A child, cuddling a cat, rests under a shelter at the earthquake zone in Ludian county, Zhaotong
A child, cuddling a cat, rests under a shelter at the earthquake zone in Ludian county, Zhaotong, Yunnan province, August 5, 2014. An earthquake in China on the weekend triggered landslides that have blocked rivers and created rapidly growing bodies of water that could unleash more destruction on survivors of the disaster that killed 410 people, state media reported on Tuesday. Picture taken August 5, 2014. REUTERS/Stringer

The Cafe des Chats in Montreal opened last Saturday, Aug 30. Even though it may look like a regular café, there are eight cats in the coffee house. The regular décor is ornamented with plush toys, scratching posts as well as a special window perch for the cats. The café has already become popular among hundreds of Canadians who started hitting the café.

According to co-owner Nadine Spencer, the concept of such a café is quite popular in Asia. The trend has recently started in Europe as well, she said. Spencer said that she thought Montreal would accept the unique idea. "We thought, 'why not bring this to Montreal?' I think it is a city that could definitely use it", she said. "There are a lot of places that do not accept cats these days and there are a lot of students here for a short time. And it is also a great therapy". She claimed that the café was first in North America.

Spencer also said that she had plans to open similar cafés in other cities in Canada such as Toronto and Vancouver. There are plans to open another cat café in Montreal as well. According to The Canadian Press, the cats in the café were adopted from the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

Spencer said that the cats had private quarters of their own that were situated at the back of the café. The cats move there to use the kitty litter or have some quiet time. Spencer has already started identifying the "personalities" in her cats. "Personalities are already coming out", Spencer said. "There's definitely The Godfather, who kind of oversees everything. There's the big boss, Big Foot, and the Three Little Rascals, as I like to call them. I think they're going to be the ones to be in charge eventually".

The Global News quoted Nicholas Girouard who said that the café was a "great opportunity" for those who did not have a cat at home. Girouard apparently waited for months for the opening of the café. "I have three at home but I just can't get enough of cats, so I love this place", he said.

Contact the writer: s.mukhopadhyay@ibtimes.com.au