With animal employment rates on the rise, Japanese officials are now stepping in to regulate animal cafes. Citing new Animal Protection Laws, authorities are especially cracking down on 24-hour cat cafes. Makes you wonder: Where's a nocturnal cat to go for a cuppa?

While you'd think a cat cafe would be a place where you'd find kitties chatting over a warm latte, this is not the case. Instead, the cafes provide cats as human companions. Since cats prefer to lie down when they socialize, a cat cafe is more like a regular coffee or tea house with kitty pelts draped over surfaces like live decorations. These cats are considered "staff."

With such a service-oriented feline staff, it makes you wonder if cat cafes weren't born from the "snack" bars in Japan, where women provide company for men who come in to their establishment for a drink. Like snack bars, most customers (although not all) come to interact with the staff. As a result, the emphasis is not on the food and drinks at these cafes, but on relaxing in the company of gorgeous felines. Stroking, petting and playing are all acceptable and expected behaviors by guests (who can't seem to keep their hands off them).