Gaza City: A cat cafe in the Gaza Strip aims to "cheer up" Palestinian residents and offer them a respite from the trials of daily life, its owner said.
AFP
2/12
At the Meow Cat Cafe which opened this week in Gaza City, owner Nehma Maabad set out food for a clowder of kittens.
AFP
3/12
"Cats, for me, are a refuge that relieves me of psychological stress. So I thought of creating a project that combines serving people with something to cheer them up," said the 50-year-old.
AP
4/12
Part of the space is kitted out with wooden platforms covered in astroturf for the cats to clamber onto, while feline murals and portraits adorn the walls.
AFP
5/12
Meow is part of a growing global trend of cat cafes.
AP
6/12
Customers pay nearly 10 shekels ($2.65) per hour to play with the cats, which Maabad said covers their food as well as costly vet bills.
AP
7/12
Visiting the cafe, Manar Abu Samra said it was reasonably priced and she had told her friends and sisters about the new venture.
AFP
8/12
"The quality of cats here is beautiful and sweet, so it's a wonderful idea - despite its strangeness to society - and when I heard about it I felt happy," she said.
AFP
9/12
Pets are rare in Gaza although cats are ever-present, particularly around the port or fishmongers as they try to paw away some scraps.
AFP
10/12
Maabad said she had cats at home to bring to Meow, while others came from friends.
AFP
11/12
"The idea of the cafe was to have something nice with a cup of coffee," she said. "A cat that you play with and it makes you smile and forget the pressures of life."
AP
12/12
Children hold felines at the newly inaugurated Cat Cafe in Gaza City.
AFP
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