The Japanese love their cats, but residents of Tokyo have reportedly little room to look after these domestic animals at home, so a host of coffee shops, which offer the chance to pet a cat, have sprung up.
The website for Cat Café Neko no Mise offers advice for first-time visitors, such as where to stroke them (ears, forehead, cheek, jaw), that 'a sleep cat does not run away', and that cats like to play with string. However, the owners suggest customers avoid letting the cats eat the string - as it's "not good for the digestion and swallowing".