At most cafés, ordering a muffin is a pretty simple affair. But at Catnap Café in Christchurch, New Zealand, that humble pastry comes with a very important disclaimer.
Because if you dare to order a muffin here, you’re officially entering Bea’s territory.
“She WILL climb on you to try and get your muffin,” the café warned in their now-famous Muffin Disclaimer. “It WILL hurt.”
Yes, Bea — a sweet but utterly muffin-obsessed cat — had earned such a reputation for pastry theft that the café had to issue a public warning.
“She is an adorable, friendly girl,” the Catnap team wrote on Facebook, “but also a total menace!”
Bea arrived at Catnap Café as a five-month-old rescue with an irresistible personality and a wobbly little walk. She has cerebellar hypoplasia, a neurological condition that makes her movements unsteady — but if you ask Bea, there’s nothing she can’t do.
“Right from the start, she’s been determined, confident, sassy, and full of character!” the café wrote. “She’s very energetic, chatty, and playful.”
And when it came to muffins, no one was safe.
Bea quickly learned how to compensate for her wobbly balance by hurling herself, claws and all, toward her target. That usually meant climbing up a startled customer’s leg in pursuit of a delicious baked good.
“She has a tendency to throw herself at things and climb them,” Catnap Café explained. “It’s pretty cute — but if you’re the target, it can be a little painful.”
For more than a year, Bea was the café’s chaos queen — delighting visitors, stealing bites, and charming everyone she met. But one day, her muffin-stealing reign came to a perfect end when a couple walked into the café and instantly fell in love with her.
Even better, they already had experience caring for cats with her condition — including Bea’s soon-to-be brother, Timmy, who also has cerebellar hypoplasia.
“We can only imagine how much wobbly trouble the two are getting up to together!” Catnap Café wrote after Bea’s adoption.
Though the café staff and visitors miss her dearly, they couldn’t be happier knowing Bea finally found her forever home — one where her quirks, her confidence, and her muffin obsession are loved exactly as they are.
“We do miss her very much,” the café wrote, “but we’re happy to say she has accepted the position [of adoption] permanently.”
No one knows how many muffins Bea managed to steal during her time at Catnap Café — but one thing’s for sure: she stole far more hearts.
To follow Bea’s former café friends (and any future muffin bandits), visit Catnap Café on Facebook.
