MINNEAPOLIS — A trio of local entrepreneurs hopes to open the first cat cafe in the Twin Cities where patrons can grab a cup of coffee and visit with feline friends in the next few years.

The Cafe Meow’s co-founders plan to launch a crowdfunding campaign next month and perhaps open the business in late 2016. The cafe is still in the planning stages and doesn’t have a firm location yet, but the co-founders want to find a location in Minneapolis near the University of Minnesota campus, where cats would reside in a room separate from the cafe area.

Co-founder Danielle Rasmussen says some of the cats at The Cafe Meow will be available for adoption from an animal shelter.

The cat cafe craze began in Japan and recently spread to the U.S.