Maison de Moggy

Meet Alain, he is one half of a pair of sibling cats that live at Maison de Moggy; Edinburgh's first cat cafe.

I was very excited about the opening of a cat cafe. I desperately wanted to go to the London one and even (half-heartedly) considered opening one myself in Scotland last year with some friends.

I am exceptionally happy now that I did neither of these things. I am not a fan.

Don't get me wrong, the cats were awesome, they were clearly being cared for, the security was brilliant, the hot chocolate was nice and my Oreo cupcake spectacular. It would have been a lovely place, were it not for the other people.

The cafe was at full capacity when I went (25 people). 24 of which were madly stalking the cats around the room, desperation reeking off them as they tried to get the cats to take notice of them. Anyone who knows cats knows that they will do as they please and the more you try and engage, the less they'll want to.

I sat with my hot chocolate, my cake and my notebook and wrote. And watched. Some of the cats chose to go high out of the reach of prying hands, some hid, some of the more relaxed slept. But it was patently clear that there was no escape from the click (and sometimes flash) of the camera - that every single person had in their faces.

I felt hypocritical and guilty as I took a picture of the sleeping Alain - so I left before my hour was up. Home now to Wes. I won't be going back.