Thankee everybody! The cat cafe is a reasonably short bus ride away. They specialise in rescue cats, with a dozen or so special needs cats resident on the premises. It was packed the frigid afternoon I went in, and all of the available cats were being petted by 1-3 people each. I felt much put out at being thwarted for my cat fix, but I contented myself with an unavailable cat, that is, a cat that was perched on a high shelf and disdaining interactions. (Hence the querulous gleam in her eye, and the long time in the pose.)
Fun fact, the pale whiskers were put in in the digital stage, but they are actually a very pale blue-grey.
