Feline like a coffee? St Petersburg cafe offers customers the chance to enjoy a hot drink... while patting the in-house cats



A Russian cafe is offering customers the chance to enjoy a hot drink while playing with their feline residents.



Visitors can play with the furry animals at the cats art cafe Cats Republic in St. Petersburg.



The owners currently have eight residents - four of them came from the State Hermitage Museum, where they used to hunt mice.



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Feline love: An employee kisses Dyushes, a Don Sphynx cat, at the Cats Republic art cafe in St. Petersburg

Cat kisses: Dyushes stretches out to lean in and kiss. The owners currently have eight residents - four of them came from the State Hermitage Museum, where they used to hunt mice

Petting time: A visitor strokes a cat. The cafe includes an exhibition area, a library and a separate hall with cats living inside

The other four are purebreds acquired from breeders. The cafe, which is popular with children and adults alike, measures visitors with a 'cat-metre' as well as calculating tier age in 'cat years.'

The main rule of the cat cafe is that visitors should not try and interact or pet a cat if they seem unwilling to engage.

Price to pay: Visitors of the cafe can pay $5-10 to play with the cats, according to the owners

Cat years@ Every visitor's height is measured with a 'cat-metre' and their age is calculated in cat years

Cat love: The cat cafe has already proved popular with children and adults alike

The concept is springing up across the world - there are similar cafes in Japan and Europe.

There are now around 40 such establishments in Tokyo alone since the first cat cafe opened in 1998.

As well as the feline residents, there is also a cat library and an exhibition area, covered in photos and pictures of cats.

For true cat lovers there are relevant items to purchase such as pillows and photo frames.

Interaction: A visitor caresses a cat - the main rule at the cafe is that visitors can not make the cat play with them if it is uninterested in engaging

Life of luxury: Dyushes stretches on an armchair at the cafe which currently has eight feline residents

Theme: As well as the feline residents, there is also a cat library and a an exhibition area, covered in photos and pictures of cats

Cat mad: A visitor looks at figurines at the Cats Republic - it is an oasis for cat lovers