Visiting Maison De Moggy: Edinburgh’s Cat Cafe

One of the things I really wanted to fit in during our trip to Edinburgh last week was a visit to Maison De Moggy – the cat cafe.

For those of you unfamiliar with the concept, a cat cafe is… well, it’s exactly what it sounds like, basically: a cafe filled with cats. And, I mean, if there’s something better than that in this world, then I honestly don’t know what it is. Seriously: cats! In a cafe! Or, as Terry put it, when I first suggested the visit: “Cats?! In a cafe?!”

I soon won him over, though, and so did the cats – but I’m getting ahead of myself here. So, Maison de Moggy is located in West Port, just off the Grassmarket: it costs £7 for an hour’s entry, during which you can also buy tea/coffee and cakes, although the staff were keen to stress to us that there’s no obligation to buy anything if you don’t want to – you’re free just to hang out with the cats, if you prefer.

As for the cats, there are 12 in total, and all are super-friendly and totally used to people, so you can make as much fuss of them as you like, although you’re asked not to try to pick them up, wake them up if they’re sleeping, or give them any food. The cats are free to roam around the cafe at will, but they have plenty of places to hide in, plus their own little “escape hatch” leading to a private cat area at the rear of the building, which they can retreat to any time they like. (And honestly, I wouldn’t blame them: I sometimes wish I had an escape hatch in social situations, if the truth be told…)

So, I tell you all of this just in case you ever want to pay Maison de Moggy a visit, but let’s be honest: if you’re anything like me, you only got as far as the word “cats” before scrolling down to look at the photos, didn’t you? Well, here they are…

Had enough cats yet? Wait: what am I saying? OF COURSE you haven’t…

(Little Elodie in the final photo is a Sphynx cat, who had her own little set of tartan pyjamas to wear when she got cold: it was quite literally, the cat’s pyjamas. And yes, I HAVE been waiting over a week to make that joke…)

Needless to say, we thoroughly enjoyed our visit to the cat cafe, and were really impressed by how knowledgeable the staff were about the cats, and how much they obviously care for them all. If you’re a cat lover in Edinburgh, it’s well worth a visit: and I’ll leave you now with my favourite photo from our time there:

Hee!