The world’s first cat café opened in Japan in 1998. Since then the idea has spread around the world,  but I had not been to one until our recent trip to the Baltic, when I came across two very different versions.  Whilst exploring Minsk we came across a sign for a Cat Museum. Intrigued, we entered the building and followed the painted pawprints upstairs. On the top floor we found entrances to the ‘Cat Museum’ and the ‘Museum of Magic’. 

One ticket covered both attractions, but neither was a museum in any real sense.  The so-called Cat Museum was a shrine to all things feline, with artwork, ornaments and a video screen playing amusing YouTube clips. One room is devoted to cat artwork produced by visitors. There was also an enclosed seating area with free tea and instant coffee that was labelled ‘Cat Café’ although as the sign on the door asked visitors not to let the cats in it seemed to be missing the point. The cats themselves were unconcerned as they had largely decamped to the comfy sofas of the ‘Museum of Magic’ next door, really a place to laze around playing board games amid Harry Potter memorabilia.

The Cat Museum is in fact a charitable enterprise for rescued cats, who are re-homed through the museum. The ‘Director’, whose framed photograph hangs on the wall, is a tabby named Donut.

The Cat Café in Vilnius has a completely different atmosphere. It’s a light airy, trendy café with a jazz soundtrack. Hygiene is paramount: visitors are expected to don protective overshoes and wash their hands before being admitted. They are also requested not to bother the fifteen cats who live there unless the cats themselves initiate contact. They didn’t – they were far too busy soaking up the sun in the window or lounging on the special cat furniture.

 The food is good, salads, potato pancakes, pasta and cakes with the occasional feline reference. A cat-shaped biscuit accompanied my coffee. I could have had a ‘cattachino’ but I don’t care for milk.

It’s a place you can still enjoy visiting even if, like me, you aren’t particularly bothered about cats.

I visited Minsk and Vilnius in April 2019