A little-known fact about Taiwan is that the world’s first cat café opened in Taipei in 1998. Since then, the idea has spread worldwide, but Taipei remains one of the best places to experience cat cafés at their finest.
My kids and I are huge cat lovers — we even adopted a street cat from Taiwan and brought her back to Canada. On our recent trips back, we’ve made it our mission to visit all of Taipei’s cat cafés and find out which ones are truly the best.
Below, I’ll share our top picks, including which cafés are most fun, most interactive, and which ones allow children.
Best Cat Cafes in Taipei Summarized
In the article below, I’ll introduce more than 10 cat cafes in Taipei in detail. But if you’re looking for the quick answer, here are my top-4 and reasons to choose each one.
| Cat Cafe | Pro | Con | Kids allowed? |
| Le Mao Chef (here) | Most active cats, including several munchkins | High minimum food order, sometimes has pee smell | Yes, any age |
| Kitten Coffee Garden (here) | World’s first cat cafe | No kids allowed | Minimum junior high school age |
| Fufu Cat Cafe (here) | Cheapest, don’t need to order food | Possible wait – popular among locla youths | 13 and up |
| Red Moon (here) | Lots of Maine Coons | High minimum food order | 6 and up |
Things to Know about Visiting Cat Cafes in Taiwan
- If you want to search for cat cafés in Taiwan on GoogleMaps, just zoom in on an area and search for 貓咪咖啡 (maomi kafei, literally “cat coffee”).
- Most cat cafés have a minimum charge, which is usually equivalent to a single drink or snack, but the drinks tend to be above average price, such as TWD 150-180 for an iced tea of coffee. But some better or more popular ones have a minimum charge around TWD 400, which is roughly a full meal and drink or dessert. The drinks and desserts tend to be good, but the food is average at best.
- Most also have a minimum time you can spend inside, usually 90-120 minutes.
- Some popular ones need to be reserved – I’ll mention which ones below.
- Taking pictures and walking around inside is fine, as long as you are quiet and don’t bother the cats or other customers. Most cafes don’t want you to pick the cats up. Never bring in your own treats – they are usually available for purchase.
- Don’t let the cats escape from the front door when you visit!
- Some cat cafés in Taiwan also sell cat-related souvenirs.
- Most of Taiwan’s cat cafés have a poster or sign inside showing the names and pictures of all the resident cats.
- Taipei has many other animal cafes! I’ve also written about our visits to the meerkat cafe, snake cafe, and capybara cafe.
For another quirky cat experience in Taiwan, don’t miss Houtong Cat Village.
We’ve also visited cat cafes in Harajuku and Cat Island in Japan.
Our Top 4 Cat Cafés in Taipei
These are our top picks for the best cat cafés in Taipei. My kids helped me decide the winners.
Le Mao Chef
- Kids allowed: Yes (under 12 should be accompanied by adult)
- Location: Ximending
- Opening hours: 12 p.m. to 10 p.m.
- Price: Minimum spend TWD 500 per person (we had to order a lot!)
- Time limit: 1.5 hours
- Reservations: We got in after a short wait, but it would be smarter to reserve online here, especially at peak meal times.
Le Mao Chef (樂貓小廚) is my kids and my top-pick for best cat cafe in Taipei. Mainly this was because the cats were young and SUPER active. They came to us, so we never had to leave out table.
Many of them have short legs (my kids say they are munchkins but I don’t know cat breeds enough to confirm this). There was also a sphinx and a couple other special breeds.
This one is conveniently located right in the heart of popular Ximending neighborhood. It’s more like a cat restaurant than cafe, though.
In the 90 minutes we had to eat, we enjoyed tons of cat cuddling and playing time. We barely had to leave our table – the cats just came to us. Some of them even decided to taste the drinks we ordered.
A member of my Facebook group reported a strong cat pee smell when they visited Le Mao Chef. We didn’t notice this when we went, but it’s a possibility to be aware of.
My only complaint for this one is the high minimum spend of 500 person, including the kids (that was TWD 1500 for the three of us!) When we discovered this cafe by accident, we had just eaten lunch an hour earlier.
In order to meet the minimum spend, we had to order one main dish, one drink AND one dessert per person. It was so much that we had to take some items to go. So come here hungry!
Here’s my full list of other cool places to eat and drink in Ximending.
Kitten Coffee Garden
- Kids allowed: Junior high school age and above
- Location: right next to Zhishan MRT station (just past Shilin Night Market)
- Opening hours: 12-10 p.m., closed Tuesday
- Price: Minimum order NT 200 (one drink or dessert) per person
- Reservations: By phone only at (02) 2835-3335
The original of Taiwan’s cat cafés is Kitten Coffee Garden (小貓花園). First opened in 1998, it holds the title for world’s first cat café.
When we first visited this cat café over a decade ago, it was called Café Dog and Cats, because they had several cats and only one dog inside.
Despite the history, this one gets second place for us (demoted mainly because my kids were not allowed in, but that may be a plus for visitors with no kids). However, if you don’t have kids and only plan to visit one cat café in Taipei, you might want to make it this one.
Currently, Kitten Coffee Garden has about a dozen cats, two dogs, and one bird. There is lots of space and tables, but it’s a popular spot, so you make want to make a reservation.
Besides a full range of hot, iced, slushy, and alcoholic drinks, they have a full menu including pasta, lasagna, rice gratin, and smaller snacks. But, thanks to the more reasonable minimum order, you can get away with just ordering one drink or dessert – they all start at 200, which is a lot, but you’re essentially paying for your spot.
The café is cozy, with a decent amount of space relative to number of cats. Also, with no kids inside, it’s noticeably calmer.
Fufu Cat Café
- Kids allowed: Age 13 and up.
- Location: Ximending
- Opening hours: 12-9 p.m.
- Price: NT 55/10 min, maximum fee NT 550 for 100+ minutes
- Reservations: Most locals just show up, but you can book a spot by messaging them on Instagram
Fufu Cat Café (貓咖啡) is a close third place winner on our list. As you might expect given its location in trendy Ximending shopping area, this café is mainly aimed at teenagers and young adults, though 12 and under are not allowed.
Like Genki Café, the focus here is on cats rather than café, but even more so. In fact, most visitors don’t even bother getting a drink. Instead, the café offers the budget-friendly option to pay only TWD 55 for a 10-minute “healing session” with the cats.
This is perfect for teenagers who don’t have much cash but want to snuggle some kitties after school.
I was quite impressed with the range of cat types inside the enclosed cat room, including a few sphinxes. Despite the young age of the guests, the vibe was very quiet and calm inside. Several teens come alone, choose a corner of the room to chill with a blankee, and wait for the cats to come to them.
For drinks, you get one free one with entry from a limited menu. If you spend 40 minutes or more, you get unlimited drinks from a larger menu (but ordering one takes away from your time with the cats). Watch your clock, as it goes by really fast!
You’ll need to take off your shoes at the entrance and wear slippers. Any bags need to be placed inside a locker in the main cat room, and you’ll be given a key card to wear around your neck.
If you can, come at the feeding times (usually 1 and 8 p.m.) when all the cats are fed at the same time from a row of cute wooden dishes.
The café is on the second floor, with a front window looking down on the popular shopping street. It’s easy to miss the entrance staircase. It’s a popular spot, so it may be hard to get in at peak times. Try visiting during school hours.
They take cash or LINE pay only.
Red Moon
Red Moon is a Maine Coon cat cafe. We will be visiting it soon, then I’ll update this section with new photos. The photos below are from Genki Cafe, another Maine Coon cafe which is now closed. But the information below is for Red Moon.
- Kids allowed: Age 6 and up.
- Location: Just off popular Chifeng Street in Zhongshan
- Opening hours: 1-9 p.m.
- Price: Minimum order TWD 380 + 10% service fee per person
- Reservations: Recommended, here or here
Red Moon (紅玥緬因貓藝廊) is a Maine Coon focused cat cafe in the trendy heart of Zhongshan district in Taipei.
In fact, the cafe has around 10 Maine Coons, two Ragdolls, one Persian and (to balance out all the long haired cats) a single Devon Rex.
While we haven’t been yet (I’ll update after we go in a few months), this cafe has a similar high minimum charge to Le Mao Chef (TWD 380 + 10% service fee) per person. You’ll need to order 2-3 items per person to meet it, including the kids.
The menu includes full meals, desserts, drinks, and a few alcoholic drinks. You get 90- minutes. Some people complain that it feels less private because a lot of passing people in the trendy neighrborhood peer inside the large windows.
There’s only space for four groups inside, so reserving is highly recommended.
I’m leaving up the below photos and video of Genki because I don’t have the heart to delete the quite yet.
Here’s a video from our visit to Genki Cafe, so you can see just how many cats there are in there:
Other Taipei Cat Cafés Worth Checking Out
We also enjoyed the following cat cafés in Taipei, but they didn’t quite make the cut for our top-4 list.
Time With Cats
- Kids allowed: No. Above 12 only.
- Location: Between Taipower and Gongguan MRT stations
- Opening hours: 12-8:30 p.m., closed Monday and Tuesday
- Price: Minimum order 1 drink or food item per person
Time With Cats is the best cat café in hip Da’an, a district which is home to several universities and night markets, and has an international vibe. This cafe was was one of my favorites, but I just wish they would have let me kids in.
One thing I liked about this one is that all the felines are rescued cats, and some are available for adoption. There were 11 cats when I visited, but the number varies. The café is a large, open room, with some low tables with cushions on the floor as well as regular tables. There’s a large window looking into a lovely courtyard full of greenery.
Most people stay at their tables, but you’re allowed to walk around and meet the cats. The café is roomy, so you don’t feel like you’re bothering anyone when you do so.
When you first arrive, you’ll need to buzz at the door to be let in, then take off your shoes and place them in a cubby. They offer standard café drinks and snacks.
Minimal Café
- Kids allowed: Yes.
- Location: 10-minite walk from Guting
- Opening hours: 12-9 p.m., closed Monday
- Price: minimum order 1 drink per person
We found Minimal Café (貓孩在極簡/極簡咖啡館) to be a quiet little gem in the popular Shida Night Market area, a short walk south of Yongkang Street (which is famous for its traditional Taiwanese tea shops) and southwest of Da’an park
To my kids’ great enjoyment, when we sent the café a message before visiting to find out whether kids were allowed, their resident cat Abby replied to our message.
Besides regular coffees and yummy slushy drinks, there are also sandwiches available. We counted 4 cats in total, but didn’t get to do much petting, as they mostly hung out at the bar or in their safe spots.
The shop has nice large windows at the front, which the cats can often be seen peering out from.
Nezo Café
- Kids allowed: Yes.
- Location: between Shuanglian and Zhongshan MRT stations
- Opening hours: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., closed Saturday, 10:30 to 5:30 on Sunday
- Price: minimum order NT 50 per person
Nezo Café (猫蔵咖啡) is not a typical cat café but a Japanese cat-themed “mini izakaya”. Like many quintessential izakaya, or Japanese pubs, it is tiny, with just four double tables along a bar, but with a focus on tea and coffee drinks, not liquor. There’s only one resident cat, an orange one, but he’s seldom there. We missed him but were told Sunday is a good day to catch him.
But even without any live cats, Nezo Café is worth visiting for its cuteness. It’s decked out in traditional decorations from Japan, including of course lots of cats.
Their Mount Fuji matcha tea (富士抹茶飲) is a bestseller. We also recommend their cherry blossom Raindrop Cake (水信玄餅), which literally looks like a large drop of water with a flower suspended in it, and their cat paw-shaped Madeleine cakes.
There’s a minimum order of NT 50 per person and a maximum stay of 90 minutes. They only take cash, no reservations, and there’s no restroom on site (the Zhongshan to Shuanglian underground mall is only one block away).
Kids are allowed, but the shop is tiny and tables are VERY close together, so I wouldn’t recommend going if your kids aren’t old enough to stay put.
The next entry is a short walk away, so consider visiting both on the same trip.
3 Cat Shop
- Kids allowed: Yes.
- Location: between Shuanglian and Zhongshan MRT stations
- Opening hours: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., closed Saturday, 10:30 to 5:30 on Sunday
- Price: minimum order NT 50 per person
3 Cat Shop (3貓小舖-貓咪文創咖啡館) is better than the name implies – we actually counted nine cats inside, not three.
The café has one large, common, L-shaped table that can seat about a dozen people. Unfortunately, several of the cats were shy and stayed hidden in the back room when we visited, though a few did come out to let us pet them.
One cat even tried to sneak into another guest’s shopping bag, which was funny. Another cat was very meowy throughout our visit, and the bar tender seemed to be able to communicate with him in cat language.
One thing that stands out about this café is that they also sell a wide range of kitty souvenirs, including cat postcards, teacups, drink coasters, puzzles, clothing, accessories, and more.
A minimum order of $150 per person covers a drink and a snack, with a fairly normal range of treats on offer, including some boozy coffees. You can photograph the cats, but refrain from using flash, and don’t photograph the shop’s products. Also don’t go into the back room, which is the cats’ retreat area.
While kids are allowed, we didn’t find it to be the best for kids. The chairs are very tall, and most guests stayed seated. Still, the shop workers were very friendly and didn’t mind if we walked around to pet the cats. Our main issue was that the cats just didn’t come out much during our visit, so we barely got to see or pet them.
Mask Cat Café
- Kids allowed: Yes.
- Location: between Zhongshan and Taipei Main Station, one of the most convenient areas to stay in Taipei
- Opening hours: 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., to 9 p.m. on Friday/Saturday
- Price: minimum order NT 50 per person
With only two cats in residence, Mask Cat Café (貓妝自家烘焙咖啡館) just barely makes my list.
Still, Mask Cat Café had the best coffee of any cat café we visited in Taipei, with multiple single-origin coffees on offer. There are also light meals, such as calzones, pizzas, and rice dishes. The chairs are very cozy, and the atmosphere is laid back and a little dark.
The cats’ names are Kiki (black) and Mega (orange), and they can mostly be seen gazing out the glass door and windows at the front. Although the owner of the café is said to be an art teacher, the cat decorations and paintings on the walls in the café are in need of a little facelift.
If you can read Mandarin, the owner’s full story is on the menu, and there are some articles describing Taiwan’s cat café culture posted outside.
Second Cat Café
- Kids allowed: Yes, but 6 and under on weekends only.
- Location: near Technology Building MRT
- Opening hours: weekdays 7:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., weekends 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
- Price: minimum order 1 drink per person
Second Cat Café (曬貓咖啡) is a very small cat café with just a handful of tables and four cats, by my count. When I visited, I got a prime spot at a bar table at the front window, with all the cats sleeping near me.
Don’t go out of your way for this one, but if you happen to be in the Technology Building area on the brown MRT line, give it a try. The cat beds were desperately in need of a good cleaning, but the drinks were the cheapest of any cat cafe we visited.
Other Taipei Cat Cafés & Bars
BeerCat (碧耳貓) is a small craft beer bar in Taipei that has a single cat inside. While this idea has so much potential, unfortunately I had a bad experience there. The owner seemed quite rude and grumpy and that spoiled my experience. According to reviews of the bar, many other visitors feel the same.
We tried visiting Fun Life Gelato Cats Café (中途貓餐廳) three times without success. First, they were closed on Wednesday (we should have checked). The second time, they wouldn’t let me in because they were supposedly full, even when I begged to just go in for quick look. And the third time, they wouldn’t let my kids in, even though my kids are super well behaved and quiet. On top of that, the “gelato” we could see through the window just looked like regular Taiwanese ice cream.
Finally, the café is quite a walk from Beimen or Zhongshan MRT stations. For all these reasons, we don’t recommend visiting this cat café. Unless you are a bunny lover, that is, because besides cats, they also have a few rabbits. Minimum spend is NT 200.
CAT.jpg Café (貓圖咖啡) just off popular Yongkang Street bills itself as a cat café, but they only have one cat. It’s basically just a regular café that happens to have one cat. Still, prices are low, and it’s in a cool old building. It’s very quiet, as many people seem to go there to study, so I wouldn’t recommend bringing kids.
Spring Day Pet Shop Café (小春日和 動物雜貨‧珈琲) is a bit out of the way in Minsheng Community, so we never made it there. But the café seems to be an all-out pets paradise. It’s not a cat café specifically but a “pet-friendly café”. There are cats inside, but they allow guests to bring in their dogs and other pets. It’s very popular, and kids above 2 are allowed. Minimum order is NT 150.
Date with a Cat Cat-Themed Café (和貓咪有約貓咪主題咖啡館) near Nanjing Sanming MRT looks like a full-on cat café with loads of cats inside. However, we purposely didn’t support this cat café because they are one of those ignorant businesses that banned foreigners from entering during COVID in Taiwan, despite the fact that the only foreigners in the country at that time were ones that already lived there.
More Cat Cafés in Taiwan
I’m not going to list every cat café in Taiwan – there are just too many – but here I’ll mention a few that I’ve come across in my travels around the country.
Two Rabbit Café (Two兔CAFÉ, cutely pronounced “Two Tu Café”) in Taichung is an outdoor café perched on a hill with a beautiful view of the surrounding area, especially at night. They’ve got multiple rabbits and a few cats, and some guests bring their own pet rabbits to play in a dedicated area. You’ll need your own wheels to get there, though. It’s a short drive from the popular Gaomei Wetland.
In Taichung city center, try 奶泡貓咖啡, or type 貓咪咖啡 into GoogleMaps to find several to others.
In Yilan county, try the popular Cat’s Day (貓的生活提案) in Luodong township. Read more in my guide to things to do in Yilan and guide to Luodong Night Market. In Taichung, you ca try Mao Mao Maid Café (貓貓領域女僕咖啡) in Yizhong Street Night Market.
In Hualien city, I loved the room full of cats at Zhang Family Garden (張家の樹園). This is one of many Japanese-themed animal gardens across Taiwan, where you can dress up in traditional clothing, pose for photos in the garden, and meet lots of animals like capybaras and alpacas. But the cat room was the best part for me – the cats were so cuddly!
In Tainan, I enjoyed my visit to Fat Cat Story. Although there was only one cat, Bing Bing, he was super friendly, and they provided free food for me to feed him. Find out other things to do in the area in my guide to Tainan. A few of Tainan’s most interesting temples are also near this particular cafe.
Last but not least, there are at least a dozen cat cafés in Kaohsiung. Try 易易茶室, a modern but traditional-style teahouse with cats near Pier 2 Art Center, or 描Cafe X 屋 Brunch near Central Park. Learn more in my Kaohsiung travel guide.
I hope all you cat lovers enjoyed this article. Enjoy your time with cats in Taiwan, and please let me know if you discover any awesome new cat cafés not mentioned here!