Feline fans, rejoice! At Meowtropolitan, a new cat café created by UW alumni, guests can sip lattes and watch the antics of about a dozen cats through a glass window or make a reservation for hands-on time with the kitties. Many of the cats are available for adoption; all have been selected through a partnership with Regional Animal Services of King County, which identifies shelter cats suited to the café’s social setting.

Meowtropolitan is the first café of its kind in Seattle, founded by three College of Arts & Sciences alumni with six diverse majors: Matt Lai (BA, Communication, Linguistics, 2011 ), Andrew Hsieh (BS, Biochemistry, Electrical Engineering, 2012), and Louisa Liu (BA, Sociology, BS, Chemistry, 2014). The cat café concept originated in Taiwan and has gained popularity in cities around the world.
For more about Meowtropolitan and the challenges involved in creating a café/shelter hybrid business, check out the December 2015 feature story in The Seattle Times, or visit the café’s website.
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