# I pit the restaurant with a cat **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [November 21, 2008, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-restaurant-with-a-cat/473866 "2008-11-21T17:17:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![mswas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e99b99/32.png) [@mswas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mswas)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2008, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-restaurant-with-a-cat/473866/41 "2008-11-21T22:37:47Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > A restaurant with cats is\* more\* likely to attract my patronage than one without. Especially if they climb into your lap and purr. Quit making shit up. ;p ---
**Author:** ![timbicile59](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/aeb1de/32.png) [@timbicile59](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/timbicile59)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2008, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-restaurant-with-a-cat/473866/42 "2008-11-21T22:41:26Z")
> [@smiling\_bandit](#): > > A lot of people (myself included) are allergic to cats. Well, actually, their spittle, which they wipe all over themselves. I won’t have a huge reaction, but I might well get watery eyes and snart coughing if one hangs around me. Their dander goes everywhere. > > Now, if they keep him in the bac office, it’s not my problem. But it’s probably not sanitary to have them all over the restaurant or even :“just” in the back, which in most places means the _kitchen_. “snart coughing” made me snart laughing. ---
**Author:** ![timbicile59](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/aeb1de/32.png) [@timbicile59](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/timbicile59)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2008, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-restaurant-with-a-cat/473866/43 "2008-11-21T23:11:38Z")
> [@smiling\_bandit](#): > > A lot of people (myself included) are allergic to cats. Well, actually, their spittle, which they wipe all over themselves. I won’t have a huge reaction, but I might well get watery eyes and snart coughing if one hangs around me. Their dander goes everywhere. > > Now, if they keep him in the bac office, it’s not my problem. But it’s probably not sanitary to have them all over the restaurant or even :“just” in the back, which in most places means the _kitchen_. “snart coughing” made me snart laughing. snot + smart ---
**Author:** ![tds1273](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/df705f/32.png) [@tds1273](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tds1273)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2008, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-restaurant-with-a-cat/473866/44 "2008-11-21T23:12:02Z")
Well… It getz teh mice, it can haz Doner Kebabz my first ever lolcat effort; i need to go shower now… ---
**Author:** ![timbicile59](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/aeb1de/32.png) [@timbicile59](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/timbicile59)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2008, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-restaurant-with-a-cat/473866/45 "2008-11-21T23:12:40Z")
dammit ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2008, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-restaurant-with-a-cat/473866/46 "2008-11-22T02:34:34Z")
> [@psychonaut](#): > > How do you know the cat was in the kitchen? If it wasn’t, then no problem. But restaurants do usually have fairly free access between different areas of the premises (swing doors, etc.) because people carrying trays and so forth need to get quickly from one area to another. If a cat habitually resides in “the back” of a restaurant, and if it can manage to get into the dining room undetected, it seems fairly likely that it can also get into the kitchen. > [@psychonaut](#): > > I’m not going to get worked up about a cat in a restaurant, or make assumptions about the proprietors’ compliance with health code regulations, unless I see solid evidence that (a) the jurisdiction prohibits cats in restaurants, or certain areas thereof, and (b) the cat was actually observed to be in such an area. In the US, pets (except service animals) are generally barred from indoor seating areas of restaurants, as well as food preparation areas. So according to what the OP reported, the cat was indeed observed where the law says it shouldn’t have been allowed to go. Now, it’s certainly possible that this was a fluke incident and that the restaurant owners are usually very careful about code compliance. But I’d have been a bit taken aback by finding a cat in a restaurant too. Sure, it’s charming to see the down-home atmosphere of, say, pub culture in a different country, with pet ferrets sitting on restaurant tables licking beer bottle caps, but that sort of thing in the US would generally suggest a rather cavalier attitude toward health code regulations. I’m not saying that our system is necessarily better, but them’s the rules at present. ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2008, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-restaurant-with-a-cat/473866/47 "2008-11-22T03:05:02Z")
Meh, there is grosser stuff than cats in any commercial kitchen. Anyway, all that food you are eating is either dead animals or plants that have been sitting outside for months with the birds shitting on them and god knows what else. Life is dirty. When did our culture become some uptight? ---
**Author:** ![mswas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e99b99/32.png) [@mswas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mswas)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2008, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-restaurant-with-a-cat/473866/48 "2008-11-22T03:12:21Z")
> [@even\_sven](#): > > Meh, there is grosser stuff than cats in any commercial kitchen. > > Anyway, all that food you are eating is either dead animals or plants that have been sitting outside for months with the birds shitting on them and god knows what else. Life is dirty. > > When did our culture become some uptight? The 50s and 60s. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2008, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-restaurant-with-a-cat/473866/49 "2008-11-22T04:13:06Z")
> [@even sven](#): > > Meh, there is grosser stuff than cats in any commercial kitchen. Lame attempt at threadshitting. There’s worse stuff going on in the world than pretty much **any** topic that turns up in a Pit thread, after all. > [@even sven](#): > > Anyway, all that food you are eating is either dead animals or plants that have been sitting outside for months with the birds shitting on them and god knows what else. Life is dirty. Yes, which is why we tend not to eat dead animals straight out of the slaughterhouse or dirt-covered plants with the birdshit still on them. We have health code regulations in commercial food preparation establishments precisely in order to provide some reliable defenses against the natural dirtiness of the food chain. > [@even sven](#): > > When did our culture become some uptight? Responsible food sanitation is not “uptight”. Cats carry food-borne pathogens such as _Campylobacter_, and cats are not capable of learning responsible food sanitation procedures. Therefore, health code regulations banning cats from areas where food is commercially prepared or served are quite reasonable. ---
**Author:** ![vintageloveletter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/8e8cbc/32.png) [@vintageloveletter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vintageloveletter)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2008, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-restaurant-with-a-cat/473866/50 "2008-11-22T05:07:56Z")
> [@psychonaut](#): > > So don’t eat in restaurants with cats. Its not exactly like they had a sign outside advertising felines wandering around their establishment. Had we seen the cat before I sat down and ordered, then yeah, we would have left and gone to one of the many other restaurants in NYC which I assume don’t have cats. I was never worried about the cat shitting directly in my food (OMG!), but its possible he was having a field day licking his asshole and then went on to lick something that ended up on someone else’s table. Like I said, I don’t know if the cat was in the kitchen, but if it was just roaming around, I wouldn’t be surprised if its been in there. I didn’t ask where “the back” was because I had finished my meal and there wasn’t much point. I’m not an asshole so I didn’t say anything to the server and I have no intentions of calling whoever would be interested in fining a restaurant for keeping animals. I just won’t be going back because I don’t like eating in restaurants with cats. ---
**Author:** ![DooWahDiddy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9bcb4/32.png) [@DooWahDiddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DooWahDiddy)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2008, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-restaurant-with-a-cat/473866/51 "2008-11-22T05:26:31Z")
> [@vintageloveletter](#): > > I didn’t ask where “the back” was because I had finished my meal and there wasn’t much point. I’m not an asshole so I didn’t say anything to the server and I have no intentions of calling whoever would be interested in fining a restaurant for keeping animals. I just won’t be going back because I don’t like eating in restaurants with cats. Well can you at least tell us the name of the restaurant so we don’t go there either? ---
**Author:** ![TVeblen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/4bbf92/32.png) [@TVeblen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TVeblen)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2008, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-restaurant-with-a-cat/473866/52 "2008-11-22T05:30:45Z")
[QUOTE=even sven] When did our culture become some uptight? [/QUOTE] When you joined the Peace Corps, coincidentally enough. Or possibly predated by Anthony Bourdain parlaying his restaurant insider-snarker persona into a television gig. He bravely discovered wondrous foods in the seldom-traveled parts of the globe, comparing them very favorably in terms of authenticity and worthiness to the food prepared by his own stateside restaurants, shut down for multiple health code violations. Somewhat back on topic…I like cats, a lot, but the shit thing? Unfortunately, yeah, it’s a factor though of course they don’t shit on food. That’s silly. Paws, litter box…it’s there. (I don’t worry about it because often I drop a kiss on top of my dog’s nose and she sneaks a quick lick-kiss right back.) But there’s also the feline tendency, to quote the ineffable Eve, to “play the viola”, i.e. hoist a hind leg skyward at an impossible, boneless angle–and usually at the moment of maximum public exposure–then thoroughly and loudly tongue-wash the ruthlessly exposed bunghole. Which may be followed by a yawn, an aloof stare or, worst of all, a discreet burp, then a thorough, fastidious licking-down of all fur within easier reach. Which is all said and intended to be taken with humor, btw. But gotta reluctantly admit, as someone who’s allergic, being around where cats are will block up my nose, my eyes sting and water and my throat tighten up. The physical symptoms actually get better after prolonged exposure–and that process sure ain’t fun–but casual contact in a restaurant could make me pretty miserable if a cat had just been a _cat_ around furniture, plates, food, etc. The presence of critters is usually a sure attraction for me though. It’s just my bod’s unfortunate reaction to cat spit. ---
**Author:** ![vintageloveletter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/8e8cbc/32.png) [@vintageloveletter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vintageloveletter)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2008, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-restaurant-with-a-cat/473866/53 "2008-11-22T05:47:47Z")
> [@DooWahDiddy](#): > > Well can you at least tell us the name of the restaurant so we don’t go there either? Sure. It was Turkish Cuisine at 631 Ninth Avenue between 44th and 45th streets. ---
**Author:** ![Fantome](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e9c0ed/32.png) [@Fantome](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fantome)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2008, 6:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-restaurant-with-a-cat/473866/54 "2008-11-22T06:00:46Z")
It seems that cat’s wandering wasn’t an isolated incident. > **[Zagat Stories](https://zagat-stories.chase.com/?VID=8&R=97557)** > > Zagat Stories tells inside stories about the food we love and the people who make it ---
**Author:** ![Hostile\_Dialect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e495f1/32.png) [@Hostile\_Dialect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hostile_Dialect)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2008, 7:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-restaurant-with-a-cat/473866/55 "2008-11-22T07:43:16Z")
BTW, **psychonaut** , that is _so_ cool. That’s a really cute picture, too! I searched for “cats in Turkey” on Wikipedia with no real luck, then Googled it and ended up on webshots looking at pictures of cats in Turkey, and then I realized that all I was really looking for was cute pictures of kitties. So here are some gratuitous pictures of Turkish cats: [![Imgur](https://live.staticflickr.com/3287/3048476899_413f2eafa3_b.jpg "A sunny perch") ](https://www.flickr.com/photos/rcolonna/3048476899/) [http://www.flickr.com/photos/25297331@N07/3048176149/](http://www.flickr.com/photos/25297331@N07/3048176149/) [http://www.flickr.com/photos/chearn73/3047907809/](http://www.flickr.com/photos/chearn73/3047907809/) [![Imgur](https://live.staticflickr.com/3238/3046461620_9ea9ef463f_z.jpg "Attraction of opposites") ](https://www.flickr.com/photos/anastassiyalukyanova/3046461620/) [http://www.flickr.com/photos/emrahcelal/3042661709/](http://www.flickr.com/photos/emrahcelal/3042661709/) [![Imgur](https://live.staticflickr.com/3165/3039162245_d2c228f240_b.jpg "Kitty begging for a snack, Büyükada") ](https://www.flickr.com/photos/erinsiffing/3039162245/) [![Imgur](https://live.staticflickr.com/3273/3038132274_c9f50ce7d6_b.jpg "IMG\_5212") ](https://www.flickr.com/photos/photosdetibo/3038132274/) [![Imgur](https://live.staticflickr.com/3240/3030897292_c47a909b32_b.jpg "Cat in Hagia Sophia") ](https://www.flickr.com/photos/nicnac/3030897292/) [![Imgur](https://live.staticflickr.com/3020/3026522239_731358a660_b.jpg "cat and collie") ](https://www.flickr.com/photos/nonamecreative/3026522239/) [http://www.flickr.com/photos/glynnis/3022497759/](http://www.flickr.com/photos/glynnis/3022497759/) [![Imgur](https://live.staticflickr.com/3056/3023151468_82d7b1b262_z.jpg "The Turk Cat") ](https://www.flickr.com/photos/cyberwlf/3023151468/) [![Imgur](https://live.staticflickr.com/3233/3021697453_1e2c6a846c_b.jpg "Chatons") ](https://www.flickr.com/photos/brunmarde/3021697453/) [![Imgur](https://live.staticflickr.com/3147/3021695433_bc52a73be2_b.jpg "Chaton") ](https://www.flickr.com/photos/brunmarde/3021695433/) [![Imgur](https://live.staticflickr.com/3245/3021695187_a9cd18db5f_b.jpg "Chaton") ](https://www.flickr.com/photos/brunmarde/3021695187/) [![Imgur](https://live.staticflickr.com/3177/3017147447_d8d2497a92_b.jpg "Kitteh") ](https://www.flickr.com/photos/erinsiffing/3017147447/) [![Imgur](https://live.staticflickr.com/3289/3017107731_ddd488809b_b.jpg "istanbul cat") ](https://www.flickr.com/photos/carpe_feline/3017107731/) [![Imgur](https://live.staticflickr.com/3187/3015924277_2f42c0ddf1_b.jpg "Merhaba Kitty (Hello Kitty, Turk style)") ](https://www.flickr.com/photos/erinsiffing/3015924277/) [http://www.flickr.com/photos/missedspring/3009856681/](http://www.flickr.com/photos/missedspring/3009856681/) [http://www.flickr.com/photos/missedspring/3009852347/](http://www.flickr.com/photos/missedspring/3009852347/) [![Imgur](https://live.staticflickr.com/3027/3006837996_34895594a0_b.jpg "sweet dreams kitty") ](https://www.flickr.com/photos/zoutedrop/3006837996/) [![Imgur](https://live.staticflickr.com/3059/3005855961_f19826d043_b.jpg "Just a whole load of cats") ](https://www.flickr.com/photos/damian_corrigan/3005855961/) [![Imgur](https://live.staticflickr.com/3026/3006637602_2ff1fb7569_b.jpg "Just a whole load of cats") ](https://www.flickr.com/photos/damian_corrigan/3006637602/) [![Imgur](https://live.staticflickr.com/3051/3006652664_7b582b9dcc_b.jpg "Just a whole load of cats") ](https://www.flickr.com/photos/damian_corrigan/3006652664/) [![Imgur](https://live.staticflickr.com/3169/3005803949_e1bd6b9614_b.jpg "Just a whole load of cats") ](https://www.flickr.com/photos/damian_corrigan/3005803949/) [![Imgur](https://live.staticflickr.com/3170/3006639082_85747ebd40_b.jpg "Just a whole load of cats") ](https://www.flickr.com/photos/damian_corrigan/3006639082/) [![Imgur](https://live.staticflickr.com/3002/3006642274_69de9ceac1_b.jpg "Just a whole load of cats") ](https://www.flickr.com/photos/damian_corrigan/3006642274/) I am in love with Turkey. > [@MrDibble](#): > > A restaurant with cats is more likely to attract my patronage than one without. Especially if they climb into your lap and purr. Seconded! 🆒 Obligatory link for San Diegans and people who will be in San Diego in the near future: [http://www.rebeccascoffeehouse.com](http://www.rebeccascoffeehouse.com) > [@psychonaut](#): > > I’ve never heard of any game, song, or spiritual practice by the name of Psychonaut. I’d tell you where the username actually comes from but I’m pretty sure that in my case that would be in violation of the SDMB rules. Can you PM me the answer? ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2008, 10:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-restaurant-with-a-cat/473866/56 "2008-11-22T10:13:34Z")
> [@TVeblen](#): > > When you joined the Peace Corps, coincidentally enough. Yeah, actually I’m pretty sure thats it. At the restaurant I went to last night I saw the owner skinning a rabbit on the sidewalk, the blood flowing down the side of the (outdoor) restaurant and into the street. My standards are beyond out of wack at this point. ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2008, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-restaurant-with-a-cat/473866/57 "2008-11-22T13:05:16Z")
> [@Hostile\_Dialect](#): > > So here are some gratuitous pictures of Turkish cats: …Have you ever been in a Turkish Pound? ---
**Author:** ![Hostile\_Dialect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e495f1/32.png) [@Hostile\_Dialect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hostile_Dialect)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2008, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-restaurant-with-a-cat/473866/58 "2008-11-22T13:59:18Z")
I’ve never been to Turkey, so no. ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2008, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-restaurant-with-a-cat/473866/59 "2008-11-22T14:08:39Z")
It was an obscure joke. Sorry 'bout that. ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2008, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-restaurant-with-a-cat/473866/60 "2008-11-22T14:11:41Z")
> [@Fantome](#): > > It seems that cat’s wandering wasn’t an isolated incident. > [Chase Online](http://www.zagat.com/Verticals/PropertyDetails.aspx?VID=8&R=97557) Amazing. Nothing like having the people from Zagat show up at your restaurant and see a cat roaming around! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-restaurant-with-a-cat/473866.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-restaurant-with-a-cat/473866.md?page=4)