Depending on your disposition, the words “cat café” may conjure images of either a mewling, unhygienic nightmare or a purring wonderland. PeePee’s Katzencafé (the unfortunate handle springs from a nickname of one of cheery proprietress Andrea Kollmorgen’s own tomcats) might come as a let-down to both camps.
Aimed to be a local take on the petting farms of East Asia, the place is swamped in cat memorabilia, its cutesy sensibilities more kitschy than Hello Kitty.
However it is, surprisingly, not thronged with felines – only slender tabby toms Pelle and Caruso greet guests, tails aloft. The reason behind this dearth? German bureaucracy: there is in fact a per-square-metre limit on cat occupation, and with two, the nook-like premises have reached their maximum kitty quota.
The café came about through a happy accident. The young brothers (found in a box by charity Katzen in Not) were handed on to Andrea and co-owner Alexandra Duus, passed an official aggression test with flying colours and were swiftly installed as sole lords of the manor.
On top of its two amply sociable furballs, PeePee’s offers chess, locally produced cake and unexpectedly good coffee (from €1.90). You can’t bring your own cat along, but it just might be a wonderful place to nurse a Kater.
Originally published in issue #119, September 2013.