A new fashion is emerging in São Paulo and, now, cats are all the rage. The capital of São Paulo won another “cat café”, Gato Pingado, where customers play with the kittens, which can also be adopted. This is already the third opened this year in the city alone — the other two are Gatcha, in the Center, and Gateria, in Vila Mariana.
In common, the story always begins with some “crazy cat”. Owner of two cats, pharmacist Sabrina Rocha has always lived with these pets and wanted to run her own business. She put the two together and, on the 5th, she opened the Gato Pingado coffee shop in a townhouse in Pinheiros.
One of the three floors of the house is dedicated to animals: seven cats live there – there were eight, but one was adopted in the first week of operation. The idea is for ten residents to occupy the space at a time, in a place equipped with furniture designed for them, with stairs, shelves, walkways and scratching posts, in addition to an open backyard.
The public can enter the environment to give affection and interact with the cats. For this, you pay R$30 per hour, R$22 for half an hour or R$12 for 15 minutes. There are toys to entertain them, rugs and beach chairs to enjoy the backyard.
Some rules must be followed, such as entering only with socks or wearing a disposable protector, washing your hands, not taking pictures with flash and not disturbing them when they are sleeping. It is also recommended to wait for them to climb onto your lap. Other than that, eating is not allowed on site.
The animals came from the NGO SOS Gatinhos, responsible for the care and adoption process of the cats. Anyone interested in taking one of the cats home is directed to the organization.
“I want to demystify the idea that cats are treacherous and don’t like humans. The ‘cat café’ encourages adoption, because the person leaves the NGO scene and has the opportunity to have more contact with the kittens”, explains the owner.
Due to Brazilian sanitary regulations, it is mandatory to have a separate environment for food. That’s why the cafe itself is on the ground floor, with tables and a counter next to a glass wall, from where you can watch the cats, as well as a pet-friendly balcony in the outdoor area.
On the drinks menu, all coffees are called pingado, made with beans from the producer Café por Elas. The traditional pingado takes brewed coffee and milk and costs R$13; the pingado latte is made with two short espressos, for R$16, and there is the option of pingado con chocolate, for R$16.
To eat, in addition to snacks and snacks, cakes are the highlight. The recipes are from Sabrina’s mother, Maria Silva. Among them, there is the orange one topped with sugar syrup and the Maria cake, made with dough and chocolate syrup — both cost R$12.
The tostex comes in the shape of a cat’s face and can be stuffed with cheese (R$22), cheese and dulce de leche (R$25) or cheese with honey (R$25). References to felines also appear in the bowls in which food and drinks are served, which resemble food pots, and in cups with a paw print.
Finally, the upper floor houses a coworking space, with tables and meeting rooms equipped with TVs to be rented by the hour or by the day. The daily costs R$ 55, and the value entitles you to free drip coffee.
I am currently a news writer for News Bulletin247 where I mostly cover sports news. I have always been interested in writing and it is something I am very passionate about. In my spare time, I enjoy reading and spending time with my family and friends.
