Le Café des Chats is the cat’s miaou!

This post is dedicated to Carol, Sheri, and Kathy, who will certainly understand why I had to go to the cat café!

If you wish to address a French feline (with apologies to T.S. Eliot), it is always polite to begin by saying, “Bonjour, Monsieur (or Madame),” and know that you will receive a friendly “Miaou” in response.  It is slightly more nasal, of course, than the English “Meow.”

We visit the Café des Chats.

That knowledge can be quite useful—but before I elaborate on that—I must begin at the beginning. Before we left for France, some good friends asked me about our agenda for our first few days in Paris.  I answered that we wanted to walk along the Seine again, to re-visit some of our favorite museums, and, I added, “One of the first things I’m going to do is make a reservation for the cat café.”

My announcement was met with stony silence. I could almost see the wheels turning in their minds: “Hmm. Paris. City of Light. City of writers and poets, of painters and sculptors.  Paris, the city of romance—and she wants to go to a cat café?”

Fun for everyone!

Ah, but what a café!  I made a reservation online, as advised, and soon we made the trek to the small side street near the Pompidou museum.

The café is run with careful oversight from the health department.  Visitors must use a hand sanitizer before entering the cat’s space.  (And yes, their toilettes are in a totally separate place, and there is no odor.)  The cats are all rescues—some were only hours from death row when they were saved.  A portion of the proceeds from the café goes to animal shelters, and each cat also has a pension, apparently to pay their keep when they are too old to play their parts at the café.  

Cat cafes began in Japan, where they are quite popular.

There are three rules. You cannot: (1) use flash photography, (2) disturb a cat who is sleeping, or (3) restrain a cat.  A laminated placard (in French) provides a photo and a history of each cat, so you know if you’re petting Ringo, Saha, Habby, or any of the other celebrated residents. 

It was the purrfect place to get my “cat fix.”  And I must say, the food wasn’t bad either.  Kevin's salad was delicious, and the  gateau d’oreo was one of the best chocolate cakes that I've ever had.

Salad or cake--it's delicieux!

Definitely NOT the cat cafe. These puppies in a Montmartre window are for my dog-loving friends.