Cat Cafe in Bristol?

[Cathedralcat]

Hi,
I'm doing some research for setting up a Cat Cafe in Bristol. Basically a Cat Cafe is a coffee shop where you sit and relax with your favourite hot drink, a newspaper and plenty of cats to cuddle up to! They wander freely with customers in an enclosed area of the Cat Cafe and would also have access to private sleeping areas (a customised cattery at the back of the Cat Cafe).
Cat Cafe's are not everyone's cup of tea (excuse pun) but they are very popular with Students, those who cannot keep cats and anyone else who loves cats. The cats would be hand reared from young and preferably obtained from a Cat Rescue centre. They would grow up as a clowder in a happy and healthy environment with plenty of Cat Cafe Hosts on hand to keep an eye on them and customers. As long as food preparation areas are kept safely away from the main cat area and good hygiene is maintained then health and safety is acceptable. There are various Cat Cafes that are being opened across Europe including one in London.

Currently looking at funding and investment opportunities, commercial locations and doing some research. I'd be interested in finding out if you think Bristol is ready for a Cat Cafe?

 

[story]

Are the cats ready for it, though?

 

[Cathedralcat]

If my 3 cats are a benchmark then I'd say yes. They will do absolutely anything in exchange for cuddles and fuss. Of course it depends on the type of cat. Kitty temperaments would need to be fully monitored and assessed before being made a fully fledged Cat Cafe recruit. Despite what most people think Cats can be very social both with humans and other cats but again it depends on the cat.

 

[editor]

I love cats but I'm not sure I'd treat a cat cafe as anything more than a novelty, and would most likely visit once and then frequent a cafe that's more focused on making great coffee and offering a good work/social environment.

I guess if you're setting up in a touristy area you might do well though.

 

[King Biscuit Time]

What will you do with the cats when this idea goes the same way as fish pedicures and tripe shops?

 

[Dan U]

Whole thing sounds horrendous to me.

However, someone has done one in Totnes

http://www.totnescatscafe.org.uk/

They could do with getting a better website though.

 

[el-ahrairah]

do you have a contingency plan for what to do with the cats if the caff goes bust?

 

[Cathedralcat]

What will you do with the cats when this idea goes the same way as fish pedicures and tripe shops?

Always good to speak to all ends of the optimism spectrum including realists
With a good touristy/student location, decent coffee, good environment, wifi, events to keep people interested and a robust business plan with money in the kitty to keep things afloat for the first 3 years then it's highly unlikely that the Cat Cafe will flounder. If the worst comes to worst I will take the cats in myself, I'm used to having quite a few around.

 

[Cathedralcat]

Whole thing sounds horrendous to me.

However, someone has done one in Totnes

http://www.totnescatscafe.org.uk/

They could do with getting a better website though.

Also check out the one in London: http://ladydinahs.com/

 

[Geri]

How do you stop the cats from getting out?

 

[el-ahrairah]

they're tied to the counter by their tails.

 

[Cathedralcat]

How do you stop the cats from getting out?

The Cat Cafe part would be away from the exit entrance with a double door mechanism that only opens when the previous door is closed.

 

[xenon]

It's not for me. I quite like cats but don't like touching animals if I'm about to eat and wouldn't go out of my way to go somewhere that had loads of cats running about as a selling point. How do they deal with the hygiene in these places. Where are the litter trays. Do they smell. Maybe cat café people don't mind a wiff of cat shit with their frapachinos.

 

[Dan U]

i certainly wouldn't put brown sauce on my bacon sarnie

 

[Puddy_Tat]

the cakes might be interesting...

as for the litter tray issue - I'd have thought the litter trays would be near the 'private sleeping areas' rather than in the cafe. i mean, most people who live with cats don't keep the litter tray in the dining room...

 

[Cathedralcat]

It's not for me. I quite like cats but don't like touching animals if I'm about to eat and wouldn't go out of my way to go somewhere that had loads of cats running about as a selling point. How do they deal with the hygiene in these places. Where are the litter trays. Do they smell. Maybe cat café people don't mind a wiff of cat shit with their frapachinos.

No it's not for everyone but I appreciate the view. Litter trays would be kept in a private cat toilet area away from customers and food, the cats would have free access to that area whenever they require.

 

[wiskey]

I saw something about this on fb a while ago. We laughed heartily... We didn't realise it was for real

I think the only money to be made, certainly in my bit of brizzle is in the mummy/baby friendly coffee shop... And babies and cats don't mix.

 

[King Biscuit Time]

To be honest - this is starting to sound a bit seedy. Like a kind of upmarket tit bar but with cats.

 

[story]

To be honest - this is starting to sound a bit seedy. Like a kind of upmarket tit bar but with cats.

Kitty bar ftw

 

[Geri]

I wouldn't trust my cat in a café, she often jumps up and licks butcher's toast.

 

[Puddy_Tat]

 

[sheothebudworths]

they're tied to the counter by their tails.

 

[Gerry1time]

Bristol's full of cafes, and new ones seem to be opening the whole time. It's not a market I'd be wanting to get into right now tbf.

 

[stupid dogbot]

Yeah. There are a LOT of cafes already.

 

[nogojones]

What will you do with the cats when this idea goes the same way as fish pedicures and tripe shops?

If things get very tough I'm sure they could pass them off as chicken

 

[stupid dogbot]

Way ahead of you...

 

[Ground Elder]

Always good to speak to all ends of the
With a good touristy/student location, decent coffee, good environment, wifi, events to keep people interested and a robust business plan with money in the kitty to keep things afloat

I'm a bit concerned about this money in the kitty thing.

 

[Agent Sparrow]

I love cats, but wouldn't go to a cat cafe because of concerns regarding the cats' welfare. Yes some cats are sociable, but you're going to have to pick the cats very carefully, and you won't be able to tell from kitten hood. We had two sister cats as kittens, one is admittedly a little tart, but the other was terrified of all humans apart from me. They were both socialized well as far as I can tell (firstly by their Battersea foster home, and then by us), sometimes it is just personality. What are you going to do with the cats that aren't best suited to being a) around lots of other cats, and b) around lots of people, c) some of whom might be a bit grabby?

 

[sim667]

TBH I wouldn't go to a cat cafe, mainly because I have my own cat.... They're hardly a difficult animal to look after.

Now rent a dog to take for a walk, I'd be all over it.

 

[King Biscuit Time]

You're also going to get a couple of jokers in every day asking for 'Cat, Egg and chips' or something equally hilarious.