Happy Meow-ther’s Day!

Looking for something different to do with Mom that is guaranteed to lower everyone’s stress level? Treat her to a day out at Seattle Meowtropolitan, Seattle’s first cat cafe, where today’s visit is 15% off and includes 50 minutes with kitties and a cafe beverage!

I had a chance to pounce in mid-afternoon this week, after bemusedly walking by for months.  While booking my online appointment, I was advised that I may not get a lot of interaction as 2 PM is prime cat nap time. Regardless, entering the tranquil lounge was a welcome respite from noisy construction outdoors and the frenzied pace of human activity.  Not only do the cats have a variety of luxurious resting places to choose from, so too do the humans, with faux sheepskin-lined benches throughout.

Indeed, most were asleep (cats can doze between 14 and 18 hours a day, lucky devils), and the more I sat, the more I saw.  Cats sleeping in baskets, cats snoozing on benches, cats snoring on many levels of platforms scattered throughout the space.  A frisky 6 month-old male named Sarge wasted no time finding his way to my backpack and did all but climb in.  It took every ounce of willpower not to take him home, given that aside from the 7 resident cats, the remaining half are fosters from Regional Animal Services of King County (RASKC) available for adoption.  At least 20 cats have already been adopted since the cafe’s opening earlier this year.

Sarge’s antics eventually stirred several others, and soon Robin, the “Masked Maiden”, was thoroughly entertaining herself with a small rubber ball and some impressive footwork.  Endless play is a possibility, whether it be on the wooden catwalk that runs the length of the ceiling, scratch pads affixed beneath café tables, flirt poles, slides and even a private, cats-only back room – in case it’s all just too much.

If the human world is getting to be a bit too much for you, stroll, slink or saunter over and pay your feline friends a visit.

Note that visitors to the cat lounge must be 8 years or older, although children under 8 are welcome to watch through large viewing windows on the other side of the café and enjoy cat-themed treats.  Entry fee is $10 and walk-ins are welcome if space allows.  Meet the resident cats and learn more at the Seattle Meowtropolitan blog.

Happy Meow-thers Day to mamas of all critters out there!