where they stay until they are adopted.
At any given time, Hsieh said, as many as 25 cats would be hanging out in the cafe, including nine resident cats.
“I’ve always loved animals in my life, but I’ve never had a cat or a dog, nothing bigger than a hamster because my mom was a clean freak. Anything that doesn’t fit in an aquarium or container Nothing is allowed. I never had a cat before I opened the cafe, but now I have three cats, Squid, Bazzie and Tommy,” Xie said.
The cafe is dedicated to educating tourists about cats’ need for loving homes. They create an entry point for people to create valuable interactions and memories with cats, which hopefully will inspire them to adopt or donate to benefit cats in need.
Meowtropolitan Cafe’s Cat (Courtesy of Meowtropolitan Cafe)
Hsieh said they have lost count post-pandemic, but have adopted nearly 400 cats since the cafe opened.
People can check their website regularly to see which cats are available for adoption, and visit them at cafes.
Reservations are recommended as the time to hang out with the cats is limited. People can also walk in, but it’s first come first served. 30-minute sessions are available for $9.99 per session for 12 people.
There are also cat yoga and meditation classes available for purchase.
They are currently working with Circle of Friends, an organization in partnership with UW, to offer therapeutic drawing classes in cafes.
Persevere in tough times
They had to shut down their entire business during the pandemic, but luckily the landlord was lenient with their rent.
Hsieh and his co-owners had to keep the space running, so he and his friends turned the cafe into a makeshift workshop for making face masks. They sold masks on Etsy and started selling cat-related merchandise.
During the pandemic, teams have had to run very naked. In addition to paying for running the cafe, they plan to use the Comcast RISE grant to improve the cat cafe and add more ideas and activities to enhance the experience between cats and visitors.
Hsieh explained that it was complicated to have both the cat area and the cafe open because people were wearing masks, so they only opened the cat area. They also recently resumed a cafe offering food service in the summer of 2021.
Nina can be contacted at info@nwasianweekly.com.
