A quick trip across the causeway for a wallet friendly and amazing cat cafe.By: Hilmi
Singapore’s weather has been pretty warm nowadays. With a ridiculously hot weather at 36°C, there is nothing better than taking a break from the scorching heat in a cool, air-conditioned cafe. While enjoying a lovely cup of ice-cold coffee and good company, it really is shaping to be a perfect day. What else would you need to make it better?
Spending your time at a cat cafe and surrounding yourself with adorable cats! Now, that’s purr-fect!
Without a doubt, you can find a good variety of cat cafes in Singapore. It’s the perfect place to unwind over the weekend with family and friends. Having been to most of the cat cafes here, I was looking for a slightly different experience.
Unable to keep a cat at home (thanks mom!), I really wanted to visit a new cat cafe where I could interact with some feline friends. After a quick google search, I was on my way to a short getaway from the bustling city of Singapore, driving across the causeway to see my fur pals in Johor Bahru, Malaysia!
‘Cats At Their Sanctuary’ or better known as CATS Cafe JB, is a great place to relax. Forget about the usual pesky cat cafe requirements like minimum spending, entrance fee or a time limit. Here, you can spend hours here without breaking the bank.
My First ImPAWssions
CATS Cafe JB will definitely give you a good first impression, as they have for us. They have a clean and spacious foyer, a proper area for you to leave your shoes, wash basins and hand sanitisers. One can easily tell that they value cleanliness. Subsequently, a warm and polite waiter greeted us by the door entrance and kindly explained the rules of the cafe. He then hands us a key to access the lockers for us to leave our belongings.
As we settled down at our seats, we couldn’t help up think, “We love it!”. Many of the cats were playfully interacting with the customers or just simply lounging on the seats. Meanwhile, some were cuddling in up a corner and fast asleep. How adorable!
There are two areas in the cafe for the customers. A main area with the usual cafe setting and a cozy space near the dessert counter. As for our feline friends, the cafe has set a wide play area for them, closed up with glass walls. Customers are able to enter this closed area to interact with the cats.
Cattitude
One would think – especially those who are not cat owners – that you would just walk in the cafe, play with the cats and call it a day. However, it is truly amusing to notice that cats have personalities too!
For instance, when we took our seats in the play area with the cats, a lazy cat greeted us with a snug look, ready to take his afternoon nap. The waiter was quick to his feet to ensure that no customer took the seat and let the cat take his shut eye in peace.
The cafe has a minimalistic interior with various cat trees and bridges utilising the ceiling space for the cats.
One of the cats was so playful and was such a delight to observe. Staying perched up on the cat tree, surveying all the customers. He was standing so still that one could mistake him for a fake statue. I’d say this is the best security system you can get! It was amusing and it leaves one to wonder what that cat was thinking about while up on that tree.
You get to receive never-ending amusement and entertainment in this cat cafe. One of the cats was looking all dapper and dressed up in a tuxedo. This cat was greeting all the customers like as if it was his role to do so. He greeted us as well!
Crowd & Food
The cafe is relatively uncrowded despite visiting on a Saturday afternoon. In fact there were many seats available. The customers are mostly groups of friends or families. There were mostly adults and some children. The spacious cafe also provides optimal seating for all the customers.
As mentioned previously, there is no entrance fee or minimum spending charge, customers can stay and enjoy CATS Cafe JB simply by purchasing a drink, meal or snack each. If you choose not to purchase anything a small cover fee would apply. In my opinion, I would rather pay for a good cup of coffee and maybe a slice of cake on the side!
The kitchen is in a completely separate area where it is off limits to the cats because optimal hygiene is important to the cafe. Furthermore, they also make sure that there are no entrances small enough for a cat to sneak in for a quick munch.
More about the Food
We ordered an Earl Grey Tea at MYR13.90 (4.50SGD) and shared a Spicy Korean Fried Chicken MYR23.90 (SGD7.80) platter for two. Hence, you can have an unlimited time in the cafe from as low as $4.50 (by just enjoying tea)! With comfortable seating and furry cuddly friends, what else could you ask for?
The chicken was tasty and flavourful. It wasn’t too spicy but it provided the right kick with a hint of honey aftertaste. The fries came in thick cuts and fried to perfection. Yum!
CATS Cafe JB also serves main dishes like pasta, rice and burgers, perfect for a scrumptious brunch or lunch. Flip through towards the end of the menu and you will find the sweet spot – the desserts, of course! From churros to brownies and lava cakes. They have waffles too!
A cafe won’t be a cafe without a drinks menu, right? They offer a great selection of drinks – coffee, tea, milkshakes, and sodas.
As a testament to the quality of the food, I even saw a customer coming in just to order food for takeaway! As a cat cafe aficionado, it is usually very difficult to find great food at cat cafes. However, this isn’t a problem for CATS Cafe JB!
If you would like to see CAT Cafe JB’s menu, click here.
Can I Feed the Cats?
The cafe is strict in disallowing customers from feeding the cats with in-house food and especially outside food. For those who would like to interact more with the cats and feed them, you can purchase a small bag of cat food at the counter for only MYR1.00 (SGD0.30)!
We were more than happy to be able to feed the cats ourselves. The fluff balls would look eager to have some of the cat food you are holding. At the same time, they are very respectful and would wait until you do decide to hand them food. I’m not kitten you, they are delightfully polite!
A Furry Sad Goodbye
After spending a good one a half hours here, we decided to make a move. Sadly, we had to leave the darling and sweet cats with a heavy heart.
Before leaving, we paid for our bill and it only came up to only MYR42 (SGD13.80) even after service charge!
How to Get There
Located in Johor Bahru, this meow-gical cafe is just a 9 minute drive away from JB Sentral. For those who prefer to Grab around, it’s only about an MYR8.00 (SGD2.60) ride away!
The cafe is also located within a residential area. Therefore, you can enjoy playing with the cats without hearing noises from huge crowds or cars.
I highly recommend making the trip to CATS Cafe JB because the time spent there is truly worth it! The clean and hygienic cat cafe was extremely relaxing and wholesome. The friendly staff definitely made this already awesome cafe an even better one. If you’re looking for a good meal, look no further as CATS Cafe JB has it all! Furry friends and great food. Truly pawsome!
CATS Cafe JB
Address: 31A Jalan Abdul Samad, Lorong 2C, Johor BahruContact No.: +60 7-207 0399Opening hours: 1:00PM to 9:00PMEmail: catscafejb@gmail.comInstagram: @catscafejb
Photo Contribution: CATS Cafe JB & Hilmi