Reading the Guardian’s Word of Mouth blog today compelled me to pen my first post about our new cat, Jasmine. Determined not to become a crazy cat lady I’ll not gush too much about her but it’s safe to say, I love her. She is fab.
Despite Jasmine’s fabulousness and my newfound Dr Dolittle-like talents, I do agree with The Guardian’s comments about the inappropriateness of animals in restaurants. Country pubs, fair enough but restaurants, absolutely not. Granted it’s mainly a phenomenon encountered abroad but nonetheless, three’s a crowd when it comes to a long anticipated romantic meal out, especially when the third has four legs.
My fondness of Jasmine means I forgive her for squeaking up as us whilst we sit at our own dinner table, the cat expecting a feline-sized portion of whatever we may be enjoying. If her dog-like begging goes on for long enough, hell, she usually gets her own way, but if a stranger’s pet does this in a restaurant I am not quite so willing to share.
But, as I read further into the Guardian’s post, I was introduced to a phenomenon far more disturbing than a restaurant owner’s pesky pet…the cat cafes of Japan. Forgive my naivety, but I have never before heard of these freaky places where loners (this is my own opinion and may not be factually correct) go to cuddle a random cat whilst enjoying a cup of coffee. Have a read of this BBC article that makes the cats in these places sound like high-class call girls: “There were seven customers, mostly single men….” err…
This finding has however, put my crazy cat lady worries into perspective.
Jasmine has a bit of a problem with the flash on my phone.
