Imagine a paradise for cats. A place for the furballs to roam free, play all day, mingle with other cats, a safe haven, steady supply of food, and maybe boxes - such a place is really not that hard to imagine. Not only is it not hard to imagine, it actually exists in Penang. In fact, there are two such places that fit that description; namely the Penang Cat Café and the Cat Beach Penang. These two places are definitely a must-visit destination for any animal enthusiast and cat lovers out there.

Located in Georgetown, the Penang Cat Café is a two-storey building where cats live like kings. The ground floor is a retail store selling cat-related paraphernalia such as t-shirts, bags, greeting cards, mugs and much more. The second floor is where the cats live. The area upstairs is divided into two sections, one where you can interact with the cats and the other is the café area that’s cat-free. You can play with them all you like, give gentle pats or simply observe the felines. There are certain limitations - house rules that carry a RM100 fine if broken. It seems strict but it is for the well-being of the cats, after all.

Over at Penang’s northwest corner is where the Cat Beach is situated. A sanctuary to over 150 cats, it is a “no-kill” shelter where stray cats are rescued and fostered by the kind-hearted caretakers. Visitors can contribute to this place by volunteering or even adopting one of the many cats here. Volunteer work usually takes up about 4-5 hours where they feed the cats, deflea/deworm and even play with them. Socializing with cats is also part of the volunteer work.

While the cats of Cat Café are mostly indoor, pampered cats, the cats of Cat Beach are a colony of rescued strays. As any cat lover would tell you, each cat has their own distinct personality so it’s really down to which sort of cats you prefer to mingle with. Ultimately, any cat lover would visit both destinations anyway if they’re in Penang!