El Gato Coffeehouse Cat Cafe
508 Pecore St Suite A, Houston, TX 77009
We recently had the pleasure of attending the pre-grand opening party for Houston’s new and only cat cafe, El Gato Coffeehouse Cat Cafe.
We have been stalking El Gato since they first announced that the concept was coming to Houston and when they posted a call for photo contest entries we busted out our cat ears and “We love El Gato” sign and won a pair of tickets to the Pre-grand opening!
Cat cafes got their start in Taiwan and spread quickly to Japan. They are themed cafes that allow patrons to watch and play with residents cats. They usually charge a entrance fee based on amount of time spent there.
Houston’s El Gato is housed in a small house tucked away off of Pecore Street in the Heights neighborhood in Houston. Painted a glorious bright green, the “Cat Cottage” is exactly as I had imagined. Each detail ties in with the next starting with the circular sign on the exterior featuring the El Gato logo a cat sugar skull. The interior is bright and cheery, starting with the entry room that houses the various t-shirts, bags, stickers and more that bear the El Gato logo and raise money for the business. Shop Here . Its obvious that everything is brand new and has been thought out meticulously, keeping both patrons and the health and happiness of the cats in mind.
The open room where is cats hang out is a long thin area dotted with cafe tables and chairs and lined with large windows that let in outside sunlight. Window seats double as cat hideaways with plexiglass fronts and the most striking feature of the room is the wooden cat sky bridge that allows the cats to climb and peer down from above.
There will typically be 10 cats living at El Gato at any given time ranging in age from kittens to seniors. All of them are up for adoption or in the case of kittens, soon to be up for adoption. Most are people curious and many of them are eager to play or get pets. El Gato provides toys for patrons to use while visiting and encourages interaction. We had a blast with the feather sticks and the little kittens.
We also got a chance to meet the owner and visionary for El Gato, Renee, and hear a little bit more about where the new businesses is headed. She explained that the “cafe” part of the cat cafe had been held up a bit but was expected to be up and running by mid-June but would employ 2 staff and be housed externally to the Cat Cottage. In the meantime, the cafe will host various themed time slots and events that allow folks to interact with the cats. These include play dates, movie nights and yoga. Check out the events calendar here.
We are excited to head back there and spend more time with the cats. It works out great for us since we are huge animal lovers, especially Amelia, and we aren’t able to have a cat because of Frank’s allergies. El Gato is certainly a quirky indulgence and sometimes some time spent with furry friends are exactly what you need.
Go. Try. Adventure
Lori
Go. Try. Adventure! 