A purr-fect afternoon

A+nice+cup+of+kitty

localfoodtours.com

A nice cup of kitty

I found heaven on earth in Montreal, over fall break.

After a stressful soul draining first seven weeks back at college, I was desperate for an experience to reignite my faith in humanity and ability to feel true comfort and happiness.

Café Chat L’Heureux engulfed me in joy and peace as I walked through the yellow doors to be greeted by a wave of cats.

I have never been happier than while being wrapped in a blanket of cats while eating an amazing grilled cheese sandwich.

This cat café, located on 172 Avenue Duluth E, has some of the best comfort food and some of the most charming felines I have ever encountered.

I don’t remember much from my first few minutes after entering due to my cuteness coma. Once I came back to earth my boyfriend and I found a table with this sweet slumbering furball on it.

I immediately fell in love with two younger cats, Jaxson and Lexie, who were play fighting under our table and rolling over my feet.

I started bawling with happiness when one of them looked up at me with its big green eyes and leapt right up onto my lap.

Although the cats are the true celebrities here, the food deserves praise as well. Looking at the menu we found some intriguing options. I went for the Cat Lady because, well, you are what you eat. I also chose it because it just sounded too weird to pass up: country bread, fig jam, honey, goat cheese, cheddar and caramelized onions. It was one of the best sandwiches I’ve ever eaten.

My boyfriend ordered the classic grilled cheese and both of our sandwiches came with side salads.

A few of the other colorful menu options include the Cat Gentleman: country bread, feta, pesto, cheddar and grilled vegetables; and the Mexi-Chat: country bread, avocados, corn and tomato salsa, feta, red onions, cheddar and hot sauce.

Café Chat L’Heureux also offer salads, desserts and a variety of coffee drinks.

Smoothies named after some of the cats are also available. Two examples are the Milady: peaches, raspberries and maple syrup; and the Gustave: strawberries, banana, yogurt and honey.

The walls are covered in portraits of the cats and structures for the cats to play or rest on. While you’re eating you can pet the big sleepy cats near you and watch the young hyperactive cats play. The employees there will use fishing pole style toys and even a little lit up drone to get the cats really going. It’s a very relaxing environment with calm upbeat music and dim, warm lighting.

The Café Chat L’Heureux hosts eight cats, all coming from shelters from the greater Montreal area. Each was adopted for his friendly personality and ability to get along well with other cats and humans. The café is a modern shelter where cats have found a home adapted and conceived for their welfare.

The regular eight feline patrons—Luzerne, Luciole, Luna, Gustave, Chopin, Sheldon, Milady and Boris – are accompanied by new shelter cats who may either become permanent residents or get adopted by customers.

Owner Clement Marty expressed his passion for this café to us as we were leaving and thanking him. He said it’s always been a very comforting thing for him to be around cats and he is happy to be able to create an environment that provides that same comfort to many others.

On our way out, a cat named Mousse was performing some tricks with Marty. The cat did a high five, a low five, a head butt, roll over and jumped up onto Marty’s shoulders when he leaned forward. Once he was up there he stayed wrapped around his neck and kept licking his face while we were paying.

Our total for food was $38 Canadian ($29.23 USD), which was totally worth it.

My boyfriend had to pry me out of the café. I will likely be revisiting my new favorite place on earth nearly every weekend for the rest of my life.

Thank you Café Chat L’Heureux for helping me appreciate the three best things in life: cats, good food, and more cats.