Somewhere in the northern stretches of the Colorado Springs suburbs, enveloped by trees, is a tony neo-Victorian house, painted sky blue with a white wraparound patio and a picket fence enclosing an expansive green yard. It’s a stunning Saturday in the middle of May, and there’s a party going on.
The roughly dozen women in attendance, most in their early twenties, are wearing an assortment of slip dresses, gowns, and corsets, all inspired by Marie Antoinette-era fashion. They recline on blankets in the grass, while in the parlor some sit delicately on upholstered chairs as a man plays classical piano. Other women clatter across the porch in high heels. The handful of men are dressed up too, in puffy shirts, vests, hats, and formal pants, shoes and riding boots.
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The gathering’s been billed as a tea and cake party, but there’s free-flowing champagne and open use of marijuana by some. In most respects it appears to be a run-of-the-mill Colorado garden party — until you spot the furry ears and tails worn by all the females.
We are at The Chateau, a residence otherwise known as the Cat Girl Manor, and often called “the Playboy Mansion of the kitten play community.” Kitten play is a sub-sect of the BDSM universe, and, according to Chateau photographer Jeff Lawson, “It’s a whole lot more serious than regular cosplay,” when people dress up like fictional characters from pop culture. “They really want to embody the personality of a cat,” Lawson says, “and that’s really fun. It’s amazing how many ways they can use the word meow in a sentence, and you know what they’re saying.”
Though there are some males in the community who will take on a kitten persona — donning ears, tails and collars — most that do are women, and the lengths to which they run with their alter egos vary.
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“For me, being a kitten is all the time, even if I don’t have the ears on,” says Miss Jenni Kitten, 20, who, like all the other women on The Chateau grounds, asked to be referred to by her “performer name,” citing privacy concerns. Jenni, a lanky apprentice mechanic with jet-black hair and piercings in her nose, lower lip, and belly button, observes that some in the kitten play community are only comfortable in their kitten roles at events or in their respective bedrooms. But she has identified as a cat since she was in elementary school, when she thought, “If I believed hard enough, I could grow whiskers and ears and a tail.”
Jenni says she eventually discovered others who identified as kittens, as well as foxes, bunnies, ponies, and other animals. Today, Jenni more specifically calls herself an “alley cat.” “Other people [put] me in the ‘stray kitten’ category, because when you don’t have a master — or a ‘dom’ — you’re considered a stray,” she says. “But I don’t like thinking about it like that because I’m not lost. I want to be single; I like where I’m at.”
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The term “master” is used throughout the BDSM community, but its definition is a complicated one. Though masters — who are males, while female masters are called “mistresses” — exert complete control over the lives of their submissive “slaves,” they are also tasked with taking care of them. In the kitten play community, some slaves may have been “collared” by a master, and might literally wear collars to signify such ownership.
I point out to Jenni that some charge women who are sexually submissive with pushing feminism back. “The thing about being a submissive,” she responds, “is that they really, truly have all the control.” During sexual encounters, she continues, “the master never actually does anything that the submissive does not want. Everything has to be communicated beforehand, and boundaries need to be respected.” As far as collaring goes, Jenni says for some it’s a big deal, a true display of care and trust so important that there are collaring ceremonies coordinated, similar to weddings.
There are numerous reasons why those in the kitten play community choose to personify felines. Some told me that they, like cats, feel as though they are cute, playful and soft. Others note that they possess an undeniably feline temperamental nature and a feistiness about them — or, as Lawson puts it, “They do claw, and they do scratch.”
“They’re very alluring, sleek creatures. They’re very beautiful in their own right; they command a sense of respect,” says the party’s hostess, Isibella Karnstein, of cats and, correlatively, kitten play participants. Karnstein is 28, busty and blonde, and she lives at The Chateau. Today she’s wearing an outfit featuring a wide white hat, stockings and big heels, as well as a blue corset that’s the same shade as her home. She throws around words like “sophisticated” and “refined” in outlining cats’ personalities as well, both real and pretend. This doesn’t mean that the women at The Chateau crawl around, purring incessantly — though there’s some of that.
Offering glimpses of heightened cleavage, the chatty kittens snap selfies for social media and formally pose for Lawson, the self-described Chateau “Cat Herder,” a title he earned for his ability to wrangle the kittens for photo shoots. Some of his images offer a hint of homoeroticism as the kittens cuddle and crawl, others just look like straightforward headshots — if not for the ears.
Karnstein essentially colors The Chateau as a sexy social club where like-minded, cat-tailed individuals can get together and enjoy themselves on a monthly basis. As the Chateau’s “madam,” Karnstein sees kittens as standouts in the BDSM community because of their sometimes-fierce independence. To illustrate her point, she poses a metaphoric question about real-life pet kittens: “Do you own the cat, or does the cat own you?”
Karnstein gravitated toward the BDSM and fetish community during her late teens, while still living just outside London, where she was born and raised. She’d attend parties at various clubs and marveled at how some people dressed very elaborately, like the sci-fi Victorian goths of the steampunk movement, in their top hats, tights and monocles. “I was wearing ears and nobody else was doing it, so I had nobody to hang out with,” Karnstein says, sitting in The Chateau’s parlor, champagne glass in hand. She then constructed the now-defunct website Kittenplay.net as a way to meet others who might share her predilection for dressing up as a cat. “Thousands of people came to the website. Obviously I was not alone; it was a real affirmation for me.”
In December 2014 she founded an online magazine called The Chateau, which is “dedicated to cat girls and the kitten play lifestyle,” as its Facebook page describes it. By then Karnstein had been living with her partner, Daniel, a 45-year-old entrepreneur in the aerospace engineering industry, outside Colorado Springs. The pair began opening up their estate to kitten play parties.
“As a society we’re very sexually repressed,” says Kiri Branford, a prominent model for The Chateau magazine. “We’re not taught about sex topics; they’re taboo. I think if we have a more sexually liberated society, most people would find that they have some sort of fetish, and that their fetishes aren’t necessarily fetishes because they’re not uncommon.”
Branford — an attractive 23-year-old with bright eyes and Angelina Jolie lips, who by day is a buyer for a health food store — says being a kitten does not define her every waking moment. “It doesn’t normally happen while I’m at work, but then at home the feelings of wanting to be a kitten come and go,” she says. Branford has two female partners, one of whom is married to a man. “Sometimes I will go find my collar and bring it to my mistress and put it at her feet, or I will nuzzle her and purr. Or perhaps she decides to put my collar on, normally that kind of triggers it. Or she’ll refer to me as Kitten, and that often does the trick as well.”
“There’s kitty play to the extreme,” Miss Jenni Kitten says, “where they’re collared and restrained, and they only get to eat at certain times of day. They’re provided a food and water bowl, and they actually have to use a litter box.”
Jenni says she personally doesn’t partake in those activities, but concedes: “Food is very important to me. Not just buying me dinner, but physically feeding me.” She also says she has a butt plug with a cattail attached to the outer end – a staple in the kitten play community. “It’s mainly for the bedroom, and that’s what I do to identify with it, to go a little farther,” Jenni says.
Dave Mate, a representative of Purrfect Playmates — a U.K.-based e-commerce sitecatering to kittens around the world — says the business has steadily grown, with increased demand and online presence of the kitten community. The site offers nearly 30 different kinds of colorful tails, available with butt plugs as an add-on option. There are also pages on the site dedicated to upselling, urging buyers to customize their tails and ears with chains and charms and “a touch of sparkle.”
* * *
Attending her first Chateau party today is Belladonna, a 20-year-old with striking eyes that appear to change color — from light blue to gray to green — at various times of the day. She’s wearing a red and black corset with fishnet stockings that have holes throughout. “I wanted to portray the classic Victorian style, but with an edge,” she says, lightly laughing. There are also black-and-red ears puffing out atop her head, accessorized by a dainty, Romanesque gold-leaf crown, and she has a clip-on tail hanging from the back of her skirt.
A student at Western State Colorado University, where she’s studying graphic design and business, the Colorado Springs resident just had her online application to The Chateau community approved, allowing her to attend kitten play parties for free, have access to the corresponding Facebook group, and model for the magazine.
The kitten application to The Chateau requires four recent, professional-looking photos — selfies are not welcome — of the prospective model, who must be at least 18 years old. “We have no size or weight limit,” Karnstein asserts. “I do not believe in that. All I care about is how you are presenting yourself and if the look matches the magazine.”
There’s a written component to the model application as well, with a prompt that asks: “Why do you want to join The Chateau?” Karnstein says the response should highlight the kitten’s personality.
“I think there is an emphasis [in America] — at least for millenials and young girls – that being bitchy is a positive trait,” Karnstein says. “I’d really like to encourage a sisterhood that is actually friendly and, instead of bringing each other down, through gossip or whatever, we actually bring each other up.”
As Belladonna puts it: “You’re expected to uphold yourself as a member of The Chateau, which is all about elegance, grace, and, of course, kitten play.”
Karnstein says she receives an average of 900 applications per month, and of those she accepts about ten, who are awarded achievement collars for the number of parties they attend, the more they pose for the magazine, and for generally representing the brand favorably. By design, the models do not pose nude in The Chateau’s online magazine, which is released monthly and, according to Karnstein, has about 6,000 subscribers who pay for various tiers of access.
Sitting next to Karnstein in the parlor is “Sir Christopher,” a Denver-based artist who helps her organize events and who also writes for the magazine. “Playboy has been done, Penthouse has been done, Hustler has been done; what is there left when you expose everything?” he tells me. “What if you have a little more mystery? What if you have a little more elegance [and] make it more theatrical? That’s more appealing.”
Like each of the women I interview at the party, Belladonna speaks with noticeable self-assurance, and, like many in the BDSM community, she also has multiple romantic partners: a boyfriend, a girlfriend, and a master, each with a different relationship dynamic and “focus,” as she puts it. She tells me she’s invited a male friend today, someone she’s talked with about exploring a physical relationship.
“People ask, ‘How do you not get jealous?’ and of course [polyamorous people] get jealous,” she says. “It’s just like any other relationship; you’re going to have doubts, but if you’re communicating it will work out.”
Belladonna expresses frustration over the fact that polyamorous folk have “such a bad reputation,” saying, “It’s a bit of a sad truth, but our society does shame people who are more open with their sexuality, even though our media is saturated with sexual imagery. It’s very hypocritical.”
Body-shaming or “kink-shaming,” where a person puts down another for individualized sexual expression, is another concern for Karnstein and many others throughout the BDSM community. It can happen from within or be propagated by outsiders, especially on social media and in comments sections on the web.
“If anybody even throws around a word like ‘fat’ in the group, they’re gone,” Karnstein says. Like in any social construct, conflicts occur, and Karnstein says she’s sometimes played the part of peace negotiator with varying degrees of success. She’s also barred kittens from events and online community pages for — err — catty behavior. But Karnstein insists most of the kittens know bullying and all types of shaming are wrong, “and you get to see how empowering they are for each other,” she says.
For her part, Belladonna engages in activism work on her college campus, raising awareness about the LGBTQ community, and offering support to community members living throughout the small, surrounding city of Gunnison, Colorado, where such resources are scant.
* * *
The party at The Chateau begins to liven as more people arrive, and the music switches over to the industrial genre, pumped from a P.A. speaker on the porch.
Jerry, a tall, blue-eyed bald man with a narrow tuft of white hair between his lips and chin, arrives, draped completely in black. One by one almost all of the guests embrace the 53-year-old Colorado Springs native.
“I’ve known Isibella for six or seven years; we met at a steampunk ball, and eventually she invited me to a Chateau party,” recalls Jerry, who is soft spoken and works at a call center for the state’s health insurance marketplace. “I guess I did pretty well because I keep getting invited back.”
Jerry and the rest of the men at The Chateau are called “gents.” To have the pleasure of the kittens’ company, males are expected to provide the utmost respect toward them.
Sir Christopher, an avid reader of Gentleman’s Quarterly, says the types of men who should be part of the community are genteel, chivalrous, and trustworthy.
“We are extras,” Jerry says of the gents. “They have to not give off the creeper vibe.”
Karnstein says there’s a screening process for male guests at Chateau events. Gents are required to purchase tickets – there was a $100 fee for the Marie Antoinette tea and cake party. But if a model wishes to bring a boyfriend, Karnstein is “more than happy” to meet them and offer a kitten-plus-one. Other men can have a kitten vouch for them, or talk to Karnstein or Sir Christopher directly, sometimes in online chats or even in person over dinner. “I do pride myself on the safety of the girls,” Karnstein continues, “and creating a community where they can really be themselves and feel good about it. They can take off their clothes and run around, it’s not a problem.”
Jerry observes that he is “generally one of the older gentlemen who are invited,” and admits to being socially awkward, though the kittens help him “to get past that.”
“They know I’m a flirt,” he continues. “I am a bit of a dirty old man, obviously, but I know how to rein it in. I don’t ogle; I don’t stare. I try to be pleasant.” He says that he can also operate as a “safe person” for kittens who trust him, acting as a buffer between them and someone who is making them uncomfortable at a party.
Though Jerry doesn’t choose to identify as an all-out master, he has been a “daddy” to a kitten before, considering himself more of a “caregiver” to her than an overwhelmingly domineering figure. “Daddys,” or “Daddy Doms,” more strongly consider the emotional state of their submissives, and can act as a guide, confidant, and protector, as well as someone there to boost their confidence.
* * *
Aside from monthly parties at The Chateau, Karnstein also throws galas at clubs, mostly in Downtown Denver, some that are open to the public and others just for community members. From time to time she’ll host them at swinger clubs where sex might be on the menu. Such establishments are generally alcohol-free and require identification and completed club membership paperwork to gain entry. They’re also strictly for couples. All this keeps the swinger spots above legal foregrounds. A party at a private residence like The Chateau, on the other hand, can be an anything-goes affair.
But, Sir Christopher quickly chimes in, “It’s important to understand that we’re not an escort service or that we’re selling sex.”
“A lot of people perceive us as that,” Karnstein adds. “The look of [The Chateau] is in some ways very bordello-esque, with the corsets and all that stuff, but the majority of it is modeling, like Playboy.”
She recently formed a dance troupe that performs kitten-themed burlesque, or what they call “purrlesque.” Jeff Lawson, the “Cat Herder,” is the director. “I’m excited,” he says of the future of The Chateau. “Isibella’s events and parties are growing. I really want to get to a point where we can do a nationwide tour with the purrlesque and just have fun with it.”
“We do like to create an environment that is sexually positive for women, where they can express themselves however they want to,” Karnstein says, before adding: “I feel like a teacher sometimes, preaching safe sex and things like that. A lot of times girls don’t know about that.”
Karnstein says Chateau regulars will frequently get together — no ears or tails necessary — and do the same things as any other gaggle of friends: go out to eat or drink or see a movie. “There’s not just a sense of community,” she says, “there’s a bit of a sense of family, too.”
There have been incidents of stalking at The Chateau and other kitten play events, by both males and females. Karnstein says she’s had to ban such offenders from the social group, and says she even called the police on one man who was repeatedly asked not to show up at Chateau parties. Such incidents are quite unnerving, and in her mind ruin the party for, not only the target of the stalking, but also the friends obligated to console them.
* * *
The sun has set and The Chateau is crawling with kittens and gents. Belladonna’s guest puts on a fire-breathing show on the lawn. There are group toasts in the kitchen, one of which kitten Corinne Victoria, 24 and pregnant with her second child, observes, but does not partake in. Her husband walks up behind her and lightly scratches her upper back, as if to comfort her and say hello. She purrs back.
“Excuse me, Mr. Reporter,” is suddenly projected in my direction. It’s Chateau model Kitty Kameleon, whom I’d spoken to for a little while on the porch this afternoon. She told me she’s polyamorous and has three partners – two men and a woman. She has also been gifted miraculously large breasts by some wonderful god that has chosen to smile upon me at this moment. “Do you mind if I take off my corset?”
I assure her I have absolutely no issue with it, but a problem arises. In spite of her best efforts, she can’t release two final clips located just underneath her bust.
“Can you help me?” she asks.
I try, first pushing together the opposing sides of the corset, no different than she’d been doing a moment ago.
No luck.
I look her in the eyes and say, “Is it O.K. if I put my arm down the front and try and pull it together from the inside?” Apparently our candid talk a few hours ago helped formulate some trust for me, because she let me in. After a couple determined minutes — genuinely working to get the damn clips undone, and going out of my way to not betray her by groping her flesh – her boobs are freed. She scurries off, and carries about topless the rest of the time I’m in attendance. Later, I overhear her telling one gent that I was totally cool, and didn’t overstep my bounds.
A few minutes later, hostess Isibella Karnstein appears, slowly walking down the winding staircase just to the right of The Chateau’s foyer. Many kittens and gents watch her in awe. She is a site to behold, now wearing a deep-red corset with criss-crossing, pink satin laces, garters, and thigh-high stockings. Her high heels are clear; her breasts are completely exposed save for pink pasties hiding her nipples.
She thanks me for coming to The Chateau and for my interest in the kitten play community.
She wishes me well, and, as a parting shot, says, “The party’s just beginning.”
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