From mere cats to meerkats

Photo: The Canadian Press

A visitor plays with a fennec fox and meerkat at Little Zoo Cafe in Bangkok, Thailand. 

Cat cafes where customers sip lattes while petting resident kitties are just opening their doors around the U.S. and Europe. But in Asia, where the first one opened more than a decade ago, the concept has moved well beyond felines.

At Tokyo's Snake Center, visitors pay 1,100 yen (about $11) for a cup of coffee and a slithery friend to wind around their arm; a plate of curry bread snacks or a really big snake costs extra.

At We Are The Furballs in Singapore, Mochi and her puppy pals yap at ankles and occupy guests' laps for peaceful dognaps.

And at Little Zoo Cafe in Bangkok, meerkats, raccoons and little foxes with the softest ears imaginable can be cuddled near plates of crepes and French fries.

Some sell the animals, or offer them for adoption. Others invite customers to bring their pets, or just offer encounters with creatures — from penguins to hedgehogs.

"I wanted there to be a place where people can come learn about the animals," said Wachiraporn Arampibulphol, who opened an exotic animal cafe in Bangkok a year ago after visiting an owl cafe in Tokyo.

Snuggling Jelly, a blond fox, Wachiraporn said she used to import chinchillas, meerkats and other exotic pets, but worried that owners bought them impulsively and then abused them or let them collapse and die in Thailand's heat.

She said customers at her Little Zoo Cafe get a reality check when they're so close to the animals; she's only sold a half dozen this year.

"When you see pictures and photos of these animals, you see their cuteness," she said. "But people don't think about what the animal would smell like or how actually raising one would be."

Indeed, a musky odour floated above two red foxes — Mocha and Cappuccino — as they boisterously wrestled and skittered around customers' legs.

Nearby, Nuttida Chaloembun, 23, from Bangkok, watched a waitress grapple with Cracker, a 25-pound raccoon, who chattered and swatted her away with little hand-like paws.

"It's fat and really adorable but it won't let me touch it," laughed Nuttida.