Arc Review: Cat’s Café by Matt Tarpley ☕ Wholesome comics about animals and mental health

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CW’s: Anxiety, Depression

Representation 🌷 Characters with anxiety & depression

Serving up more than just coffee and tea, Cat’s Café provides its cast of adorable characters a gentle, supportive space and a hefty serving of the warm and floofies.

Welcome to Cat’s Café, a neighborhood coffee shop where all are welcome! Based on the popular webcomic, Cat’s Café introduces readers to the adorable denizens of this world. There’s Penguin, who has a bit of a coffee problem; Rabbit, whose anxiety sometimes overwhelms him; Axolotl, whose confidence inspires his friends; the always-supportive Cat, who provides hot drinks made with love and a supportive ear for anyone’s troubles; and many, many more. With a sensitive take on real issues and a gentle, positive outlook, Cat’s Café is about the power of acceptance, friendship, and love … and delicious cups of coffee.

Thank you to Netgalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing for providing me with a digital copy in exchange for an honest review! All images are taken from the Arc.

I didn’t think that I would be crying over cute animal comics, yet here we are 😭 I picked up Cat’s Café because I was in the mood for a nice comic to read in one sitting but I hadn’t anticipated how much I would end up loving it! I fell head over heels in love with the story and quickly got deeply emotionally attached to the journey of all the animals 🥰 I hadn’t even known that this was originally a webcomic, so I went into the story completely blind and was surprised that I loved it so much – so now I’ll definitely keep an eye on the webcomic for sure. Please someone take me out of this reality and into the magical Cat Café!! 🐱

The story centers around the Cat’s Café, set in an animal town and follows the resident’s everyday adventures! ➽ The whole setup was amazing as I quickly fell in love with the Café led by Cat (all animals are called by their species name) and how it was a safe space for all the other animals living in the town and a way for them to connect with each other. The sense of community and friendship was warming my heart, as everyone is trying to help each other out and there for support if needed. Reading the book made me want to travel to the Café myself to enjoy a hot cup of coffee with Cat and her friends 😥 The setting just feels so cozy and combines two of my favorite things ever: coffee and cute animals.

I loved all the characters so much ➽ As the collection goes on we get to know several animals that frequent the coffee shop and what their daily life looks like. I loved getting these little slice of life moments, as the comic itself doesn’t have a big overarching storyline. However, the animals have their own emotional, personal journeys so I didn’t mind that there wasn’t a big plotline. I was content to follow the animals from day to day and apart from that, we did get some themes, like different seasons. I loved Cat the most, as they always tried to make everyone comfortable and poured their heart and soul into making the coffee shop a meeting space for all the fellow animals. I also really related to Rabbit, as they were very anxious and overwhelmed with a new situation yet bravely took on the job as a new barista. There were so many more amazing animal characters like the coffee addicted Penguin, the insecure Snake who dreams of becoming more and Owl who loves knowledge. I began to care greatly for all of them, especially as there was a big emphasis on friendship and making sure no one felt alone! 💕

I loved the wholesome and positive messages about mental health and self-care! ➽ The general story tone was amazing, it was part funny and witty, part positive and encouraging and also part sad but honest. I loved how the story talked about what living with anxiety and depression felt like and how it can be difficult to accept help even though your friends are there to support you. I especially related to the worry and existential dread that Rabbit went through. I loved how the creator included mental health representation in this wholesome comic. There was so much focus on believing in yourself and taking care of your mind and body, even though it sometimes can be hard. All the messages felt so genuine and came across as encouraging and honest 😭💗

Some positive messages from the book 🌸💗

© Matt Tarpley

IN CONCLUSION. ➽ Cat’s Café is an incredibly wholesome and positive comic collection set at a lovely café in an animal town following the adventures of the residents. I loved how it touched upon friendship, mental health and believing in yourself – all the messages felt genuine and therefore had a big impact on me! If you need a comforting read definitely check out this comic 😍

Are you going to read Cat’s Café? What is your favorite wholesome comic/graphic novel/manga? ☕

 

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