Vibrissae: Dubai's new cat cafe is home to 15 fluffy residents and dalgona coffee


Janice Rodrigues
  • English
  • Arabic

UAE residents looking to make some furry friends as they sip on their cuppas can head to this new Dubai spot.

Cat Cafe Vibrissae opened in Al Safa 1 at the beginning of February, giving residents access to its 15 fluffy residents.

The name "vibrissae" refers to the whiskers of a cat.

Take a look through the photo gallery above to see more of the cafe.

Inside, there's a "cat area", where the felines are allowed to frolic around, and it comes complete with scratching posts, tree towers and other accessories. It costs Dh49 for adults to enter the cat area, which includes a hot tea, coffee and water, while it's Dh39 for children under age 10.

Any guests who are not comfortable being around cats – or those who have allergies – can sit in a separate space and watch the pets through a glass wall.

According to its founder, Ahmad AK, Vibrissae is a passion project launched solely because of his wife's love for cats. "Before I got married, cats were just another member of the household," he tells The National. "But my wife loved cats, so we ended up getting one and to my surprise it was the best experience ever. They are the best stress relievers – something we all need during these times."

Before opening, the owners adopted full litters, which is how they've come to have three sets of feline siblings at the cafe. They have adorable names, such as Pyrette (for his pirate-like appearance) and Wolfie, and they were all introduced to each other from a young age, which has helped them bond and get along.

“That was one of the most difficult aspects,” says Ahmad. “There were two who never got along with the others – so we keep them at our house now.”

This is not Dubai's first cat cafe, as Ailuromania opened at Jumeirah Street in 2015. However, unlike Ailuromania, the cats at Vibrissae are not up for adoption.

The new cafe also has some other rules: people are not allowed to bring their own cats, children under the age of 10 need to be accompanied by adults, and while everyone is allowed to play with the cats, running after them, waking them up or "disturbing the residents of the cafe" is strictly prohibited.

Vibrissae does not serve food for guests at the moment, but does have a selection of beverages, such as the signature iced and hot rose lattes. Also on the menu are hot chocolate, Spanish latte and the internet sensation dalgona coffee.

The cafe is open from Sunday to Wednesday, noon-9pm, and Thursday to Saturday until 10pm.

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Platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PC

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Name: buybackbazaar.com

Started: January 2018

Founder(s): Pishu Ganglani and Ricky Husaini

Based: Dubai

Sector: FinTech, micro finance

Initial investment: $1 million

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Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm

Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm

Transmission: 8-speed auto

Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km

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6pm Arabian Triple Crown Round-1 Listed (PA) Dh230,000 (T) 1,600m

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6.30pm Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (T) 1,400m

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Weather warnings show that Storm Eunice is soon to make landfall. The videographer and I are scrambling to return to the other side of the Channel before it does. As we race to the port of Calais, I see miles of wire fencing topped with barbed wire all around it, a silent ‘Keep Out’ sign for those who, unlike us, aren’t lucky enough to have the right to move freely and safely across borders.

We set sail on a giant ferry whose length dwarfs the dinghies migrants use by nearly a 100 times. Despite the windy rain lashing at the portholes, we arrive safely in Dover; grateful but acutely aware of the miserable conditions the people we’ve left behind are in and of the privilege of choice. 

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As he spoke, Mr Aboul Gheit repeatedly referred to the need to tackle issues affecting the welfare of people across the region both in terms of preventing conflict and in pushing development.
Lebanon is scheduled to host the fourth Arab Economic and Social Development Summit in January that will see regional leaders gather to tackle the challenges facing the Middle East. The last such summit was held in 2013. Assistant Secretary-General Hossam Zaki told The National that the Beirut Summit “will be an opportunity for Arab leaders to discuss solely economic and social issues, the conference will not focus on political concerns such as Palestine, Syria or Libya". He added that its slogan will be “the individual is at the heart of development”, adding that it will focus on all elements of human capital.

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Ruwais timeline

1971 Abu Dhabi National Oil Company established

1980 Ruwais Housing Complex built, located 10 kilometres away from industrial plants

1982 120,000 bpd capacity Ruwais refinery complex officially inaugurated by the founder of the UAE Sheikh Zayed

1984 Second phase of Ruwais Housing Complex built. Today the 7,000-unit complex houses some 24,000 people.  

1985 The refinery is expanded with the commissioning of a 27,000 b/d hydro cracker complex

2009 Plans announced to build $1.2 billion fertilizer plant in Ruwais, producing urea

2010 Adnoc awards $10bn contracts for expansion of Ruwais refinery, to double capacity from 415,000 bpd

2014 Ruwais 261-outlet shopping mall opens

2014 Production starts at newly expanded Ruwais refinery, providing jet fuel and diesel and allowing the UAE to be self-sufficient for petrol supplies

2014 Etihad Rail begins transportation of sulphur from Shah and Habshan to Ruwais for export

2017 Aldar Academies to operate Adnoc’s schools including in Ruwais from September. Eight schools operate in total within the housing complex.

2018 Adnoc announces plans to invest $3.1 billion on upgrading its Ruwais refinery 

2018 NMC Healthcare selected to manage operations of Ruwais Hospital

2018 Adnoc announces new downstream strategy at event in Abu Dhabi on May 13

Source: The National

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How the UAE gratuity payment is calculated now

Employees leaving an organisation are entitled to an end-of-service gratuity after completing at least one year of service.

The tenure is calculated on the number of days worked and does not include lengthy leave periods, such as a sabbatical. If you have worked for a company between one and five years, you are paid 21 days of pay based on your final basic salary. After five years, however, you are entitled to 30 days of pay. The total lump sum you receive is based on the duration of your employment.

1. For those who have worked between one and five years, on a basic salary of Dh10,000 (calculation based on 30 days):

a. Dh10,000 ÷ 30 = Dh333.33. Your daily wage is Dh333.33

b. Dh333.33 x 21 = Dh7,000. So 21 days salary equates to Dh7,000 in gratuity entitlement for each year of service. Multiply this figure for every year of service up to five years.

2. For those who have worked more than five years

c. 333.33 x 30 = Dh10,000. So 30 days’ salary is Dh10,000 in gratuity entitlement for each year of service.

Note: The maximum figure cannot exceed two years total salary figure.

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Nouredine Samir (UAE) v Sheroz Kholmirzav (UZB); Lucas Porst (SWE) v Ellis Barboza (GBR); Mouhmad Amine Alharar (MAR) v Mohammed Mardi (UAE); Ibrahim Bilal (UAE) v Spyro Besiri (GRE); Aslamjan Ortikov (UZB) v Joshua Ridgwell (GBR)

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Title card:

Intercontinental Lightweight: Ilyass Habibali (UAE) v Angel Marquez (ESP)

Intercontinental Middleweight: Amine El Moatassime (UAE) v Francesco Iadanza (ITA)

Asian Featherweight: Zakaria El Jamari (UAE) v Phillip Delarmino (PHI)

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Sim swap frauds are a form of identity theft.

They involve criminals conning mobile phone operators into issuing them with replacement Sim cards, often by claiming their phone has been lost or stolen 

They use the victim's personal details - obtained through criminal methods - to convince such companies of their identity.

The criminal can then access any online service that requires security codes to be sent to a user's mobile phone, such as banking services.

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Ep4: Inflation- services and goods - debt risks 

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Company Profile

Name: Thndr
Started: 2019
Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Sector: FinTech
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