Cat Cafe MON AMI — Restaurant in Bratislava

WARNING - owners don't care if guests mistreat the cats, please see their reply

Original review:

Lots of activities for the cats, and they were adorable, but there was not enough supervision and it was sad to see them being mistreated by guests. Couldn't see anywhere the cats could escape to.

Lots of children and teenagers running around poking cats with sticks, bopping cats on the head as they ran past, and adults holding cats down with a phone 5cm in front of the cat's face to get a good photo. People bothering cats that were hiding or sleeping, children carrying cats around.

I had to break up a fight between two cats. Never saw any staff except at the entrance, so people and children behaved however they wanted, the rules were completely ignored.

You need at least one member of staff in each room, to watch the guests and stop them mistreating these poor rescue cats. It's not enough to say "you're responsible for your children" - there were also adults being invasive and forceful.

Please increase your supervision if you actually care about the cats you have rescued more than people getting good photos.

EDIT response to owners reply:

Interesting reply - if I really cared about the cats, I would be supervising them? Nope, that's your responsibility. If YOU cared about the cats, that's what you'd be doing. You have two rooms, even one member of staff every 10 minutes would have made a difference, but people were allowed to treat them however they wanted. And I'm afraid I'm only in the city for a few days, so what happens when I leave? Hmm.

Being a non profit is no excuse, and it doesn't remove your responsibility. In fact, you have a greater responsibility. The fact that you have 'rescued' traumatized cats from a war zone and put them in a place where they get further traumatized by being molested by humans for hours and hours without a break, and surrounded by other traumatized cats fighting over this small overcrowded space, is terrible. It would be bad enough if these were typical cats who had come from happy homes, but you're allowing this to happen to cats who are already traumatized and need sanctuary, safety, and care. What you are doing is not rescuing, it is harmful. I am horrified by your response, excuses, and lack of accountability.

You must take responsibility when exposing these cats to the public, it is not the responsibility of guests to police for you. If you don't have enough staff, maybe don't let so many people in. Or tell people the rules when they enter. Make them CLEAR and visible. Or don't allow children. Or require people to donate when they enter. Recruit more volunteers. Give the cats a break in the middle of the day. So many options that aren't just turning your head to look the other way. You can do better.

I'm glad to hear the cats have a private space. Are you referring to the litter box room (which I did notice), or was there another private space, that's not a cat toilet, that I didn't see?

It's a shameful response which shows you really do not care about their welfare.

What measures will you put in place to ensure they don't get poked and hit and carried around, now that I've...

This café has two floors: the ground floor is bright and pleasantly scented, while the basement smells strongly of litter boxes, is dark, and feels uninviting. Entrance costs €3, and without any purchase, it rises to €7, which I find excessive. Despite the entrance fees, the prices for drinks are moderate to high.

There are too many different cats here, which seems to stress them and often leads to fights. The cats don’t have a proper private retreat where they can be undisturbed by visitors — only small hiding spots. The staff are constantly busy, as the café is usually full to overflowing, and they do not pay sufficient attention to the cats or their well-being. There don’t appear to be any rules for children, who often shove toys into the cats’ faces or chase them. While the staff try to indicate which cats have dietary sensitivities, visitors often ignore these warnings, and even cats with sensitivities are given the same snacks. Clearly, a lot is going wrong here. The cats are lively and don’t seem outright unhappy, but there’s a constant sense of restlessness and a slightly uncomfortable atmosphere overall. On the positive side, it’s never boring because of the large number of cats, and the café also helps rehome the cats into new...

The place is nice and the cats seem looked after, however I don’t like that there isn’t a staff member in the room making sure people are respectful of the cats privacy. There are kids hitting the cats with toys, running after them and so on. People are leaving the doors open, there is a busy street right next to it. Also, one of the cats wanted food from the counter (which is perfectly normal of a cat to do) and she tried going through the window into the kitchen and the staff woman grabbed her by the skin in the neck to get her off. Which is known that you cannot do that to a cat. I don’t think there is mal intent on the side of the staff, I just think there are more things to look out for if you want to run it ethically. I also hope the many different types of breeds are being looked after properly (sphinx, ragdoll, scottish fold and so on) Please do better. These are...