[1/5]A cat beings in MEOW shope, a coffee shop for cats, in Gaza City August 20, 2023. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem Acquire Licensing Rights
GAZA, Aug 21 (Reuters) – Inspired by her enthusiasm for the furry animal, Naeema Mea’bed opened the “MEOW Cat Cafe” in the Gaza Strip today, wanting to bring cat fans some delight, while enhancing awareness over family pet raising, which has actually ended up being progressively popular in the area.
The coffee shop, the very first of its kind in Gaza, is totally cat-themed, with mirrors and flower vases, along with posters of the 14 citizen cats that are available for visitors, grownups or kids, to have fun with.
On Sunday, a long line of confident clients formed, stimulating Mea’bed to establish more tables and seats for households who had actually brought their kids along for the feline experience, costing $1.30 per half hour.
Parents have the ability to sit and observe their kids have fun with the cats through a glass partition as they drink their coffee.
“The concept originated from my youth enthusiasm for cats considering that and I wished to pass it on to individuals,” said Mea’bed.
Cats, she said, are a “natural anti-depressant.”
“Many individuals like cats however they do not understand where to keep them or where to have fun with them, so I made this location for them, where they can come, enjoy and eliminate their tensions, even for simply 5 minutes and after that leave gladly,” she said.
The coffee shop is home generally to Persian cats, however likewise Turkish angora and hybrid felines.
For Hala Abu Maghaseeb, 14, who has up until now not persuaded her moms and dads to get her a family pet cat, the coffee shop was an enjoyable and welcome surprise throughout her summertime school break.
“It is a great job, I concern launch tension. I like cats,” she said.
Some Gazans were less amazed, arguing on social networks that the majority of locals were too impoverished to invite such a job.
But coffee shop client Rewa Abdel-Hadi, 20, protected it.
“Cats are animals who deal with us and feel worry, appetite and hardship. Having individuals taking care of them is a fantastic concept,” she said.
Reporting and composing by Nidal al-Mughrabi
Editing by Bernadette Baum
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
