It all started when Christina Ha, owner and head pastry chef at the popular New York patisserie Macaron Parlour, found a cat on the street. She was instantly smitten by the kitten and took it home. She had never really been a cat person before, so she began talking to Emilie Legrand, who was on her kitchen staff and had been a longtime feline fan. The two women quickly bonded over scratching posts and litter brands, and before Christina knew it, she had fallen (presumably on all fours) for cats.
Less than a year later, Christina had adopted three more kitties. Then she began to foster cats through KittyKind, but it wasn’t enough. She wanted to do more.
When Emilie came back from a visit to France, she told Christina about her experience visiting a cat cafe — a spot where kitties roamed freely among coffee-sipping patrons in the hopes that someone would click with and adopt one of the cats.
Christina loved the idea.
“So we started to joke that we already had the pastries, all we needed were the cats!” said Emilie.
Then the conversation shifted from a joke to an actual consideration when Emilie drafted up a business plan in April of 2014 — and a few months later, in December of 2014, they opened the fist cat cafe in New York City, called Meow Parlour…
The concept is simple. You come in, play with adoptable kitties, and see if you want to take any of them home.
“At the cat cafe I went to in France, the cats weren’t up for adoption,” said Emilie.
“But for us it was clear that we wanted that kind of component.”
“So [Christina] contacted KittyKind, and they really loved the idea.”
KittyKind sends very specific types of cats to the cafe.
“We don’t have any kittens, because tiny kittens can be adopted easily, so they don’t benefit from being here.”
“The cats that KittyKind sends us are the kinds who don’t do well in cages although they’re really playful.”
Basically, older, social cats whose personalities come to life when they’re able to frolic freely are the ones who are sent to Meow Parlour.
Yet, the cafe also has a binder full of other adoptable cats…
…that can be adopted through KittyKind but are not at the cafe.
“About a cat a week gets adopted.”
“The adoption process is pretty thorough,” Emilie warned.
“If someone is interested in a cat here, we redirect them to KittyKind…”
“…They do an interview with them, there’s a home check, and then there’s a fee to cover all the medical expenses.”
Getting into the cafe is no cakewalk either.
In order to get into the cafe, you need to make an online reservation and there is typically a two-month waiting period.
When you do visit the cafe, you have to take off your shoes before entering and sanitize your hands.
You must also sign a waiver that you will not feed the cats.
There is a separate bakery where people can either pick up pastries and drinks beforehand, or they can order them into the cat cafe.
And the treats are for humans only, not for cats.
“A lot of people ask us if what we sell at the cafe is specifically made for the cats. It’s for them, but a lot of people think it’s strictly for cats.”
“I never thought I would be running a cat cafe,” said Emilie.
“I didn’t even think I was going to be making pastries.”
“But pastries plus cats? That is the dream for me.”
What do you think of this idea? Let us know in the comments below!
Watch the bonus video below and find out what the cats’ favorite toy in the entire cafe is — it’s really adorable!
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