O Porto dos Gatos

O Porto dos Gatos opened in Bonfim in 2018 as Porto’s first cat café, and it was still open in May 2026. The cats aren’t the café’s pets. They are rescues looked after by the Associação Vida de Gato, the association the founders set up, and every one of them is waiting for a new family. So the residents change as cats find homes, and a child who comes back a few months later may meet a different set.

The cats have their own room, which opens onto a patio at the back where they can go outside and lie in the sun. You sit in the café while they come and go. For a child who loves animals but can’t have a pet at home, it is a gentle hour of watching cats be cats.

The founders, Fátima Meireles and Joana Rocha, told PiT in May 2026 that about 300 cats have been adopted through the café since it opened. They have rescued more than that and say they have stopped counting. The association has about 80 cats in its care at any time, split between foster homes and the café, and the ones that have waited longest have been with them for around a year.

They take in cats that struggle to find homes, going to shelters for animals with behaviour problems or physical disabilities, and Porto’s municipal kennel now contacts them directly. The two women do the work themselves, with no money from the city council or the state.

This gives children plenty to talk about afterwards: why cats end up in shelters, what a foster family does, and why an animal with a limp or a nervous streak can still make a good pet.

Adoption is possible, but it takes time. You apply, fill in a questionnaire and arrange a meeting with the team. If it goes ahead, the café takes the cat to your home; no cat ever leaves the café with its new owner on the day. That is worth explaining to a child before you go, so nobody expects to walk out with a kitten.

The café also has to explain another point to visitors: you can’t bring your own cat to play with the residents. The main room, where the adoption cats don’t go, welcomes other pets, and dogs get a water bowl, blankets in winter and vegan biscuits.

The owners are vegan and so is the menu. Visitors’ reviews mention soup, hummus, burgers, carrot cake, lemon tart, chocolate cake, lemonade and hot chocolate. A fussy eater may settle for soup or a slice of cake, but there are no meat or dairy versions of anything, so check the day’s options if your child is particular.

This suits children who can sit quietly and let a cat come to them. A toddler who wants to chase or grab will find it frustrating, and so will the cats. The PiT article doesn’t mention any rules for children, so ask the staff when you arrive and go over them together before you go in.

Opening days have changed over the years. A directory listing gave Tuesday to Saturday, 12:30 to 19:30, closed on Sundays and Mondays, when checked in September 2026. Call +351 222 452 502 or check the café’s Facebook page before a special trip. The page lists takeaway, outdoor seating and online booking, and a family directory lists toilets, wheelchair access and paid parking nearby.

If your family is on an animal-themed day in Porto, SEA LIFE Porto is the city’s aquarium, and the Parque Biológico de Gaia across the river has native wildlife in a large park.

Can children touch the cats?

The articles we read don’t give rules for children. The cats live in their own room and patio and choose whether to come over, so ask the staff what is allowed when you arrive.

Can you adopt a cat on the day?

No. You apply, answer a questionnaire and meet the team, and if the adoption goes ahead the café brings the cat to your home later.

Is there food a child will eat?

The menu is fully vegan. Visitors mention soup, burgers and several cakes, which usually covers a snack stop.

Is there a cat café in Lisbon?

According to the Porto dos Gatos founders, the Lisbon cat café they visited before opening has since closed.