I am a dog person. I love their fierce loyalty and playful nature. I am a dog person…right?
To be sure, canines are truly man’s best friend…but, sometimes, I need the authoritarian fist of a feline paw to keep me in line, cruelly beckoning me to their world of ringing bells and stuffed mice, showing their indifference to me like a high-class courtesan that chews you up and spits you out like a mangled hairball.
For that pleasure, Oklahoma City has turned to Michaela and Adam Fitzpatrick and their new “no dogs allowed” place, "Don’t Stress Meowt" Cat Café, located at 1900 Linwood Blvd. Suite 300.
Although the punishing name may make you catty, it's the type of place that lets you snuggle up with the scads of kitties all while enjoying your favorite beverage—separately, of course.
That’s what I did last weekend, lint roller in hand…
After a few bucks spent at Trolley Stop Record Store, around the corner on Linwood, I trotted into the place like a cool cat on the prowl, fondly recalling my old stomps down Linwood, and how the brittle street has been refurbished into something better, something that works right.
Gentrification Urban renewal works!
Walking in, the place was already packed with people wanting to spend time with the lounging cats in this windowless room. With people waiting for their appointment times to people waiting for the specialized drinks to be concocted at the snack bar, I was on pins and needles waiting for a cat. Any cat!
With the stroke-abled reflexes of a diseased Bengal tiger, I pounced into the world of Don’t Stress Meowt and, for one, it didn’t stress me out. After meeting and greeting several domesticated cats, I realized I truly like cats of every shape and size: big cats, small cats, tiny cats, rotund cats, tiger cats, solid cats, sleeping cats, and playful cats.
But, to be sure, I truly longed for the gargantuan and sweetest of all cats—I think his name was…Arthur? Simon? The Distinguished Viceroy of James Xavier Pettibone III?—and I almost put him under my shirt and walked out with him. Oh, how we played in the summer days!
After a few minutes of rubbing his belly, sadly, the charming plump cat was taken by the waitstaff for a breather, with food and water, I’m guessing. Maybe my own boy Sean will foster him? Please??
Wanting a little treat, I sauntered over to the snack bar, longing for a refreshing dose of catnip on this hot-ish day. Choosing a cold Meowtcha ($5.00)—that I think is a modified machaca drink—and a Cat Cookie ($4.50), a thick sugar cooking with pink frosting, it was a very tasty snack, with the kittens at bay.
With all of that feline energy—or lack thereof—I was rewarded with laughs, smiles, and the levity that every person who walks into Don’t Stress Meowt gets to experience during their one-sided, one-hour love affair with a cat, toe-beans and all.
I can be a dog person and a cat person…right?
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