When I first heard of a cat cafe, I wasn’t sure I’d like it. You have a set time to be in a room (or more than one room) with multiple cats. Yes, you get to feed them, pet them and play with them. It’s all the fun of owning a cat (or multiple cats) without the “work” of cleaning up after them, vet costs, etc.

Our cat Leo is great, but only recently has he warmed up to sitting in laps. Before that, he’d “coincidentally” be in the same room with you and tolerate occasional affection. As he’s gotten older, he’s become more affectionate and he’s part of the family. Now, as the whole family is here in Phuket, Thailand, we miss Leo and cat cafes give us some of the parts we miss about cat ownership.

Elena’s friend is one of many persian cats at this cat cafe

This particular cat cafe is called Love Rawai Cat Cafe. It’s walking distance from our AirBnb and is the best deal going when it comes to cat cafes we’ve visited so far on this trip around the world. The 120 THB (about $4) included at least 15 minutes with cats just the four of us and included cat treats to feed our new friends.

*Will’s friend is one of several maine coons — the largest of the cats*

I think maine coons are fascinating. Relative to other house cats, they are HUGE. They tend to be long hairs and big animals. They were friendly enough and enjoyed snuggling up to us once we arrived. We didn’t pull out the treats right away and they seemed to be fine with the affection (even without the food as incentives).

*Violet enjoy another maine coon that looks more like Leo*

As I’ve been traveling, I’ve become more and more of a fan of these cat cafes. Each one is different than the next, so there are all the human needs (per Tony Robbins) packaged in one spot:

Certainty — there will be cats in the cafe
Variety — don’t know what kinds of cats or how they behave
Connection / Love — certainly feel that with these animals
Significance — well, at least when you provide treats you are
Growth — each time I visit, I deepen my gratitude and appreciation for the fact that they exist.
Contribution — I’m making a contribution to sustaining the vet care and looking after these cats in the world.

Lastly, there’s a beautiful koi pond right in front of the cat café. It’s not that we needed more animals to admire, but since it’s right there, we stopped and took in the many beautiful looking koi fish. Will spotted a black one with an unusually long tail. Of course, it’s hard to capture this with an iPhone given the dark color of the pond and a black fish, but it was cool to watch swimming around the other fish.

*Will pointing out the long tail of the black fish in the koi pond*

I also enjoy Will’s deep appreciation of flowers now that Nana has introduced him to gardening and her own love and passion for flowers. Will is pointing out more and more varieties as we travel the world. Some we recognize and others we need to look up:

*Thanks to Nana, Will is admiring lots and lots of flowers*

Speaking of Nana, she’s been taking care of Ga who feel and cracked a few ribs. OUCH! He’s feeling better and keeping everyone updated on his progress. I just hope that I’m as mobile and full of vitality as Nana and Ga when I’m in my 90s. They both are a continued inspiration to me and my entire family. We love them both so much.

Cat Cafe & Beach (March 18, 2026)

Andamanda, Phuket (March 17, 2026)