The cat-themed cafe has become a resting place for people's minds.

Wen/Ma Yue

For many cat lovers, such a cat cafe may be cute: Japanese minimalist bright furnishings, free-roaming cats, plenty of tea and coffee, customers can enjoy a lazy afternoon tea surrounded by cats.

KitTea Cafe

KitTea, a Japanese-style cat cafe in San Francisco's Hayes Valley, opened in June and is the city's only cat-themed cafe. Because business is so hot, people often need to make an appointment through the website in advance to avoid waiting in line for an hour with cats.

KitTea also offers yoga classes and movie nights. A 70-minute Thursday yoga class includes equipment, a pot of tea and head and shoulder massages, all with cats, and costs $33. Movie nights cost $38 per Friday and include two hours of play with cats and drinks and refreshments.

Inside the cafe

Cat haunt

Yoga with cats

Such a healing cafe has received much attention since its opening. Its founder Courtney Hatt, a tech startup in San Francisco, turned to something more comforting after suffering a career setback.

Founder Courtney Hatt

"The stress of my career really depressed me, and my cat saved me. These cute little guys have freed me from the weight of the tech industry." Hatt said.

"I'm interested in cat cafes in Japan and I know a lot about them," Hatt said of his original intention to open such a cafe."There's no such shop in the United States. I think it's time to open one."

KitTea also runs a cat adoption service with the help of the Petco Foundation, which posts photos of cats awaiting adoption on its website and Facebook page.

KitTea's adoption post on Facebook

Adopted cats on the site

KitTea's tea sets and cutlery also use custom-made ceramic with cat prints. Lisa Tsubouchi, another co-founder, also went to Kyoto, Japan, to pick tea. The store also offers a variety of accessories for cat lovers.

peripheral products

In San Francisco, where programmers haunt, such a healing cafe has become a place for people to relax. As Hatt says,"We're trying to build a paradise where humans and animals interact." The success of the market is also good for animal protection."