CUTEST CATS at this Cafe in NYC | ADVENTURE

Hey guys, so did you know that of all the cats entering shelters in the US, about 37 of them are adopted but 41% of them are actually euthanized. That's like 1.4 billion cats a year. So that's why we thought it'd be fun to bring you guys to Kaniko today in the Lower East Side. Which is a very unique mix between a cat cafe like something you'd see in Asia and also an animal shelter. Yeah, so it's like the best of both worlds. So let's go in now and we'll tell you more about it. All right. My name is Allison Ishiyama. I am the Catering Manager at Kaniko Cat Cafe. Here at Kaniko Cat Cafe, we are partnered with Angelical Cat Rescue, local New York City rescue who frequently pulls animals from animal care and control. And unfortunately, because they do have to take in every animal that comes into them, they do euthanize for space. And many of these cats came from the at-risk list. And I actually used to work in a high-volume shelter. I've also done adoption counseling before. So I know it can be a little tense when you go into an animal shelter. Lots of cages, lots of noise, and somewhat of the pressure to adopt same day. This is the kind of environment where you don't need to make that decision. There is no pressure for that. I've had customers who visit a certain cat multiple times before they actually put in the application. And that's what we encourage. Know what you're getting before you actually get it so we don't have any return. Robin is my four-year-old CEO. I like to call him the CEO because he's kind of like that boss. When he first arrives, you want to let him settle first for a good 10 minutes before you do start interacting and talking to him. When he was pulled from animal care and control, he suffered from head trauma as well as a fractured jaw. One of his tooth comes out this way, actually. It's kind of endearing. And when he first arrived, he was a little bit on edge. You know, sometimes cats, they're creatures of habit. And it can take a little longer for them to get acclimated depending on the cat. You know, now he's a lot more comfortable. You know, customers can interact with them and he's not going to be on edge all the time. So it's a good thing. So Edith is the one with the white splotch on her face. She is a little bigger. She's the more gregarious one. She's the leader sister. You know, there's always the leader and the follower when you have siblings. Mary is the smaller one, a little more on the shyer side. She is the follower. Kittens are a pair. So with kittens, basically cats younger than a year, they are kind of like babies. Their personality hasn't developed. And also, they actually learn manners from each other. So with kittens, they do have to be adopted in pairs. This is Sammy right here. He's my spicy middle-aged man. He's four years old. He's turning five actually next month early on. He is my longest resident, which I don't know why. Because as you can see, he's one of my resident lap cats here. The other day when I was working on the weekend, he actually sat on someone's lap for a good hour or so and kept surfing. I like to call him the lap surfer. Do you get like attached to him? How would you feel if he got adopted? It's bittersweet. I mean, I'll be sad that I won't see him anymore here. But at the same time, I think I'll be a lot more happier actually. You know, I've worked with a lot of animals at this point. So I kind of learned to keep an emotional wall with some of these guys. Otherwise, you know, I'll probably be taking every one of them home despite my allergies. And I don't think that's a good option. All right, guys. So we just checked out the catio. We met all the cats. And now if you're feeling a bit peckish or you're a bit thirsty, they have this great bar area which is going to be served by... It's your boy, Javier. Our menu is more snack oriented than rather like a sit down like meal type of thing. We try and keep it very close to the traditional Japanese style of cooking because that is where our entire concept for the space came from. My favorite thing to have on the menu is our konomiyaki, right? Yes. It translates to grill to whatever you want. The way that we do it is cabbage, pork belly, and squid, and then like some batter to tie it all together, right? And then we dress it with some kimpo mayo, some barbecue sauce, a little bit of nori, and then some tomato flakes. We have our chilled soba noodles, which is pretty much what it sounds like. It's soba noodles chopped in ice, served chilled with some seaweed on top. And then we have a dipping sauce. So what I think is kind of unique about Kunigo is like compared to other cat cafes where like exotic pets are kind of... exotic cats are kind of the draw. And like you go there to see the cats and then you get some food here. It's almost like the other way around. The food and everything is built around attracting people to come see the cats and eventually hopefully nothing happens. To a better, safer home. Although it's pretty cool here. I would be happy to stay here. If I was a cat, yeah, I'd totally be here. It's like cat college. Cat dorm. But if you guys are in New York City in the Lower East Side, make sure you come visit this place. And they also have monthly events every Thursday, like meditation, karaoke, and also like food tasting menu. So yeah, that'll all be on their website, kunigo.nyc.com. Make sure you follow them and also our social media. Don't forget to like and subscribe. And we'll see you guys next time. Because we're gonna eat.