78 | October• 2018
WHERE THE CATS HANG OUT
with bat-like ears has jumped onto her
table and is eyeing her cream-topped
milkshake. Lashings of cream are a
speciality here, especially on the ex-
otic desserts that are named after the
resident cats: Délice Doudou, Délice
Mimi and the like. It’s Clémence’s
second visit. “I like it because it’s cosy
andIlovecats,”shesays.
At the table opposite, Dr Pauline
Delahaye, a specialist in animal se-
miotics at Sorbonne University, has a
pile of folders on her table and is busy
making copious notes on a book titled
Mimicry and Meaning: Structure and
Semiotics of Biological Mimicry.
“I’vebeenherefourorivetimes,”
shesays.“Peoplehavetospeakina
lowvoicebecauseofthecats,soit’sa
quiet place to work. And you can eat
anddrinkhere,soit’sbetterthan
being in the library. When I moved
to Paris, I couldn’t bring my cat, un-
fortunately.I’musedtohavingacat
near me when I work, so it’s nice for
me to work here.”
Dr Delahaye’s work concerns emo-
tional expression in animals. So can
sheofferanyinsightintowhatthe
catsarethinkingrightnow?“Inmy
ield we have a saying: the cat for the
behaviourist is like the platypus for
thebiologist–weknowitexists,but
we don’t understand how. What are
theythinkingnow?Rightnow,they
are thinking,Icanmakethislittle
bag my house,” she laug h s, a s a big
furry cat tries to make its way into
her handbag.Whatelseisgoingon?Ononeof
thetablesafemalehumanhasalarge
glassofmilkwithcreamonthetop.
Yodalickshislips.Hemaygoand
check that out shortly. He knows he’s
notsupposedtotouchtheirfood,but
cream can be so hard to resist.
hen Yoda spots Mouchou high up
on a shelf. He’s taking a keen inter-
est in a human below with a big pile
of paper next to her. Not to mention
a very inviting bag. It will be irresist-
ible to Mouchou. Typical youngster,
he loves playing games. Yoda yawns
again and scratches his pink chest.
Maybe time for another nap...
IT’S A FRIDAY AFTERNOON AT
CHAT MALLOWS CAFÉin Paris, and
the dozen or so tables are beginning
toillwithcustomers.heyenterqui-
etly, whispering. he rules say to keep
the noise down. Some of the 16 cats
that live here are sleeping and they’re
nottobedisturbed.
he customers are predominantly
female,althoughtherearesome
mixedcouples.Atatablebythewin-
dow,ChloéLardyandMaximeLam-
oureuxarecooingoverapurringball
of f luff in a hammock. It’s Chloé’s
thirdvisithere.Shelovescatsshe
says,andhastwoathome.ForMax-
ime,it’shisirsttime.Whenhewas
achildhewasfrightenedofcatshe
says,butnowit’sOK.
At another table, Clémence Fon-
taine is also looking nervous, but for a
diferent reason. A furless Sphynx cat