Cat cafes beware: Bunnies, sheep and goats are your competition

Watch above: Global News reporter Minna Rhee looks back on how the Cat Cafe craze reached Canada (May 6).

TORONTO – Furry animals and food preparation don’t always make the best of matches, but for pet lovers who just can’t get enough of their soft, cuddly friends, a pet cafe is the perfect combination of both—and there’ll soon be at least two in Canadian cities if some feline aficionados get their way.

Cat cafes have been popular in Japan, Korea and many places in Europe—just check out this gallery of Cafe Neko in Vienna. There were even “catpuccinos” served at a Manhattan pop up cafe that let people chat with celebrities and veterinarians.

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Of course, they’ll have to meet the health codes in various locations.

Toronto is where two young entrepreneurs created an Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign to start the Pet Me Meow cafe, and even held a pop up preview of their own in early June, in partnership with the Toronto Cat Rescue. Watch the video here:

Though they only earned $12,921 of their $70,000 goal, the cafe still plans to open by fall 2014, according to their fundraising page.

And that’s when Vancouver’s Catfe is also slated to open—after raising $32,125 in their own online campaign.

READ MORE: Vancouver resident wants to open city’s first cat cafe

But if cat cafes can come to Canada, what’s next?

Take a look inside this bunny cafe in Tokyo, where customers pet, play and feed rabbits carrots—there’s even an albino bunny:

And if you want a little less domestic and a little more barnyard flavour, there’s the Thanks Nature Cafe in Seoul, South Korea, which features stuffed sheep, posters of sheep, and—you guessed it—real sheep.

One sheep even licks its lips while being petted:

But for the adventurous pet lover, there’s a pair of goats in Japan that became (Internet) famous last July when a video of owner Rena Kawaguchi strutting them around the capital city by leash.

She reportedly took the goats—Chocolat and Sakura—into her cafe to try to boost sales, and keeps them (chained up) so customers can feel closer to nature.

Watch the video, posted by user kennethnews72, here: