Six friends and recent graduates, Minhaz Uddin Shibly, Mooed Rasel, Tanimul Haque Khan, Rahat Rahman, Monirul Hoque Rifat and Fahad Bin Saad opened Capawcino Cat Café, the first cat-oriented coffee house in Bangladesh, this year. The café has a corner for guests to play and bond with cats and kittens, and a separate area that serves food. However, people cannot just walk into the feline zone. They have to register through Google docs (links given in the café's Facebook page) and pay a certain amount through bKash to pet the cats, play with them or watch them play around for an hour at a time. The café is located in Pallabi, Mirpur. On World Animal Day (October 4), we caught up with the co-founders of the café.

Each of the co-founders pay from their own pockets for the daily operations of the coffee house. They rented out and renovated an apartment in six months, with upcycled do-it-yourself decorations, to build a beautiful ambience for the cats and the visitors.

A recent unexpected and catastrophic incident, where some visitors deliberately hurt the cats, led to a temporary shutdown of the café. Consequently, the co-founders formed new rules and regulations to ensure the wellbeing of the cats. When the café reopens, it will be monitored via CCTV cameras. Visitors, who must be aged 12 and above, will be required to sign agreements of terms and conditions before entering the premises. Each petting and playing session will be limited to eight visitors at a time.

Photo: MONON MUNTAKA

There are currently 17 cats, some of which are rescued. Charlie and Panda, the first two cats, were found as fragile kittens in plastic trash bags on the road. They are known as the friendliest cats of the café. Another cat, Diamond, was rescued from an attacking dog's mouth, and her small body was warmed and healed in one month. Toothless, Ash and Loki are some of the other cats. All the cats are vaccinated, and those which are over five months old are neutered. Through PAW Life Care vet services, the cats receive frequent check-ups and medications at low rates.

After the café reopens, the co-founders aim to launch branches throughout Dhaka to reach more customers and to increase rescue options for cats in different locations. The rescued cats will also be available for adoption in the near future. In addition, the co-founders hope to reduce animal cruelty by educating street children through workshops on how to treat cats. They look forward to reopening the café by the last week of October.