Cafe hopping and cuddles: What to look out for when visiting JB’s pet cafes

SINGAPORE – A macaw squawked from its swing, a group of ducks waddled around, and an alpaca and two dogs followed us around, eyeing the cups of animal feed we had in our hands. In a corner, a meerkat scratched the ground.

It felt, sounded and smelt like a zoo, but we were in an enclosed room on the third floor of a shophouse in Johor Bahru.

This was one of the scenarios the TLDR team experienced when visiting some of the pet cafes in JB that have been trending with visitors from Singapore.

If pet cafes are on your to-do list for your next jaunt across the Causeway, you’ll find myriad options, some with the more common family pets like dogs and cats, and others with more exotic animals.

We checked out three places, and what to watch out for when planning such a visit.

D.A Little Farm, Jalan Austin Heights

What it features: Occupying the third floor of a shophouse above the famous Shi-ba Cafe by the same owner, D.A. Little Farm is akin to a petting zoo with dogs, farm ducks, and even exotic wildlife. Multiple animals roamed around a main area, while smaller individual glass-partitioned rooms at the side housed wildlife like fennec foxes, a skunk and racoons.

What it’s good for: Of the places we visited, this had the largest variety of animals, so various people in our group could focus on their preferred animals.

The staff member introducing the animals to us was friendly, and guided us on the correct way to hold a raccoon and one of the skunks.

Surprisingly, the animals roaming around the main area seemed to coexist peacefully. Still, we also couldn’t help wondering about the ethics of housing so many animals in such close quarters.

Things to note: Visit timings were controlled, and there were notices at the entrance warning that the smell could be strong and offering disposable masks for those with more sensitive noses. But the number of animals in the room, coupled with the accompanying cacophony of sounds and the thick pungency, can feel overwhelming.

You can also get an hour each at both D.A Little Farm and Shi-ba Cafe for RM70 on weekdays or RM85 on weekends and public holidays. There are separate fees for children aged 12 and below. Animal feed has to be purchased separately at RM15 per serving.

Shi-ba Cafe, Jalan Austin Heights

What it features: This dog cafe features mostly Shiba Inus and a number of different breeds. A sign displays the “staff on duty” – a line-up of 15 dogs, each with their own designations like CEO, CFO, CMO and COO, and even new staff members are highlighted.

What it’s good for: This has a good selection of dogs you can interact with.

We were let in as a group to meet the dogs within a gated area. They were friendly and played around us, though we soon realised, for the dogs to hang around, we needed to have food in our hands. The staff taught us to get the dogs to sit and shake paws in exchange for a snack reward.

We were pleasantly surprised when, at the end of our session, the staff arranged for a group photo with all the dogs posing around us.

Things to note: The dogs could get a little boisterous at times, especially when there were multiple visitors with food in their hand, though the staff stepped in quickly to manage the situation.

Capyba Cafe, Jalan Nakhoda 2

What it features: Capyba Cafe is themed on the capybara, the adorable oversized cousin of the guinea pig, native to South America.

Its more aesthetic sister cafe, As Clouds Cafe, is steps away along the same walkway and features design elements with alpacas and llamas. It has a fuller menu, but we did not have time to try the offerings.

Buying a meal or drink at either cafe will give you access to a shared petting space upstairs, where you will get to see a pair of capybaras, and one or two alpacas or a llama.

We had latte and cordial at Capyba Cafe, which were priced at RM14 and RM16 (S$4.25 and S$4.90), and a milky capybara-inspired pudding at RM16 (S$4.90).

What it’s good for: Of the animal cafes we visited, the petting space had the most relaxing vibe. It was clean and sparsely decorated, with plenty of natural light.

The two capybaras we saw were young and extremely friendly when approached.

In addition to the capybaras, we also played with an alpaca called Black Black and a very food-motivated llama called Xiaoge. To get a wefie, we had to dangle a carrot stick in front of the mammals to get their attention for a split-second.

We were there on a Monday and were told by a staff member that two other alpacas were housed elsewhere to enjoy a “day off” after a very hectic weekend of visitors.

In this instance, less was more. We had more space to walk around, and felt more engaged with the creatures since there were just a handful of animals.

Things to note: If your expectation of an animal cafe is one with many animals, you might find the numbers here fall a little short.

Things to consider while planning an animal cafe visit

When it comes to budgeting for your visit, do note that different animal cafes charge differently. Some may require a minimum order of food and drinks, others may have a fixed fee. Some places charge separately for the animal feed.

Depending on how much of a clean freak you are, you may prefer choosing a cafe with segregated areas for dining and animal interaction over a cafe where you dine with the animals around you.

For the cafes we visited, the areas for eating and drinking were separated from where the animals roamed, which we felt made for a more hygienic environment.

We had only drinks and desserts at the animal cafes, and felt that they were fine but nothing special. We didn’t expect too much either as the main draw, after all, were the animals.

Reservations might be required for popular places, such as D.A Little Farm.

Before heading down, make sure you contact the animal cafes through their WhatsApp or social media accounts to confirm their opening hours, charges, and how the animal experience would be like since these could change. 

For instance, earlier guest reviews of Capyba Cafe and As Clouds Cafe showed that they used to have the animals in their respective cafes before they had a shared petting space.

If you want to make sure you support only places that take care of animal welfare, the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) also highlights on its website other points that potential visitors to animal cafes can look out for.

These include considering the animals featured and whether they are in an appropriate environment, whether the animals are given freedom of choice and if the number of visitors are restricted, as well as the information shared by the cafes, which gives a gauge if they focus on animal welfare.