Cat cafes are a purrfect way to enjoy the company of felines while you sip a tasty drink. The beloved Cat Cafe Lviv is no exception. It’s been open for six years and the small team in Lviv, Ukraine, is devoted to its 20 furry residents. So devoted, in fact, that owner Serhii Oliinyk is choosing to stay at the cafe despite the Russian invasion in his country.
“Our cats have been living in [the] cat cafe since the age of 4 months,” Oliinyk explained. “They are like family. We realized that we would never leave our country, that this was the only place where we could see ourselves in the future.”
Cat Cafe Lviv is open (according to its Facebook page) and is dedicated to providing a safe space for people to stop by and see the kitties who reside there. Hopefully, the cats’ presence and purrs offer a momentary reprieve to the stark realities of what’s going on just beyond the walls.
“We currently have fewer regular visitors, but there are people who have come from other cities and need hot food and positive emotions,” Oliinyk said. “There are three large rooms in our cafe, two of which are located in the basement, so in case of an air raid warning, there is a safe shelter for our guests and cats.”
If you would like to support Cat Cafe Lviv during this time, it has detailed how you can donate money, 50% of which goes to the Ukrainian army.
Serhii Oliinyk is the owner of the Cat Cafe Lviv in Lviv, Ukraine.
He is so devoted to his furry residents that he is staying at the establishment despite the Russian invasion.
The cats are cared for while also offering other residents who have stayed put some much-needed reprieve from the war.
“We currently have fewer regular visitors,” Oliinyk admits, “but there are people who have come from other cities and need hot food and positive emotions.”
Cat Cafe Lviv: Facebook
h/t: [The Dodo]
All images via Cat Cafe Lviv.
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