One of my biggest inspirations to open Ministry of Cat was a rescue cat cafe in Bali named The Odd Cat, which I ended up visiting last April in a very serendipitous way.  

After missing a flight to Spain, I found myself stranded in good old Bangkok. I did not want to pay for a last-minute airplane ticket to Spain, which would have been well over 1,000 dollars.

With two weeks of vacation ahead of me to fill, I started to frantically look for cheap destinations in the region. Finally, I decided to book a flight to Bali, since I was craving to get back on a surfboard and it was one of the cheapest places to fly to that day.

Once Georgia found out I was in Bali, she told me I had to visit this rescue cat cafe in the island that had recently opened and that she had been following on Instagram. She knew that I’ve been thinking of opening my own rescue cat cafe for a long time, and thought it was a good opportunity for me to do a bit of field research.

I was very impressed with The Odd Cat, and with the generous and passionate work that the owner Julie was doing and continues to do to this day. The cafe had recently opened, but it was already quite popular. During the couple of hours I spent there, I saw a good number of visitors — locals, expats and tourists.

The cafe was smartly designed. While cats could roam around freely and mingle with guests in a wide main area, they also had an area to which they could retreat that was off-limits to people. It had, of course, plenty of structures that the cats could climb on for exercise or to find some privacy. It also made great use of earthy, calming tones in the decor to create a relaxing space for both cats and humans.

Most importantly, all the cats looked really happy and healthy.

If visiting The Odd Cat convinced me of anything, it was that the rescue cat cafe concept actually works — that it is possible to create a sustainable cafe business that effectively supports the local stray population and positively impacts the community.

The founder of the cafe is French national Julie, whose family moved to the island when she was just 13 years old. Julie, who grew up around animals and was a ‘cat rescuer’ since childhood, decided to open her cafe after a visit to Japan, where she first came face to face with a cat cafe.

Once the decision was made, she set off on her journey to open the cafe by taking online courses on cat care, welfare and behaviour. She later told Villa Kitty, the only cat shelter in the island, about her project. Villa Kitty’s founder, Elizabeth, was excited about it and they eventually partnered up.

Julie tells me The Odd Cat has been well received in the community.

“People like the fact that we are helping the cats and community and not making money from the animals. Many locals who aren’t able to adopt because of their living situation, love to come cuddle the cats on their day off.

“People look forward to seeing our new cats when some get adopted, or meeting their favorite cat again. We really met amazing people through the cafe and I love the cat lover community we are now part of,” Julie said.

Ministry of Cat will follow in the footsteps of The Odd Cat. My hope is that it will be as successful and as effective in improving the lives of stray cats.