A short, but fun post.
In our travels we have obviously missed our crazy cats (although our house-sitter has spoiled them, so I suspect they have not missed us). One of the ways we have dealt with this cat-loneliness has been to take lots of pictures of cats in each of the different cities. It has become a bit of a challenge as we are walking along. Nonetheless, cats from afar is not nearly as nice as getting to be with a cat (like we were at that restaurant in Istanbul).

The question I have is: “what do people do if they love being with cats, but can’t have one of their own?” Well, Sarah figured it out while looking for a grocery store in Florence. They go to a Cat Café!

The idea of a restaurant that is a home to cats was likely started in Asia and is slowing starting to appear in Europe. Basically, a restaurant is fitted with double doors that create a sort of waiting room so the cats can’t escape. They also add special doors that keep the cats out of the food preparation area. And of course, there are entrances that allow the cats to sneak out and use their litter area or temporarily get away if overwhelmed by customers. Other than that, it is a regular restaurant except there are cat beds, toys, and nature videos playing on televisions.

I am not sure how they all work, but in the one we visited, there was a small fee that goes to cat upkeep and there was a minimum order (basically at least a coffee and croissant). Also, after doing some reading, I learned that some are permanent homes to cats and others are a place for cats to live until they are adopted.

Anyway, we had a wonderful time and Tommy was in heaven! I told Sarah I would like to open a Cat Bar! She told me I already had one in our house in Plymouth!


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