Vancouver’s first cat cafe is open for business

We’re not kitten: Vancouver’s cat cafe is meow open.

Catfe, located in International Village Mall, opened its doors today, allowing people a chance to have a drink or snack while spending time with feline friends.

“It’s a void that we are filling,” said Michelle Furbacher, who has been working on the project for close to two years, from raising money to finding an appropriate space to getting permits cleared.

“A lot of people aren’t able to have cats of their own.”

The cafe was packed today, as cat connoisseurs of all stripes spent purr-sonal time with five cats from the SPCA, all of whom are available for adoption.

Furbacher says seven more will be arriving on Thursday.

Cat cafés are relatively common in Asia and other parts of the world, but the first one in North America opened in Montreal last year.

The Cat Cafe is open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily.

– With files from Amy Judd