Hungary’s first cat pub has opened

The first cat café appeared in Budapest three years ago, and since then, many similar establishments sprang up in the city, including the Zoo Café with 20 species of animals. The owners of the original Cat Café in Révay Street have decided to put another twist on the idea with some craft beers and cocktails, and so the Whiskers Cat Pub was born, budapest.24.hu writes.

There are four cats at the pub, three of which were rescued by the Macskavilág Foundation. Luna and Yoki, the two adults arrived first. They got really attached to each other at the shelter, so it was obvious that they wouldn’t be separated – says Zoltán Szépvölgyi, one of the owners of the Whiskers Cat Pub.

Baltazár, the red kitten arrived later, together with the fourth cat, Pikachu, who is undoubtedly the most peculiar of the bunch (see at the top right-hand corner in the picture below). He is a Cornish rex, a rare breed of cats in Hungary, with large ears and curly fur, who was gifted to the owners by a Hungarian breeder.

Photo: Whiskers Cat Pub Facebook

All the cats are really friendly and tame, but the owners, Zoltán Szépvölgyi and Ádám Tóth wanted to make sure that both cats and customers are comfortable with each other.

“We didn’t want to create a place for wild parties, obviously the theme doesn’t allow this. We were looking for an easily accessible place in the city centre, but we also wanted to stay away from the buzz of the party district. For us, the cats’ interest and safety is the most important”

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There have been no issues at their café, where the cats can roam freely; everyone understood that the animals should not be fed, picked up, or flashed at with cameras. But since the pub serves alcohol, other factors had to be taken into account.

“We were looking specifically for a place with a loft, where a separate cat room could be built. From this room, a closed corridor runs along the walls, all the way to the entrance, so everyone can go up to see the cats, but the cats can also retreat if they’ve had enough of the company” says Szépvölgyi.

The loft has a glass wall, and the cat corridor is covered with a net, so the cats can be observed from downstairs. As for getting cat hair in your beer, the authorities have strict rules for animals in establishments like this, and the cats cannot be in the same place where food and drink preparation happens.

Photo: Whiskers Cat Pub Facebook

According to szeretlekmagyarorszag.hu, the pub serves several types of craft beers, including draught beer from the Rizmajer brewery, bottled beers from the Etyek Beer Manufactory and the Legenda brewery. The cocktail menu is longer, and it plays into the theme of the pub with some painfully brilliant cat-related puns, such as MEOWito, CATuila sunrise, CATmopolitan, Purrricane, Swimming Cat, CAT on the beach, and so on. They also serve wine as well as some non-alcoholic drinks, lemonade, and coffee.

The Whiskers Cat Pub can be found near Astoria and Deák Square, at 17 Semmelweis Street. Cat pubs are rare not only in Hungary but abroad as well. While there are many cat cafés around the world other cat-themed night-time establishments can be found only in Tokyo and Bristol.

Photos: Whiskers Cat Pub Facebook

Copy editor: bm

Source: budapest.24.hu; szeretlekmagyarorszag.hu