Bengal Brew / Wolf & Bear

So you don't have a dog or a cat right now. But you've had one once, in your early childhood and you've never since really asked your parents to go get you a new one again until you're all grown up. These days, however, you've been seeing yourself watching cat and dog videos all day and until 2:00 A.M, even sharing them with friends and family. You've finally decided to visit a cat and dog cafe and see for yourself if the rave is real and what it's all about.

I grew up in a household whose habitants treat cats almost as nicely as how people treat rodents and cockroaches. Why, they're all looking and acting the same way - grimy, smelly, they barge in uninvited, steal food, piss on your clothes, give birth to their offsprings on your shoe boxes. They simply just weren't welcome.

However, something otherworldly happened at Bengal Brew / Wolf & Bear in Cubao. This was the first time I ever held a cat and had one sitting on my lap. It was surreal.

This is a Savannah cat. The most enormous cat I have ever seen in person. It stood three feet, has leopard print skin, and its "wild" appearance took me a while before I got the courage to sit next to it. Its "too huge for a cat" body was already quite unsettling when it curls up in a corner, but when it licked little Savannahs in the corner, I thought it looked softer and less menacing.

I was enthralled, gazing around the cats' den. The cats were everywhere. Less than ten minutes in, I looked around and found my boyfriend fondling someone else! Apparently this Bengal cat was so smitten by my Jancee, so it took upon itself to sit on his lap and make itself comfy (I get ya, girl! But be thankful you're only a cat!).

I couldn't take enough decent photos of the cats (not a legit photographer), but they situated themselves in odd corners. Some were fighting (at least that's what it looked like), some were near the ceiling, some were licking their private parts. Cats were simply bizarre.

Not long after, we headed to the dog area. There was quiet and calm, not at all what we expected. Apparently, we walked in during their afternoon nap time!

So yeah, no warm hugs, no pats, not even hi's and hello's from these guys, huhu. It was pretty sad, but part of me felt some sense of relief because honestly, I was a bit scared, they were all huge, and as my pessimist mind was telling me then, they could have easily tackled me if they decided I'm not good enough to waste their time. I'm a bag of bones, as you can see.

Moments later, one of them stood up because we kept walking over him since he was lying on the floor unlike the rest of the dogs who had their own areas. His name was Cooper, a Great Pyrenees. You can tell from his expression he was merely tolerating our presence. We clearly disrupted his afternoon slumber.

Just kidding! Cooper was nice! But he was picky. He only paid attention to Jancee.

Aaaand, ofcourse, as with humans, I figured puppies hate afternoon naps as much as kids do. These guys kept chasing each other, until we came in. They came after us! It was a hoot! They were such darlings. 

  

On our way out, someone we didn't see when we came in was lounging by the door, as though greeting guests. The enchanting Samoyed, a ginormous ball of fluff, Koda. She definitely made it harder to part with Bengal Brew.

Needless to say, we're coming back to visit. ♥

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