Fans of fluff, rejoice! D.C.’s Georgetown neighborhood has a brand-new cat cafe, called Mèo Maison. The cafe’s name is pronounced “meow may-zahn,” which translates to “Cat House,” with “mèo” meaning “cat” in Vietnamese and “maison” translating to “house” in French.
“I just always loved cats,” Mèo Maison Owner Lauren Luu said, emphasizing she always “wanted to make a difference” with her business. Luu added the cat cafe helps socialize cats and offers comfort to guests.
“A lot of people come in here either just for pet therapy, either they missed their cat, they just recently lost a cat, or they moved and they’re just looking for a companion,” Luu said. Cat cafes also help cats show their true personalities to potential adopters.
Located at 1336 Wisconsin Avenue NW, the cafe partners with Lucky Dog Animal Rescue to host cats who are deemed ready to be adopted. Mèo Maison also partners with the adjacent Café con Bagel, which serves guests sweet and savory treats through a window in between the shops.
For those who find their potential new fur friend at Mèo Maison, the process involves filling out an application and waiting about three days, depending on background checks, housing checks and a phone screening.
The Lucky Dog Animal Rescue may then schedule a meet-and-greet and send a contract to be signed and paid. Once this process is complete, Mèo Maison requires the cat owners to bring a breakaway collar with the potential cat owner’s phone number on it and a carrier to transport the cat home.
For those who would prefer to drop by just to browse the meows, the shop is open Tuesday through Sunday with a pricing structure that varies by day and time frame. Appointments can be reserved for 15, 30 or 60 minutes at a time.
The cat cafe also hosts a variety of events every month, such as water coloring with Shop Made in D.C. on April 10, a reading hour on April 17, and a movie night on April 18.
The cafe held its official opening in March 2024, but the soft opening was in November 2023.
Mèo Maison joins several other cat cafes in the region, including Crumbs & Whiskers in D.C.’s Georgetown neighborhood; Mount Purrnon in Virginia’s Old Town Alexandria neighborhood; Patriot Pawsabilities in Fairfax, Virginia’s University Mall; and Feline Felons Cat Cafe in Waldorf, Maryland.
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