A paw'some idea!

Pet owners in the city have plenty of places to visit where they can have their pooches and kitties tagging along. From grooming centres to pet-friendly cafes and restaurants, Mumbai has always been welcoming of man’s furry friends. However, animal lovers in the city will be happy to know that there are a few spaces that take an extra effort to nurture the bonds between people and pets.

Take Cat Café Studio, for instance, which gives a temporary home to stray cats and then finds them homes. Several eateries in the city also have special facilities for dogs, such as Gostana, where you can play with their resident canine companion Zizou and bring along your own pet, or Dollally Taproom and Zoobar, where special events are often organised for pets and pet-parent bonding. Dog-lovers in the city, who do not have the space or time to have their own pet pooches will also be glad to know that a dog kennel in the city — Pawfect Life — will now have fixed times for people to come and have some fun with man’s best friends.

“It was actually thanks to a misunderstanding when an online portal mistakenly printed that we allow people to come in. At the time we didn’t, but so many people showed an interest in coming and playing with the dogs that we decided to incorporate that as well. We have decided to keep next weekend as a tentative time for the opening of that section,” says Niharika, the owner of Pawfect Life, as she sits in her office with two puppies vying for her attention.

Niharika and her furry friends.

At the moment the kennel only acts as a fun lodging for dogs and a couple of cats, while their pet parents are out on trips or away for the weekend. Niharika, now plans to bring in her own dogs, specially for visitors. The kennel, located in a factory building in Marol, has none of the usual cages or air of gloominess. Instead, there’s a large enclosure where the dogs play with each other and their human pals, clamouring for their attention and affection. “It’s a complete madhouse here, but that’s the way we love it,” Niharika adds, over the din of the barking dogs.

Pawfect Life is not the only place in the city where one can get their daily dose of doggie therapy. Gostana, located in Bandra, is known not just for its healthy snacks, but also for its star attraction — a labrador named Zizou. “I’ve had Zizou for two years now, but I’ve always had one of my dogs or the other hanging around in Gostana. Apple was another of my dogs who was a hit with the customers,” says Arpana Gualani, the owner of the café. Though not pet-friendly at the moment, Gostana will soon host pooches and kitties once more.

The cozy café has both low level and table seating, with Zizou exuberantly welcoming newcomers. Senain Sawant, a regular at the café, sits with a cup of dessert and the adorable lab resting his head on her lap. “I come here a lot because my friend is doing a summer job here. It’s a nice place to chill out and I like spending time with Zizou too. I love dogs, but I don’t have one, so this works out great,” she says.

Bonding with felines at Cat Cafe Studio.

“Though we’re not allowing pets right now, because Zizou hasn’t been keeping well, we hope to resume our pet-friendly days after the monsoons, wherein we cook and curate meals for both the owners and pets,” Arpana adds.

While several other eateries also take an extra effort to make pet parents feel at home, perhaps the best-known animal-friendly eatery is the Cat Café Studio in Versova, which has been attracting the city’s cat lovers for years. Now with the new Mew-ga (cat yoga) classes added into the mix, there’s a renewed interest in the café. According to Yashmi Adani from the Cat Cafe team, cat yoga is a great way to destress, since both petting cats and yoga are known to be great stressbusters. “When Priti Jhavar, who conducted our two workshops, came and told us about the concept for yoga with cats, we thought why not give it a try?” she says, adding that the workshops were such a success that they’re now a regular event at the cafe.