In culturally advanced cities such as Tokyo, New York City and San Francisco, cat cafes are already old news. However, there is a chance that one may open in Texas very soon. Young entrepreneur and University of Texas at Austin (UT) graduate Rebecca Gray has dreams to open a cafe called the Blue Cat Cafe that will bring joy to all cat lovers in the area.

“I have wanted to open a cat cafe for years since I saw pictures of them posted on Japanese blogs,” Gray said. “My Kickstarter that is going on now for the Blue Cat Cafe is to build a giant foster home where people can come hang out with cats anytime just like it’s their own home.”

Students that want to donate to the Blue Cat Cafe campaign can go to http://kck.st/1DeHOFS and give a minimum of one dollar. Everyone that donates will have their name posted onto a wall at the restaurant when it opens.

“The more we raise, the bigger and better this place will be,” Gray said. “Of course I’d love it to be located in downtown Austin, but parking and rent make it impossible.  I’m just hoping to raise a ton of money so we can have a really huge space everyone can fit into, including more rescued kitties.”

Compared to regular Japanese cat cafes, the Blue Cat Cafe will not only be a place to eat and play with cats, but also a place that adopts cats and allows them to be adopted. The cafe will be teaming up with local cat rescues such as Austin Pets Alive!, a shelter against the euthanizing of their animals.

Apart from being a foster home for cats, the Blue Cat Cafe will also have food available for customers. In order to keep up with Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulations, Gray has decided to bring in an Austin staple: food trucks.

“Austin is a food truck Mecca,” Gray said. “Many of Austin’s best food trucks will be parked out back on a very rad patio where food will be prepared completely away from kitties.”

An additional component that makes the Blue Cat Cafe unique is its menu items.

“I am vegan, but I don’t expect others to be,” Gray said. “I chose for the Blue Cat Cafe to go vegan, because I just can’t open a place based on animal love, and then be supporting an entire industry that basically doesn’t.  Vegan food is just plant based food. The options are endless and can be just as yummy.”

Austin, Texas, known for its motto “Keep Austin Weird,” among other things, is a melting pot of personality and culture. Its peculiar, open-minded environment is what makes the Blue Cat Cafe the perfect place for its animal loving community. The Blue Cat Cafe allows Austin locals to sit down, eat great food and pet some cats.

“I care about cats and the minimization of animal suffering,” Gray said. “The Blue Cat Cafe will give back, in that it supports the rescues of Austin, and adopts out homeless cats.”