restaurant in new york opens for cats read article
PUT IT ON MY TABBY
By RUSSELL SCOTT SMITH
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August 12, 2004 -- Want to dine at Manhattan's newest hot spot? Make sure you're dressed in furs and tails.
Or at least bring a feline guest.
The Meow Mix Café, billed as the "world's first-ever restaurant for cats," opens next week on Fifth Avenue across the street from the New York Public Library.
"It'll be like the Hard Rock Café," said Richard Thompson, CEO of the cat food company. "Except with Meow Mix."
The opening night party, on Tuesday, will be by invitation only.
And the place will only be open until the following Saturday.
That's because it's an "experiment," said Thomson, adding that if it succeeds, it could re-open permanently and sprout franchises around the country.
The café features tables where cats can try out six varieties of Meow Mix — and where their owners can snack on people food.
And don't worry when your cat meows for the check. The $2 tab goes straight to the ASPCA.
At least one cat lover has serious reservations.
"I can't think of a single cat that would like that," says Myrna Milani, a veterinarian and the author of "The Body Language and Emotion of Cats."
"Even the most social cat would have a sensory overload."
The Post got a preview, and its correspondent, Mae, a normally friendly 3-year-old tabby, was unimpressed.
As soon as she emerged from her carrying case, Mae slunk off the table and tried to hide behind a box of bright yellow Meow Mix Hairball Control Formula.
