Meow Parlour
As soon as I heard that New York was getting its very first cat cafe, I made reservations for Francesca and me. The Meow Parlour is on Hester Street on the Lower East Side—it's been popular so we had to wait about a month before there was an open night. We went at 7pm, an hour before they close and there were four other people there when we got there, but they left soon after and we had the place to ourselves. The cafe part of the "cat cafe" concept is kept separate from the actual cats, in this case it's down the street. It was closing, so we didn't get any cat-shaped macarons or coffee, but that wasn't really the point for us.
Although I have my share of cats to pet on a daily basis, I was still excited to be surrounded by them, and I told Francesca that she had to make sure that I didn't end up adopting one or all of them. That is, of course, the entire point of the cat cafe and I really hope more people go with the intention of taking home one of the residents.
They were all adorable and lovable and it was hard to pick a favorite—that is, until Fang emerged from under the front desk ten minutes before closing time and stole both of our hearts with her unique markings, incredibly sweet personality and gorgeous eyes. Fang is the senior resident of the Meow Parlour, at 10-years-old, but most of the cats are quite young.
Ringo is the pure black cat and he warmed up to me immediately (must be my witch-like tendencies); Roger is white with black spots and he was content to lord over the others from his perch in the Scratch Lounge; Puddin' is a big white ball of fur who gives zero fucks and napped for the entire hour that we were there.
There was one cat who never left the box that he/she had wedged him/herself into, and two sets of cats that looked nearly identical. There was a sweet tortoise-shell that looked just like a cat I used to know and love, and a frisky tabby named Lucky Lemon who was doing his best to destroy an adorable cardboard ice cream truck by eating it.
The place definitely felt like a new business, and it was a bit awkward at first but once we got over that (or once we had the place to ourselves), our hour went by really quickly. I don't have an intense need to pay $4/half hour to pet cats on a regular basis (if anyone wants to pay me anything to come pet Mozart, I'm down with that), but I love that the Meow Parlour exists for people that might not be allowed to have pets, or live with someone who is allergic, or for people looking to take home a pet of their own. I'm sure I'll be back with visitors or to try the macarons, and while I hope Fang finds a home soon, I'll miss her most of all.