Seattle Meowtropolitan — Restaurant in Seattle

UPDATED, from 2 to 5 stars (plus a 6th for listening and really engaging!)

GREAT CAFÉ, LOVELY, WELL-CARED FOR CATS

UPDATE: This is an update that I'm very glad to write. I’m updating because Meowtropolitan responded to the original review (still at the end) at length, deeply and thoughtfully … recognized that what we wanted was real conversation about who we are as cat parents and the kind of home we provide, and they engaged with us, even enjoying the reference to Brazil. Meowtropolitan acknowledged issues in their adoption process that they’re working to correct. We had a lot of back and forth about the needs and personalities of the bonded pair we wanted to adopt.

A week ago on 1/18/25 we brought them home. They’ve both been eating and drinking fine from the get go. One of them has been out and about and getting into things from her second day here; the other spends her days under the bed in the master bedroom, but comes out at night to play with her sister and snuggle on the bed. They’re both settling in much faster than George and Fiona did, who had been feral. I’ve included a couple of pics of the one who is out and about.

If I could give Meowtropolitan a sixth star at this point, I would. I know all too well how easy it is to create a process with unintended, problematic side-effects; such processes are everywhere, and we all know how often we have to live with the side-effects, because processes take on a life of their own, and most folks reject the corrective feedback. As much as adding two lovely cats to our family, and enjoying Meowtropolitan’s café and ambience, we’re grateful that they engaged with hard-to-hear feedback and pivoted. :-)

SHORTENED VERSION ABOUT OUR HOME: The enriching physical home you see in the pics is not all we offer. Cats being very social, our five cats are a primary source of enrichment to each other, much more than we people are. We humans are just a source of food and brushing and other kinds of gentle stroking and attention they can’t get from other cats. :-)

ORIGINAL REVIEW OF OUR INITIAL EXPERIENCE: We saw pictures on the Meowtropolitan site of a lovely bonded pair, and applied right away. We heard nothing for two months, and decided to take a trip up so the staff could meet us. As it happened the pair we saw had not yet been adopted out, and we were told the adoption manager would be back in about 30 minutes. About 10 minutes in, we were asked who we were, and once they checked our earlier application, the entire interchange got surreal … always polite, professional and friendly, but it was clear that their entire process is one of vibe-checking, and we somehow hadn't vibed right.

So we got handled. We were told (a) that the adoption manager “might” talk with us, and then when we asked after the adoption manager and went over to chat, we heard (b) that we “might” hear from them mid-January, (c) that there was another bonded pair in line first for adoption, (d) that one of the pair had asthma (not in the online description), (e) that if we weren’t selected, we’d have to fill out an entire application for each subsequent pair… like Terry Gilliam’s Brazil.

In all time we were there, no one asked us about our cats, about the home we give them, about why we're wanting to grow an admittedly large-ish cat family. The adoption manager’s take on our vibe—fraught as all unchecked vibe-checks are with projection and implicit biases (age, I’d guess, in our case)—was all they seemed to need to know. By the same token, no one did us the basic courtesy of just telling us plainly that they didn’t think we were suitable, so we could have some conversation, or at least not waste time waiting for what will never happen. The decision was made in the Meowtropolitan Star Chamber, and that was that. Considering how many cats desperately need good homes, especially bonded pairs, the experience was a bit surreal and dehumanizing.

UPDATED BOTTOM LINE: Great café, fantastic space for cats, and a devotion to successful adoptions that supersedes their egos so that Meowtropolitan...

My first cat café experience is with Seattle Meowtropolitan. Now a member, I spend an average of 4 to 6 hours a week working there with my laptop.

There's nothing more charming than having the a soft stealth of a cat sit on your laptop key board and interrupt your work. I welcome the natural pauses they insist on making possible.

50 minutes for $19 or you can sign up to become an annual member for $99. I know: it's the best deal in Seattle. I don't know how long that bargain lasts but should probably run now walk to sign up for yourself or gift a friend a membership: they will love you forever for such a gift.

There seem to be about 20 cats freely roaming up high on the catwalk or along the wall shelves or down low playing with guests who are happy to brush twitch toys on the floor.

If you come around dinner time, sometimes thoughtful staff will let guests hand out the dishes of food and we are up close and personal watching the cats enjoy their supper with gusto.

The personalities of the cats emerge quickly and become recognizable after a short period of time. Dewey responds to positive affirmation by running on his wheel. Depending on the time of day you will catch kittens playing pounce with each other or napping curled up like fur balls, their sides falling ever so softly and rising with their breaths.

The staff team is truly fantastic: friendly, professional, constantly cleaning and engaging our questions. I'm having a moment and can't remember all their names but Mari, Anna, Clara, Rachel and Rachel. (Mari and Dom are constantly cleaning while engaging the cats) and volunteers like the two Sarahs doing health checks are wonderfully informative. If you're new, there's an abundance of thoughtfulness that goes into their sharing of wisdom and guidelines for engaging the cats.

I was here when a staff person was training a new volunteer with a disability and I was impressed with the thoroughness and thoughtfulness with which the staff person Clara walk through the volunteer responsibilities, continually checking in with their comfort level to gauge readiness for the next learning.

The Cafe staff make some excellent drinks. The shortbread cookies are charming and they have kitty macrons. It would be great if they had more savory options but right now it's limited to chips. We are allowed to bring drinks into the play area. Come early so you can watch the cats through the window and decide how you want to approach. They really do love to play.

They also host yoga with cats or Meowga and sound baths here. Look for them on...

Sadly I probably would have given 5 stars as the cats are super sweet and well taken care of but I just wish that same care and consideration was extended to myself and the 3 kids I brought, one of them being my 15 yo daughter for her birthday. I gave myself what is usually plenty of time to get to the location as we were driving from the “burbs” but as I was driving an accident had occurred on the freeway completely backing up traffic to a stand still. I called BEFORE the appointment stating this unforeseen situation and asked if I could reschedule to a different time or even day….And yes I know the cancellation /rescheduling policy but that shouldn’t apply to a totally unforeseen event that prevented me from getting there in the first place! I was told on the phone as I was still trying to get there that they couldn’t accommodate me and that they would try to add a couple minutes on our 30 minute slot. Well I even took the TOLL bridge to try and get there on time costing me even more money only to finally make it with about 10 minutes left in the time slot. A few minutes were added but same for everyone else that had already enjoyed the cats and at the same time all of us being told we had to prepare to leave. This was totally NOT the experience I paid good money for! And I am completely dumbfounded why an exception couldn’t have been made for us when I called! Funny how we are supposed to and are even expected to give businesses extra patience and understanding from COVID yet the patrons who actually pay money for a service receive zero compassion when something out of our control occurs! And since you require us to prepay for the visit to pet CATS I did not get what I paid for. I don’t have $50 to throw out the window thanks to this ridiculous inflation! Where did the customer service go in this world?? The cats are beautiful and obviously well taken care of and in a wonderful place that may find them new loving homes and my money pretty much went to support that which I’m fine with. I am just upset how we were treated in this instance that was totally out of our control. Very...