October• 2018 | 79READER’S DIGESTIn the last ten years, more
than150catcaféshave
opened in Japan, with more
than 40 in Tokyo alone.
Andnowtherestofthe
worldiscatchingcatcafé
fever, with new establish-
ments opening almost
weekly from Wellington
to Washington and from
StockholmtoSydney.As
well as in Paris – not to
mention the rest of Europe.
“InFrancewealllove
cats,” says Lauranne
Bohère, the assistant man-
ager at Chat Mallows Café,
whichopenedin2015.“Cats
are relaxing animals and
thisisacalmplacewhere
it’seasytorelax–andthat
is good for French people
becausewetendtostressa
lot, especially in Paris!”
Shecitesatheorythatthe
vibrations of a cat’s purring
haveacalmingandbeneicialefect
on humans. It’s known as ‘ronron
thérapie’(purrtherapy).
Lauranne helps to prepare the
food, waits on tables and looks af-
terthecats.It’sherdreamjob.“I’ve
lovedcatssinceIwasfouryears
old,” she says. “My home is not far
fromhere,sowhenIheardaboutit,I
thought,‘Ihavetoworkthere!’Ihave
my own cat at home, and he is jeal-
ous.HesmellsmyclotheswhenIget
home and looks at me as if to say, ‘Oh,IMAGES OF CATS ARE EVERY-
WHERE,andifthere’savaguelyJap-
anese‘HelloKitty’feeltotheplace,
it’s no coincidence. Although Taiwan
canlayclaimtotheworld’sveryirst
catcaféwithCatFlowerGarden,
which opened in 1998, it was in Ja-
panthatthecrazereallytookof.In
acountrywherepeopleoftendon’t
have the space or time to look af-
tertheirownpets,thepossibilityof
spendingtimewithcatsinacaféset-
ting proved hard to resist.
MouchoukeepsaneyeonDrPauline
Delahaye at Chat Mallows Café