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Georgetown’s Newest Hot Spot Has Cats

5507692-cat-mSince the demise of Rhino, there’s been a hole left in the heart of Georgetown social life that no Club Monaco can replace. While Crumbs and Whiskers isn’t exactly a 1:30 a.m. destination, it adds a special flare to the D.C. social scene and a chance to make a connection with a special furry someone.

Crumbs and Whiskers, conveniently on O Street by Wisconsin Avenue, is D.C.’s first cat café. Intended for human visitors to mingle with cats, it’s a great spot to hang out with friends, eat, study and get to know some new felines in a relaxed setting. Upon my first visit this week, I couldn’t help but notice similarities between this cat café and the D.C. bar experience.

I first met the bouncer, who made me wait outside for a bit. They don’t open until 4 p.m. on Mondays and the establishment was packed to catacity with 22 felines. Luckily I had gone online ahead of time and made myself a reservation, so I got to cut the line and start assessing the scene.

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There were cats everywhere.

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You got kitties all blinged up to show their attitude.

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You got kitties dancing on furniture.

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You got kitties passed out, straight napping on the floor.

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You got kitties going hard on bar food at the end of a long day.image_1

One of the more forward kitties came up to me and started DFMOing (I never even knew her name).

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Tensions got pretty raw at one point, as Rigatoni felt provoked that another kitty was crashing in on his territory. It was unclear who threw the first punch, but there was some mild paw action that followed.

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Both cats walked away unscathed, but Rigatoni’s opponent shot some death glares from across the room.

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Mitty and I really hit it off. A part of me felt like he was only hanging with me for the photos, but at least he provided a great Instagram to boost my cred.image_2

And if you’re lucky, you can even go home with one at the end of the night. No, really, all the cats are up for adoption.

Don’t feel bad if you go home alone though—Wingo’s is right next door. 4E is a proponent of drowning sorrows with food.

So what are you waiting for? Book your reservation today and start making moves.

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Photos: catprotection.com, Keaton O’Neil/The Hoya

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Qdoba is Outie

PEACEQDOBADear Qdoba,

As Celine Dion once said:

Near, far, wherever you are
I believe that the heart does go on
Once more you open the door
And you’re here in my heart
And my heart will go on and on
And I love Burritos

So you’re closing and I keep flashing back to when you said forever and always. It rains in your kitchen; everything is wrong. It rains when you’re here, and it rains when you’re gone. ‘Cause I was there when you said, “Burritos! Always!” You didn’t mean it, baby.

I’ll just have to go to Chipotle now. On second thought, that doesn’t make me very sad at all. PEACE QDOBA!

Now that we’ve sufficiently moved on via Celine and Taylor, it’s time to look to the future: Alice and Olivia is opening in Qdoba’s place. Why couldn’t these two stores just make an agreement to sell burritos and adorable dresses together? I would never leave.

Here are some Alice and Olivia ensembles that may be better than Mexican food:

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Note that we are choosing $500 dresses here over $6 burritos. So this may not be an even match or a smart choice — but look at that puffy skirt!

Moral of the story is: spend money on expensive dresses when Mexican food eateries break your heart.

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The Best Thing to Happen on Super Bowl Sunday (Other Than the Super Bowl)

Puppy Bowl 2014Chips? Check. Five large pepperoni pizzas? Check. A friend to help you finish them? Check. Now what? The worst part about Super Bowl Sunday is all of the hours before the Super Bowl when you have nothing to do. Everybody knows there’s no point in expending energy or doing anything but sitting on the couch watching the game.

At least that used to be the case, until some genius in a fancy apartment in Manhattan invented the Puppy Bowl. You heard me: It’s like if football and puppies mixed and the result was a lot of puppies running around being adorable. And there’s even a kitten halftime show, featuring a particularly bold kitten parachuting into the stadium. Think it can’t get any better? How about the fact that, aside from a few (hopefully) animal-trained humans, the referees are largely penguins standing next to large blocks of ice. I honestly couldn’t make this up even if I wanted to.

You might be asking why such greatness exists on Earth right about now. The Puppy Bowl is staged to raise awareness for pet adoption, and all featured puppies and kittens (60 and 30, respectively) are up for adoption! If you like what you see, make a call and you could have a Puppy Bowl champ to love. This year’s lineup is expected to be the most talented bunch yet. Without further ado, here are our top four picks for the 10th annual Puppy Bowl, airing Feb. 2 at 3 p.m. on Animal Planet. Be there or it will be your biggest regret of 2014.

american-eskimo-puppies brody

Name: Brody
Breed: American Eskimo Dog
Age: 15 weeks
Why we pick him: Brody plays football simply because he loves football. He is happiest running around the stadium, chasing after the ball. That passion will take you places.

brittany-spaniel-puppies-560x403 laney

Name: Laney
Breed: Brittany Spaniel Mix
Age: 13 weeks
Why we pick her: Her back leg is ready to pounce. This girl’s got game and she isn’t afraid to show it. Better watch out, pups.

basset-hound-560x340 lily

Name: Lily
Breed: Basset Hound
Age: 13 weeks
Why we pick her: Her eyes are so full of wisdom. She’s also got the largest ears of the bunch, so she is always in the know.

puppy-bowl-2014 abdiel

Name: Abdiel
Breed: Labrador/Terrier Mix
Age: 13 weeks
Why we pick him: He’s got his game face on. Always.

All Puppy Bowl photos courtesy of The Small Screen Scoop – Click the link to see the full lineup!
Cover photo: stuffpoint.com
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Bao Bao is Working Overtime

Bao BaoThe world, or at least Washington, D.C., can’t get enough of Bao Bao. Your little black and white cookie, who you may have played a part in naming, is working hard for her money, so you better treat her right. In other words, you should go to visit her. Now.

You know when every old person tells you the story about that time they went to a Rolling Stones concert the night before a midterm rather than studying and it was one of the best decisions they ever made so you really shouldn’t take college so seriously? You don’t have a midterm tomorrow. The reading you’re doing probably isn’t necessary. Visiting Bao Bao may become one of the best decisions you ever make, and then when you’re an old person talking to a young college student you, too, can tell them about the wild and crazy time you cut class to see a panda.

Ready to go? Great.

According to DCist, Bao Bao is working extra hours for her debut, so you can see her at the National Zoo from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. starting Jan. 18. But by Jan. 21, Bao Bao’s visiting hours will start later, at 10 a.m. (Not that any of you will really get there earlier than 10 a.m., anyway.)

If you absolutely can’t make it, then you’ll totally be missing out, because anybody who’s anybody will be there. But I guess you can watch this video from the National Zoo instead to try and understand a bit of the adorable fuzziness you’re missing out on:

Photo: blogs.ft.com, Video: The Washington Post
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The Fluffington Post

procrastinators guide

So you’re a news junkie, constantly checking for the next breaking story instead of doing, y’know, work stuff.

All that doom-and-gloom news can start to weigh a little heavy on your mind, so it’s good to throw in some light-hearted fare, and there’s no site quite as perfect for that as The Fluffington Post. Billing itself as “The #1 news source for breaking news and investigative journalism FLUFFY ANIMALS,” the Post is the ultimate source of cute animal pictures and hard-hitting news stories like “Puppy is nervous about first day of day care” and “Cat and Dog kiss on a dare.”

If you have one animal in particular that fills your heart with joy, they have tabs to sort out Puppies, Kitties, Bunnies, Birdies, Rodentia, Menagerie and, my personal favorite, Petflix! You’re even able to submit your own pictures and stories to spread some cute to the entire world.

So take a break from Huffington, and turn instead to Fluffington. You’ll thank me later.

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ALL OF THE BULLDOGS!

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This morning, campus was overflowing with puppy cuteness as Jack, JJ, Butler Blue II and, Butler Blue III waddled and scampered around. The mascot and mascot-in-training from Butler University have stopped by the DC area because of their game against GW and we thought a photo op of the very cute quartet was necessary! Butler is one of the names thrown out there quite a bit as one of our potential future conference mates, so we could be seeing quite a bit more of Butler Blue II and his successor Butler Blue III!

Photo: Leonel De Velez/The Hoya

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A New Baby Animal at the Zoo

The National Zoo welcomed a new baby gazelle into the world last weekend. And as The Hoya’s official baby animal lovers, we can’t wait to introduce you to the most adorable baby dama gazelle on this side of the Potomac. This male baby was born on September 4 in an off-site exhibit and will remain off-site for several weeks while baby and mother Fahima bond together.

Dama gazelles are found in the Sahara Desert and grasslands to the south, but are critically in danger. According to the National Zoo’s press release on Flickr, there are fewer than 500 specimens left in the world.

The baby, so far unnamed, is the second dama gazelle born at the zoo this year, but the first, who was born in July on exhibit, died when he was 13 days old. Fortunately, this baby appears healthy and active and is gaining weight while bonding with his mother.

The two will become available to the public later this fall at a mixed species exhibit, where they are housed with other dama gazelles and two scimtar-horned oryx. For more photos of this newest addition to the zoo, check out the National Zoo’s album on Flickr.