In our weekly feature looking at how the UAE’s most interesting people spend their Fridays – the best day of the week, let’s face it – we speak to Allaa Ahmad Al Aulaqi, the co-founder of cat cafe Ailuromania. She talks about chasing her dreams of starting her own business with her sister, dragging in homeless cats and how the only furballs you’ll find in her hygienic cafe are fluffy kittens.
CRAZY CAT LADIES
[My sister] Iman and I have been cat lovers ever since we were young, but our mum wasn’t keen about having a cat as it is a lot of responsibility and she was never really a cat lover. Thank God it has changed now. This change came about when Iman risked it and brought Tommy, our Siberian cat, home in 2012 – ever since, our mum has become a crazy cat lady too. My favourite cat from our café is Lucy (a Siberian-Persian mix), simply because she is the cat version of me and she’s Tommy and Fifi’s daughter; they were our first two cats and she was born before we neutered them.
PURRFECT FRIDAYS
Iman’s friend, Reem, sent her a link on WhatsApp about a cat cafe in Korea and suggested we open one since we’re crazy cat ladies who have always wanted to start our own [business]. That’s how Ailuromania started. The Dubai Municipality have been very helpful and supportive as they actually created brand new rules [to accommodate] us since we’re one-of-a-kind and the only cat café here. I head to the café even on Fridays to check up on how the cats are doing and ensure everything is running smoothly and right. The café is my most cherished possession now. It feels like my baby and I want to see it grow every day.
YEMEN TO UAE
My family is originally from Yemen and we’ve been living in Dubai for over 10 years – Iman and I graduated from high school and universities here. We love Dubai, it is home to us – we love how multicultural it is, we love how whatever you think of, you can take your car, get out there and do it on the spot. There is nothing that you wouldn’t find in Dubai.
SISTER ACT
My sister and I work full-time at Ailuromania. We get along really well and each one of us knows what the other one is thinking or wants without having to explain a lot. We both graduated from American University of Dubai – Iman majored in finance and I majored in marketing, so we complete each other as a team. If we didn’t start Ailuromania, I would have continued in my e-marketing job, and Iman would have continued doing something in finance. Nothing is more exciting and fun than working with your own sister.
I CAN WALK THE TALK
I love walking. I can walk for hours and hours, I’d say it’s one of my favourite hobbies. Sometimes, when I’m at the cafe and feel like I need a walk, I’ll go for a stroll to Umm Suqeim beach behind us. I love walking on the beach because there’s so much to see there and so much happening – there’s always food being sold, or people are playing volleyball. I enjoy outdoor activities too, so my sisters and I always find safaris to go to, or outdoor yoga sessions to join.
BETTER LATE
I enjoy leaving things until the last minute but I get them done perfectly. A lot of people get frustrated when I [procrastinate] but I always tell them to not worry.
GOOD SONG
Good Life by One Republic would be the background song to my life as I tend to see the beautiful things in life and count my blessings. I’m lucky to have my family. I relate most to the song’s chorus as it makes me feel really good.
FLIPPIN’ FOR BURGERS
I can eat burgers all the way, any day. My friends know that whenever we go out I’ll probably suggest a burger place and it will most probably be Shake Shack. Sometimes I do opt for Italian food, but most of the time I just want burgers.
QUOTE UNQUOTE
I would love spending a Friday getting to know would be His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum. I would love to hear about how he turned his vision [for Dubai] into a reality; I’ve already read his books, which are inspiring, but I would love to talk to him in person, there is so much to learn from him. I remember this quote by him was on a huge banner on the way from Jumeirah, up the Umm Suqeim bridge. Iman and I would see it all the time when we were still in the process of fixing up and fitting out our first café (we’ve moved locations since). It said, ‘the future does not wait for the reluctant’ – that was a turning point for us.
OH BROTHER!
My earliest memory is of our mama telling us that we will be having a baby brother. I remember how happy and excited I was to finally be having a brother, as we were already four girls. I can’t believe he’s not a baby anymore – he’s already in university now and a grown man.
FELINE FACTS
Every cat in Ailuromania has his or her own unique personality. Some are active, others are lazy, and some enjoy petting while others enjoy playing. All of our cats are either adopted from shelters or individuals, or rescued off the street. One of our kitties, Shakira, was rescued from Umm Suqeim Street. She ran after us while we were doing our daily walk. Another one of our kittens, Snow White, was a stray in our neighbourhood and all her siblings and mum were dead so we took her in.
DRIVE THRU
I think cars are the cat’s whiskers. What would I do without my Lexus? When I am bored or I feel like I need my ‘me time’, I just take my car and drive around with no particular destination in mind; I love driving. My mum doesn’t enjoy it and she always worries about long drives but I love it.
FURBALL-FREE FOOD
Customers have the funniest questions for us sometimes. Often it’s ‘so you serve cats, coffee and pizza? You serve customers cat fur?’ We always laugh it off when this happens, as a matter of fact the staff enjoy it as it’s funny but we of course explain how hygienic our place is and really care that and customers see it. All of our cats are checked and cleared by the vet so they’re very healthy and infection-free. I always get asked how the café is never smelly even though we have 23 cats; people usually have one or two pets and their houses get super smelly. We have many random walk-ins and they’re always surprised that it’s a cat cafe.
I DID, I WOULD, I WISH
The last thing I splurged on was Iman’s birthday gift – I bought her a Ralph Lauren bag in pink, her favourite colour. If time and money weren’t an issue I’d go to Japan. There’s no specific reason, I just want to see the country. I wish Tasmanian tigers still existed. Of course, I wish all extinct animals still existed but I love the feline family species and like researching and knowing more about them, they’re beautiful.
