On Saturday, make your highest cultural aspirations a reality by purchasing glorious cat art for your house, apartment, or beloved sisal condominium. The inaugural Cat Art Fair, brought to you by Mauhaus Cat Café and Lounge, spills into the street outside the café on Saturday between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m.

The free event features live music and art for sale from a variety of local artists and Mauhaus employees—including the owners, Ben Triola and Dana Huth.

“This is our first one,” Triola says. “We’re hoping to make it an annual event.”

× Expand Courtesy of the artist (Laura Deuser)

It’s a fair question to ask if a Cat Art Fair is art about cats, or art by cats.

“I actually want to try that,” says Triola. “Not this year, but next year if I have the time. I’ve seen it done. It takes patience and a bit of organization.” (Perhaps the understatement of the millennium.)

On offer will be works by humans for and about cats. They’ll include paintings, computer generated works, sewn plush toys with catnip, and pictures by an on-the-spot cat caricature artist. Artists First, the Maplewood nonprofit promoting art to veterans and disadvantaged and disabled people, has several artists in the show.

If you’re a cat person, or you’ve visited the Internet ever, you’ll be zero percent surprised to learn that lots of local artists reached out to Mauhaus, hoping to find a home for their cat-themed works.

× Expand Courtesy of the artist (Lauren Bishop)

But the cat café is quite cozy. This as it should be, of course—it’s a haven for snuggling with warm furry sunbeam-chasers while you sip delicious drinks! But it doesn’t leave a lot of room for artwork on the walls. (And much of the vertical surface is given over to cat-friendly climbing features anyway.)

“We have very limited wall space,” says Triola. But they wanted to accommodate the artists’ requests, to showcase the vibrant cat art community in St. Louis.

“This gives us an opportunity to invite several artists and let them showcase their work,” he says.

It’s not up for debate that cats rule the Internet, and that cat art is elevated art. (RIP Internet Cat Video Festival—our hearts must somehow go on without you. And in fact, you can go watch Cat Videos Live! next weekend at the Pageant.)

“A dog is instantly your best friend, loves you no matter what,” he says. “Cats are like, way more complex than that. They have these convoluted personalities. You have to earn their trust and their companionship.”

In a room full of cats, he says, most people will find a cat to identify with.

“This cat is me,” he says.

Cat Art Fair, Saturday, September 30. 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Free. 3101 Sutton, outside Mauhaus Cat Café and Lounge. Mauhaus will be open during the festival.