This shop is the cat's Meow Meow

To make it clear that this tent is not for, say, a small dog, the cat tent at Meow Meow is decorated with lots of little drawings of cats. ''No dogs allowed'' this little tent seems to be saying.

Or possibly the popular phrase, ''Cats rule, dogs drool.'' Meow Meow co-owner Jordan Geltzer of Allentown, N.J., says the little tent might not appeal to all cats.

You have to know the personality, he says.

If you're looking for a slam-dunk, any-cat gift, he says, check out the store's catnip-related items. There are mice toys packed in compressed catnip (four for $5.50), a sleeping mat filled with catnip ($16.99) and even a catnip ''cigar'' ($4.99).

The store features organic, pesticide-free Ratherbee brand catnip, he says.

Sometimes cat toys don't engage cats because they aren't interesting enough, Geltzer says. ''They're not necessarily made to the cat's perspective. The toys that we have are all kitty-tested and designed to engage the cat.''

''A cat is an incredible animal,'' he says. ''Its senses are amazing.''

Tapping into a cat's nocturnal nature are $1.99 glow-in-the-dark pom poms that work for six hours, says Geltzer, who runs the store with his daughter, Marah, and his fiancee, Lisa Marie Ipsaro.

Items that appeal to a cat's touch include extra sturdy scratching posts and groupings of scratching posts and perches known as ''kitty condos.''

If you don't have a sturdy scratching post for your cat — one that stays in place when your cat goes to work on it — your pet is more likely to seek out a piece of furniture, Geltzer says. Cats are looking for something that ''is solid and it doesn't move so they can do all the stretching and pulling they want. It's not that they're trying to aggravate you'' by ruining the couch.

Items that appeal to a cat's sense that it is the absolute greatest thing going include leather and rhinestone collars made in Paris that cost between $28 and $38.

Meow Meow, which moved from its original New Hope location on Main Street near the Lambertville bridge to a building about 100 feet away at 13 North Main St., also has cat-themed products for people, including: jewelry, ceramic plates and bowls, wind chimes, figurines and other collectibles and even sleek hand bags.

Particularly useful items for the design conscious are cat beds covered in rich fabric ($49.99).

For an extra $25, you can have the beds custom made with the fabric of your choice so they match your design scheme.

Cats might not know it's Christmas but business is brisk at the New Hope store these days and the Meow Meow Web site (www.meowmeow.com), Geltzer says.

''People buy their pets things for Christmas in a huge way,'' he says.