Cats and Curiosities in the Marais. ^^

When we decided to go to Paris I must admit I found myself hoping that we would stumble upon the Cat Cafe there. Le Cafe des Chats is an unassuming building on Rue Michel le Comte in the Marais district. It is a cafe and home to several furry felines.:) They are all rescue cats who have been chosen for their sociable and laid back natures. In the end I decided to take no chances ( the cafe recommends that you make a reservation) and I booked us a table online. We found ourselves in the 3rd arrondissement a little earlier than planned …..but spotted an interesting museum nearby to have a nosy around first.

The Musee de la Chasse et de la Nature ( Museum of Hunting & Nature) at 62 Rue des Archives is well worth a visit if your in the area. Its packed full of interesting exhibits. Antiques, art,taxidermy and cabinets of curios. I am certainly not a fan of hunting….but the collection here is certainly eye catching and thought provoking. Relics of times past, the museum examines our relationships with animals and nature. There is much to see over three floors and on our visit there was also an unusual Danish Art exhibition mingled with the museums resident bears and wild boar.

Soon it was time to head for our table at Le Cafe des Chats and I pushed a rather reluctant Wil in the direction of said cafe. He is much more of a dog person ( though I have seen him playing with/tormenting our cat Slinky on occasion) but he agreed to go…..as the next day I would be devoting my time to watching ‘ The Tour de France’ with him. 🙂

We entered the cafe and showed the girl at the desk our reservation. She told us to wash our hands with the hand disinfectant provided and went through the rules which are : a) no feeding the cats , b) no disturbing any sleeping cats & c) no flash photography. We then could choose where to sit. There are two levels ~ so we headed down the stairs as there was no room on the ground floor. Downstairs is cozy and cavernous with sofas dotted around and a piano. There was no natural light so my photos turned out quite dark.

The cats all seemed very content ~ some were asleep , curled up on cushions or in bookshelves. Some were being fussed over by the delighted clientele. One mischievous moggy took over a customers armchair ~ so she perched on the arm with her coffee, so not to disturb. Cats take precedence here. 🙂

The idea for ‘Cat Cafes’ started in the far East apparently. People in large cities who cannot keep pets due to their busy work lives , can find solace and relaxation in the company of these placid and affectionate kittys, dropping in after work for a coffee and purr therapy.

We both decided on the trio of petite desserts on our visit and a coffee or chocolate. The selection consisted of strawberries with cream, a macaroon and a chocolate cake. They were rather good! Because our reservation was quite late in the afternoon , only cakes and sweet things were available , so bear that in mind when booking.

I think if I ever return to Paris ( I hope I do 🙂 ), I would love to visit the cafe again ~ perhaps booking an earlier time and finding a table on the more light and airy ground floor. It was lovely to see some of the residents snoozing in the window. 🙂

Do not despair though, a cat cafe has opened in London too, so if you cannot get to Paris Lady Dinah’s Cat Emporium may be an option for other crazy cat ladies like me. 😉

Thanks for dropping by.X

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