The Cat's Meow

I am not a cat person. Never have been, and never “thought” I would be. Now if you are a cat person please don’t get your fur all in a ball. I didn’t say I don’t like “some” cats… but rarely do I meet one that makes me think… “Man I’ve got to get me one of those!”

And maybe it’s just that my heart is being starved for puppy love right now that this is even a blog topic. But I’m obsessing about cats... in China!

It started with the crazy hybrid “cats in a box” Mikey told me about. There is a mall… yes another friggin mall… attached to our apartment building. It’s nice because it has some fairly good restaurants in it and when it’s -3 degrees celsius outside, like it is today, we don’t have to venture outside for dinner.

These “cats in a box” are in this mall; first floor… right next to the kiosk selling underwear. They are gorgeous… the cats, not the undies! They’re some kind of hybrid that strongly resembles a cheetah or a jaguar. I can’t stop looking at them; I must have 20 pics of them (so far)!

 Matt has seen them too. Now I know he’s not a cat guy; he’s even allergic. But he doesn’t shut me down near as quickly as Mikey does when I say “We’ve got to get us one of these cats!” In fact, I think he’s somewhere closer to my camp than Mikey’s… they’re that cool.

The obvious question is… “What are they doing in that box?” And the answer is… I have no friggin idea! But most days I have to wait patiently, to get up to the plexi-glass, to take the same damn picture I took the day before because that many people come by to see these damn cats in a box!

And they seem very happy in there; it’s filled with lots of cat toys and cat thingy-jigs.  But the whole set-up does lend itself to lots of questions. Namely… what are they doing in that fucking box? And do they go home at night? Is this home? So many questions!

Then today… more cats! Lots and lots and lots of cats.

I was wandering around that same mall… yes I snapped today’s obligatory cat pic… looking for the new laundry service I’m going to use… since I’m a total failure at Chinese laundry! One hallway led to another, and to another, and… Holy Cat-Piss… what the hell is that?!?

 There was a small, do I dare say, café? I saw a few people in there. And there were books on shelves but it seemed more library-like than bookstore-ish. But are those cats wondering around? What could this be? I had no choice… I entered!

Through two sets of glass doors, mind you… what is up with this place?  I bee-lined it right over to a snoozin cat who I became fast friends with; at first I startled him but then he rolled over insisting I rub his ample belly.

I wondered around a bit, I think my chin was on the floor and my mouth was gaped wide open. I took a seat at a table, because that’s what the two other people in there had done, and a little gal who thankfully spoke “some” english handed me a “rule card” and a menu. I ordered a latte and a piece of green tea cheesecake; my entry fee for this front row seat to crazy-cat town was paid!

The place is called “Meow Time”. I spent an hour there and came out no more informed regarding what the hell it is than when I went it. I stand by my first impression that it’s an internet café with (and for) cats. There were 9 cats that I counted while sitting there and that doesn’t count the few who wondered in and out the cat door to God knows where! (See cat door, in pic below, between sleeping kitty in hammock and lazy-ass cat sunning himself under a heat lamp.)

 These cats were in hammocks, on top of the book shelves, on cat perches, and just wondering around looking for an occasional scratch of the head. No one else there seemed too interested in these felines, they were there for the internet and snacks.

But after a while I came to my senses; I’d simply had enough cat time for one day. Maybe even a life time. And the good news is, I walked right past the “cats in a box” on my way home and as the real looker and I made eye contact… I gave nary a nod.

Although for a short while today I could have been confused with one of those crazy cat ladies… I think it’s clear now. I’m missing my pups.

 Whoof.