The GNG at the Happy Tabby Cat Cafe

Getting Furrified!  

Relaxing Vibes at the Happy Tabby Cat Cafe, Atlanta, Ga.

Ever considered taking your lunch break in a tea-house boutique where half of the furniture consists of scratching posts, rug-covered pedestals and a set of bunk beds and half the patrons spend their time in a mix of napping, carousing and tumbling around together on the floor?  It might sound a little unorthodox, I know, but if you’ve got stress (and who doesn’t?), maybe it could be worth a shot.  It sure worked out for Guild members Yvonne Walker, Mia Maine, Dap Tales and I (al-Falaq) on a warm Saturday early afternoon in April. 

From under a sky draped in bed sheet-like clouds, we walked into the Happy Tabby Cat Café and were greeted with warmth by a young gentleman under a menu of teas hand written on a chalkboard.  Placing an order for our drinks and muffins included a moment wherein we were given the house rules:  No Loud Noises or Sporadic Activity, No Rough Play or Mishandling of the Denizens.  You see, as the name very clearly suggests, Happy Tabby’s collection of customers is not only categorized by the human interlopers seeking steamy cups of tea and snacks, but more essentially by the fluffy, furry felines presently observed by us roaming about the place or reclining on one of the many pedestals or in fluff coated cubbies just the right size for these mini tenants.  Mostly rescue pets, some of whom are permanent residents and others available for adoption, these kitties enjoy the glowing warmth and cozy charm of this little bistro.  Or maybe those qualities are actually being infused into the place from the carefree comfort of the critters themselves? Hmmmm!

We took our snacks to a table in the main room, bathed in the diffuse light of the day outside the wall to wall windows.  In one corner of the plate glass, a cat with gray fur sat roundly on the windowsill, gazing lazily out at passersby on the sidewalk.  What judgment he may have assigned to these random figures we will probably never know; who can fathom the mind of a cat, in any case?  Formal looking felines in tuxedo-ish fur (black coats, white necks and chins) acted anything but formal, as they rollicked around on the floor in a spastic frenzy broken by brief spells of dazed, wide eyed breath-catching.  This is the stuff that mind ensnaring YouTube videos are made of.  We of the Georgia Nutts Guild munched our snacks, sipped our beverages and conducted our meeting, writing our exercises, discussing our projects while repeated glances around kept informing my sense of this place’s ambiance more and more deeply.  People from all walks of life were comfy and smiling warmly. They were chill; feeling relaxed and happy.  Some folks were petting or holding the little fur-balls (encouraged) or whispering gentle nothings, as they stroked the fur-lined nappers that were recumbent on the cat towers or bunk beds (encouraged). Some of us engaged in play with the more frisky of the kitties (cat toys provided in abundance), while others, furry and fur-less, shared the space together with a permeating sense of calm and joy. 

Cats sleeping in cave like cubbies, napping among the verdant draping leaves of houseplants like lazy jungle silhouettes, curling slit-eyed on top of the bunk beds.  People lounging easily, happily and, at least for a short while, carefree in a small, private, fur covered world removed from the mundane stresses of the daily rat race routine.  Happy Tabby?  Not only can I say, if it’s like this every day, but on this overcast April afternoon, “Happy” applied to everyone.