Catfe - Short for Cat Cafe @ Ho Chi Minh City District One [Vietnam]

While researching for interesting places to visit in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC), I decided to google for animal cafes and found one at District One, pretty near Vien Dong Hotel at just 850 meters away!

Name was Catfe, which I presume to be short for Cat Cafe. Given how tightly packed buildings are in HCMC, it's indeed clearer to have directions for "cat cafe", as I would have literally walked past if not for the GRAB driver who dropped us directly at the cafe. 

Almost three to four floors high, I assumed the cafe component would just take up one or two floors whereas the rest would be used for other companies / uses. 

Cute image to reflect the basic rules before entering the cafe; no outside food / drinks, no smoking and absolutely no dogs allowed. 

Counter wasn't at the entrance like most animal cafes, where staff members would collect the admission fees before allowing you access to the restricted "cats" area

Self-explanatory notice where you don't even need to know Vietnamese to understand. Remove your shoes, and remember not to carry the cats and don't run around the cafe. 

Pricing - 89,000 dong per person! That's an unbelievable pricing at just S$5.00, absolutely impossible for any cafes in Singapore! And it didn't seem to come with a time limit! No wonder I saw quite a number of people working from the cafe.

Most animal cafes would likely offer you a drink as part of your admission fee. It's the same in Catfe but drinks were FREE-FLOW from the fridge, and included soft drinks, chocolate milkshake, peach tea, lychee tea, milk tea, chamomile tea and lemon juice! 

Take the ice from here! By the way, if you need hot drinks like espresso, latte etc, a separate charge will apply. Both Alex and I, stingy individuals we are, were happy with our free options.

Even snacks were in "buffet" style too! While you can take as much as you want, please be considerate and try not to waste food. Rule of thumb is to take a bit first and return for more if you like what you have.

The four tubs of snacks would have been sufficient but the owner's aim was clearly to make all customers happy! You have another 28 containers of snacks for your picking! Aside from biscuits, there were even gummies and preserved fruits; I felt super pampered!

I controlled; only two rounds of snacks. They were not particularly memorable although I am not complaining for just paying S$5, and I can still have unlimited time playing with the adorable felines. 

Before I bombard you with many photographs of cats, let me use a bit more time to show you how big this cafe was. My initial assumption was incorrect; the whole building was for the operations of the cat cafe (totaling 300 square meters) and only the top floor was off-limit! 

Let's proceed up! Like many such structures in HCMC, the building was pretty deep and a staircase in the middle means you can split the floors and segregate them into front and back. 

After bypassing a grooming salon, this shall be the second area to mingle with the felines. First area would be the ground floor, where the counter was. The things that would catch your attention shall be the color-coded cat cages. They looked so new and unused; I wonder if they were purely for aesthetic. 

This area also overlooked the ground floor.

Great area for the cats to people-watch.

Third area; with tables spaced out, you don't get the cramped spaces that were quite typical in land-scarce Singapore. By the way, the cats were free to roam around even though they do have preference just like humans.

There might also be cliques; like this pair that utterly loved to bask in the sunlight that streamed in from the windows. Should I stay in this room for extended period of time, I think I would just doze off, as many of them did.

Walking across to the last area.

It was the nicest with curved beams, Japanese paper lanterns in the shape of cats and two elevated platforms. The cats were present in all four sections and unless you have a favorite one; you would move around just like I did.

Many blow-up pictures of celebrities with cats.

Definitely added star-studded color to the walls.

There were many photos and portraits of cats too; nice as decorations on walls and not excessive as with the care of some animal cafes. Overall interior design was nicely done, and all for an entry fee of 89,000 dong! 

Time to show you the cats! Catfe had about 40 cats in total, consisting of a wide variety of breeds including but not limited to Munchkins, Sphynx, Bengal Leopard cats,  Maine Coons, Scottish Folds etc. 

Unlike a dog cafe, it's usually quite quiet in a cat cafe as the felines were renowned for their love for napping and cat lovers (who are the main customers) would be mindful not to create any disturbance.

Food would awaken some of them. Since we were on food, I didn't see any litter boxes /trays in the open areas. Guess they were kept elsewhere, hidden from customers. No noticeable smell as well and I guess it was thanks to the air purifiers placed all over the cafe.

More photos! Some of them had an expression showing annoyance, like someone who had their picture taken without permission! Very cute though.

Isn't he/ she a beauty?! 

Every time I visit a cat cafe, there would be an increased motivation to keep one as pet. I have to keep telling myself it will be unfair since I love to travel. Hmmm... who can persuade my parents to keep a cat instead? I will pay for upkeep! 

Checking out the washroom before leaving. Loving the cat shaped mirror and also photos, especially the expression for the bottom-most photo. I think most animal cafe operators should spruce up their toilets, which can actually be a talking point. 

Last look! 

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Address

119 Đ. Nguyễn Thị Minh Khai,

Phường Bến Thành, Quận 1, 

Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh 700000, 

Vietnam

Map

As above. 

Website

https://www.catfe.vn/

Pricing

89,000 per person

(Includes snacks / basic drinks)

Additional Information

You can buy snacks / cat toys from the counter.

Even though there was no pet shop section, I think these were cat clothes that you can purchase. In Singapore, such clothes for felines are not that popular given our hot and humid climate. Given the typical personality of a cat, I also doubt they would be as accommodating as dogs.

Click here for my 6 Days Itinerary in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) - Pearl of the Far East @ Vietnam