Around The World In 80 Cats #21: Korea

Elle and a friend visiting Cat Attic cat cafe in Gangnam

Liz Lorini aka Elle/Miss Kika is not only a super talented illustrator (I featured her Pretty Persian Parfait print last year), but she is also a cat lover who shares my obsession with all things cute. Last year, Elle moved from San Francisco to Seoul, Korea with her fiance, Nara, and started a blog to document her experiences living abroad.

Cute In Korea has become one of my favorite reads because of its focus on cute culture, including everything from fashion finds, to reviews of kitschy cupcake shops, hamburger joints, and cute cafes. Recent posts have enlightened me about Dunkin Donuts in Korea (did you know that they sell bubble tea and Pop Rocks covered donuts there?), and to the popularity of items such as black cat slippers and cat-themed cup lids to keep your drink warm.

Of course, real life kitties also make an appearances on the site, including the famous Jetoy Choo Choo cats, and Elle's own cat, Milk (There's also a sweet post where she finds a cat in the park and makes Nara call the owner to make sure he's not lost).

She recently wrote, "Where do you go if you love cats, but can’t have a pet OR just like being a crazy cat lady for the day?" The answer, of course, is to a cat cafe! She explains that because homes in Korea are so small and not everyone is able to have a pet, they visit cat cafes to spend quality time with kitties.

For the post, Elle and her friends visited Cat Attic, a chain cat cafe (yes, such things do exist!) located in Gangnam.

She writes:

"I love cat cafes in Korea, but I especially like Cat Attic because the animals are always happy and well taken care of, in fact often the owners are on the floor playing with the cats when we visit because they sincerely love cats too. They have a nice amount of kitties at each location, usually several fancy breeds like Russian Blue, Persian, Sphynx, etc which are always fun to interact with, but also a mix in of adopted cats which is nice.

The cat cafes are always VERY clean, the drinks are good, no stinky smells, and lots of toys and built in houses and towers for the cats to climb."

It's obvious by the comprehensive list of rules above that the safety and happiness of the cats is #1:

*Do not pick up the cats, they can sit in your lap, but they have to climb up on their own.

*If a cat is sleeping, do not disturb him.

*Do not pull the tails.

*No flash photography.

*Do not disturb them if they are eating.

*Do not feed them any human food, only cat snacks which you can purchase at the counter.

*Do not pet the lower back by the tail.

*If the cat has a colored collar on he is new or on medication, and you can not feed him snacks.

*Do not be loud and obnoxious! This is meant to be a peaceful place.

*Do not use your personal items or things like the drink straw to play with them, they provide toys.

Click here to read the entire cat cafe post for more pics and info, and be sure to check out Cute In Korea and Miss Kika to keep up with Elle's awesome artwork and excellent adventures abroad!

***

Know of any cat-themed travel destinations, or have any cool kitty vacation pics to share? Drop me a line at catsparella@gmail.com!