A pop-up cat cafe opened in downtown Manhattan, allowing visitors to pet free-roaming kittens while relaxing over coffee.

Visitors to the Cat Café, which opened at 168 Bowery in the Bowery neighborhood on Thursday, can pick up complimentary coffee beverages like the "cat'achino" and bakery items, then play with cats in the main lounge during operating hours, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.

The adoptable cats are from the North Shore Animal League America rescue group.

Purina One, the sponsor of the pop-up cafe, says speakers are also lined up to speak each day the cafe is open Thursday through Sunday.

Cat cafes are popular in Japan and have started to take off overseas. One cafe opened in London in March and saw bookings fill up through the end of June. The tea room, called Lady Dinah's Cat Emporium, charges customers about $8 for two hours of playtime with cats.

A few cat cafes are in the works in California.