The Cat Caf\u00e9: A place to have a pet of your own for an afternoon (Meet Marguerite)<\/p><\/div>\n

Living a Happier Life . . . with Furry Friends<\/h2>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

If you build it, they will come.<\/i><\/strong><\/p>\n

If the “they” are cat lovers\u2014and the “it” is a cozy place to hang out with 12 lovable cats\u2014the truth is they will<\/i> come . . . in droves.<\/p>\n

Meet Le Caf\u00e9 des Chats in Paris, the new hottest ticket in town. Yes, Paris is known for trendy gourmet destinations. But, here, in this furs-rate stone-walled restaurant, it’s not so much about the food. (Although the organic salads and homemade quiches and desserts are great.)<\/p>\n

Here, it’s about the ambiance\u2014Djenko, Khaleessi, Pattenrond, Rosa, Berlioz, Saha, Lovely, Pepite, Idylle, Oreo, Habby, and Marguerite\u2014and the ability of visitors to feel at home in the company of these friendly felines (and vice versa).<\/p>\n

Pattenrond and Pepite nap before lunch.<\/p><\/div>\n

“Cats are Just Little People with Fur Coats”<\/h4>\n

Scientific and psychological research has shown that pets help reduce stress. However, not everyone can handle the responsibilities of pet ownership, especially in cities where space is at a premium in tiny apartment living quarters.<\/p>\n

Kaleessi gets lots of colorful young attention.<\/p><\/div>\n

Margaux Gandelon, the owner of Le Caf\u00e9 des Chats, had this in mind as her dream of a caf\u00e9 took hold. She envisioned a place where people could come and relax with a range of cat personalities\u2014where stroking your favorite cat or engaging in cat play or just having a lap cat for a few hours could add to your day.<\/p>\n

There are sofas, books, nooks, and wifi. The cats have complete freedom to sleep, wander, or do whatever else they please.<\/p>\n

The Cat Caf\u00e9 condos, with two late sleepers<\/p><\/div>\n

In fact, their varied high-rise condos and fluffy beds are quite inviting. And the cave-like interior of the caf\u00e9 basement gives them (and us) the feeling of being in a mysterious maze \u00e0 la an Inspector Clouseau film.<\/p>\n

Hello Kitty<\/h4>\n

The idea of cat caf\u00e9s comes from Asia, where the first one of its kind opened in Taipei in 1998. The theme worked well for animal lovers who needed a little pet interaction and for people who needed a method for de-stressing.<\/p>\n

The calming quality of a furry friend<\/p><\/div>\n

The concept moved quickly to Japan, where there are now more than 150 cat caf\u00e9s (not to mention goat, rabbit, and reptile venues).<\/p>\n

In some cases, the word “caf\u00e9” is not quite accurate, as there is no food (or only vending machines). The focus is on the opportunity to pay for an hour or two of cuddling or for the pleasure of just observing the life of our animal friends.<\/p>\n

Le Caf\u00e9 des Chats, the Paris dream of Margaux Gandelon<\/p><\/div>\n

The Passion of Animal Lovers<\/h4>\n

The age-old question of world preference\u2014cats or dogs?\u2014 may never be answered. However, if the crowdfunding campaign for the Cat Caf\u00e9 on Indiegogo (a funding site like Kickstarter) is any indication, cat lovers are passionate in their support.<\/p>\n

The Cat Caf\u00e9 funding drive began in April 2013 and reached the target goal of 40,000 euros in 45 days, enough to make the Caf\u00e9 des Chats a reality. The caf\u00e9 opened in September and has been booked solidly ever since.<\/p>\n

Does everyone play by the rules (even Pattenrond)?<\/p><\/div>\n

Rules are Rules<\/h4>\n

The cats are free to do whatever they want 24\/365. (Of course, this is always true in a cat’s life, as any cat owner knows.)<\/p>\n

There are no cages. There are places to explore and places to go when they want independence or calm.<\/p>\n

Marguerite is free to wander.<\/p><\/div>\n

The humans, on the other hand, have rules. A list is posted on the front door and is repeated by the hostess when people enter.<\/p>\n

\n
• Don’t feed the cats. (As Margaux says, if everyone offered just a little bite of something, that would mean 50 extra bites a day.)<\/li>\n
• Don’t bring your own cat. That’s primarily because cats are attached to their own territory. They don’t particularly like to travel to other cats’ domains.<\/li>\n
• Sanitize your hands before you enter (gel is provided).<\/li>\n
• Don’t wake a peacefully sleeping cat.<\/li>\n
• Wait for the cats to come to you.<\/li>\n
• Don’t use flash for photos.<\/li>\n
• Children under six years of age cannot touch the cats by themselves.<\/li>\n
• Remember, we’re in THEIR house.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

  And, as for dogs, there is just a one-word rule. NO. Sadly, they are not allowed.<\/p>\n

  

  Idylle, feeling right at home<\/p><\/div>\n

  Oh, I See<\/strong><\/h4>\n

  Just about everything in the Caf\u00e9 des Chats is about living a happier life\u2014for cats and for humans.<\/p>\n

  The cats are selected from animal protection centers. Each is chosen, not for its color or cuteness, but rather for its ability to be happy with caf\u00e9 life. The cats have to like humans . . . and other cats.<\/p>\n

  

  Life on a pedestal for Habby<\/p><\/div>\n

  The 12 cats are given medical care and periodic exams to ensure their health and happiness.<\/p>\n

  For the humans, the OIC Moments<\/strong> are there for the taking. It is rewarding to see that people have put away their mobile phones and are actually observing what’s around them.<\/p>\n

  Everyone smiles when a cat does something so charmingly catlike. Children giggle as they dangle a felt mouse from the toy box for the cats to paw at (or pause at if we’re continuing the cat puns).<\/p>\n

  

  Tempting Idylle to play<\/p><\/div>\n

  Some visitors are just happy to have a cat jump in their lap and purr, a vibration that is said to hold healing power.<\/p>\n

  Cat lovers of all ages are in cat paradise\u2014living a happier life.<\/p>\n

  Purrfection.<\/p>\n

  

  Kaleessi cat naps after an afternoon of frolic<\/p><\/div>\n

  The Caf\u00e9 des Chats <\/a>is located at 16 rue Michel Le Compte in the 3rd arrondissement of Paris. It’s open every day from 12h until 22h.<\/i><\/p>\n

  <\/i>Thank you to Jennifer Vine for introducing me to my first cat caf\u00e9 experience.<\/i><\/p>\n

  Comment<\/a>\u00a0on this post below, or inspire insight with your own\u00a0OIC Moment\u00a0here<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":null,"protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":14667,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[108,211],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14686","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ideas-creative","category-paris-mappoints"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.oh-i-see.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14686","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.oh-i-see.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.oh-i-see.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oh-i-see.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oh-i-see.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14686"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.oh-i-see.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14686\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":40651,"href":"https:\/\/www.oh-i-see.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14686\/revisions\/40651"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oh-i-see.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14667"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.oh-i-see.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14686"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oh-i-see.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14686"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oh-i-see.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14686"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}