The Cat’s Meow
Posted By LaurenI grew up in a cat family. My parents have 5 cats. Instead of TV, we just watched the cats. My dad likes to quote lessons on conflict from the “All I Need to Know, I Learned From My Cat” poster. “Yell when you get stepped on, and then forget about it.” The weird thing is we don’t even have that poster. But we weren’t crazy cat people. What makes you a crazy cat person? Have a lot of cat stuff
We liked to have some cat paraphernalia. We didn’t have any fancy food bowls or scratching posts. But our kitchen calendar was usually cat related. Last Christmas, I bought my mother a calendar of vintage ads involving cats. My mom has a couple shirts with cats on them. Nothing too bad. But you have no idea how deep the obsession can go and neither did I until I went into The Cat’s Meow on Hawthorne this evening.
The moment I walked into the store, I was greeted not by a human but by a friendly, fluffy gray cat named Sterling. No sooner had I put my coat down on the floor but a brown, fluffy, cross-eyed cat (I would learn later that this type of cat is called “ragdoll”) named Willow came running across the room, sniffed it, flopped down, and curled up on top of it. I leaned over a table to inspect something and Sterling climbed up my chest and sat on my shoulder. I pushed her off (and she looked none too pleased) to survey the store. I’ll list the cat-themed items by the room they might best belong in.
Kitchen: There are plates with cats, bowls with cats, mugs, teapots, paper napkins, shot glasses, swivel sticks, ice cube trays, dish towels, and refrigerator magnets (including those horrible cat-butt magnets and a cutesy kitty magnet that says “cats leave paw prints on our hearts”).
Dining Room: I don’t know where your cats eat, but crazy cat people might like to have their cats eat in the dining room with them, so I’ll include the many cat food bowls under this category. There were also mats for the cat food bowls in case your cat is messy eater (and I think most of them are). One of them had a circle labeled “water” and another circle labeled “nasty dry crap.” There were also placemats with cat for the messy human eaters.
Bathroom: Soap, shower curtain hooks, shower curtains, tissue box covers, towel racks, cat toilet trainers.
Living Room, Bed Room and Other: Statues, egg-shaped cat figurines in egg cartons, pillows, nightlights, Christmas ornaments, kitten shaped rugs ($61.95), candle holders, incense holders, wind chimes, stuffed animals, puzzles, games (Cat-opoly), those wall clocks with the moving eyes and swinging tail, other cat wall clocks, a “kitty bank” (instead of a piggy bank), picture frames, a scratching post taller than I am. There is no lack of sassy cat-related signs like “Cat-Xing,” “Beware of Cat,” and “Wipe your paws.” There is a doormat where the cat complains in a diary about being a mistreated captive of the humans. There are even cat TV episodes, videos of birds, rodents, and other cats to amuse your bored cat all day long.
Having a few of these items does not make you a crazy cat person (with the exception of the cat TV, that puts you over the edge right there). But I would never advise anyone to decorate with a cat theme (please read the understatement in this). Pet obsessed design is a dead giveaway of poor taste and also an overbearing personality. Having a few unnecessary pet related items may not be in good taste but can be endearing. But walking into that store made me wonder just how far some people might go.
3538 SE Hawthorne Blvd.
Portland, OR
(503) 231-1341
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