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Are you looking for the best cat cafes in London? Eric and I have got you covered! Since we moved to London, we’ve been discovering lots of activities and couldn’t pass on checking out London cat cafes!
As a travel couple, we’ve been exploring cat cafes in several countries including Dublin’s cat cafe, Warsaw’s cat cafe and Porto’s cat cafe! We love going on dates to cat cafes and getting a bunch of snuggles in while we connect together. Actually, the first thing I searched for when we moved to London was “cat cafe London near me”! It turns out, the UK and London have plenty of cat cafes to fill our purrrr cups!
If you’re looking for a London cat cafe or a cat cafe near London, we’ve got you covered in this post with the following points:
- What is the top cat cafe in London?
- The best cat cafe London experiences
- The best cat cafe UK experiences near London
- Travel tips for visiting the cat cafes in the Big Smoke
- Everything you need to know as cat lovers London bound
- Reviews and tips to have the best London day with the cats!
Why going to one of the best cat cafes in London a good idea for couples
Since we’ve moved to London, Eric and I have been going on many adventures around the city. As you may know, London is filled with date opportunities for couples such as going to the theatre, going for dinner, fun walks, and more! But there is one date idea that we particularly love and that’s when we get to spend some time with pets! Whether that’d be walking alpacas in the UK or doing puppy yoga, we absolutely love spending time together with pets. So when we figured out that there were a bunch of cat cafes in London, we just couldn’t resist the idea! Here’s why we love going to cat cafes in London so much as a couple.
Romantic cat cafe date in London
Going to a cafe to connect with your partner is always a good idea. It gets you out of your usual setting which can prompt new conversation topics and outlooks on things. This promotes a better connection and being present with each other which is absolutely essential to any relationships. Cat cafes in London are excellent for that. As guests have to respect the cats, the cafes usually provide a calm and relaxing atmosphere perfect to connect with each other. One of the London cat cafes we visited even had a fireplace which made the atmosphere even more cozy!
In addition to the atmosphere, you’ll get the opportunity to spend some time with cats at the cat cafes in London. Whether you’re already familiar with cats or not, it’s a great opportunity to share the experience with your partner and live it together. On top of the obvious cuteness, you are making very soft memories together!
It allies three of our favourite things!
We particularly enjoy cat cafes as a couple because they mix three of our favourite things: cats (and especially petting cats), treats and a relaxing atmosphere.
Benefits of spending time with cats
In our experience, there are great benefits in going to a cat cafe in London with your partner. As we talked about above, it provides a setting where both partners are involved so it’s easier to connect together and be fully present.
In addition, if you’re anything like us, you’ll appreciate how relaxing cat cafes in London are. We have very busy lives so its nice to gather in a quieter place for a while.
And finally, cats are known for siphoning negative energies which is why they need to sleep so much! So if you’re feeling anxious or are having a hard time seeing things positively, then a London cat cafe visit might be just what you need.
Best cat cafes in London: Disclaimer and ethics
One could wonder whether a cafe cat London offers is ethical or if it’s just a money-pumping business taking advantage of the cats.
In our experience, cat cafes in London are ethical and respectful of the cats. We’ve visited a few cat cafes abroad as well and it always seemed like volunteers and employees put the cats first. Though we’ll go more into details into our own experience, cat cafes usually have strict rules when it comes to how guests should handle the cats.
Cat cafes London offers, in some cases, are the home of feral cats, meaning the cats were rescued from bad situations or from the street. This means they may have experience negative situations with humans in the past. To protect the cats and give them time to readjust to good humans, cat cafes usually have rules such as “not holding or grabbing the cats”, “not disturbing them when eating or sleeping, light strokes are ok”, “not feeding cats with human foods”.
When choosing a cat cafe, use your common sense. If the cats are feral and the employees tell you you can grab them and feed them all sorts of human foods, there is likely an ethical issue there.
Remember that not all cats are the same nor have the same experience. Volunteers and employees might tell you it’s okay to hold one cat but not another. In any case, make sure you listen to them explaining the rules before entering the cat lounge and always be gentle with them.
Cat cafes in London
In this section, we share with you the different experiences at each cat cafe in Central London including at a cat cafe London Shoreditch offers.
Lady Dinah’s cat emporium London, a cat cafe in Shoreditch
Lady Dinah cat cafe London offers is, for many, the best cat cafe in London. Lady Dinah opened in 2013 and was the first London cat cafe. It is a Shoreditch cat cafe that looks over Bethnal Green. It is named after the cat in Alice in Wonderland and so are a couple of the cafe’s cats. The cafe spreads over two floors and has got different rooms also names after Alice in Wonderland. This cat cafe Bethnal Green offers has lots to offer depending on your preferences.
First you can come to enjoy 90 minutes with the cats. You can make your session 60 minutes if you prefer.The cafe offers a selection of drinks and treats including tea and sandwiches. The cost varies between £15 and £20 for the 90 minutes slots depending on the day and between £10 and £13.50 for the hour slots.
In addition, the cafe offers afternoon high tea which is a bit of a tradition in England! The cafe also offers Happy Purrday, Cream Tea and Happy Meower sessions which include food and drinks with various length for slots. These are priced between £24 and £30 per person.
This London cat cafe Shoreditch offers also organises monthly Sip and Paint session with cats. If you’re looking for a date idea that’s a bit unusual, that’s a great one! These sessions last 90 minutes and are reserved for adults only. The price is £35 per person.
At Lady Dinah’s, you cannot hold the cats but you can play with them and pet them. You can meet the cats and find more information here.
- Address: 152-154 Bethnal Green Road, London, E2 6DG (closest station is Shoreditch Overground station for this cat cafe East London offers).
- Opening hours: Open daily 11am to 5pm
Java Whiskers Cat Cafe London, a top cat cafe Central London offers
java whiskers cat café has got to be one of the best kitty cafe London has to offer. java cat cafe London has two locations, one in Marylebone and one in Westfield.
We talk more about our experience at the Java Whiskers Cat Cafe London Marylebone here.
This cat cafe offers a range of different experiences. We definitely recommend booking as we saw people having to turn around! Java Whiskers is the only cafe in Europe to have a Kitten Lounge with cats between 9 months and one year old and the only kitten cafe London bound. On top, they also have a Cat Lounge with older cats.
When booking you’ll have to pick between the Cat Lounge, the Kitten Lounge and whether you want added treats and drinks with that. You can book slots for 55 minutes. 1 hour and 25 minutes or 1 hour and 55 minutes. Prices start at £14.99 per person. More information here.
- Address: Marylebone – W1W 6QF / Westfield White City – W12 7HB
- Opening hours:
- Marylebone: Sun/Wed: 10am to 8pm Thurs/Sat: 10am to 9pm
- Westfield: Mon/Sun: 10am to 9pm
Whiskers and Cream Cat Cafe London
Whiskers and Cream is one of the best cat cafes in London. It is a cat cafe North London offers on Holloway Road. If you’re looking for a cat cafe Archway has to offer or a cat afternoon tea London has to offer, Whiskers and Cream is you pick!
Whiskers and Cream is home to numerous cats include Molly-Rose, Amelia, Vanilla and Archibold. Some of the cats are rescues while some were simply donated to the cafe.
The cafe offers a range of drinks and treats including vegan, vegetarian, dairy-free and glute-free drinks and treats. Most products are sourced locally from London bound providers to reduce the cafe’s carbon footprint.
A cat cafe session at Whiskers and Cream lasts 90 minutes and comes with either a hot or cold drink. A session is priced at £16 per person above 11 years old. You can extend your session by 30 minutes (because why wouldn’t you) for £4.
The cafe also offers afternoon tea session for £31 per person and a version with unlimited Prosecco for £51 per person.
To save some money on your cat cafe London UK experience, you can book your experience during off-peak to receive a discount.
- Address: 593 Holloway Rd, London N19 4DJ
- Opening hours: Closed on Wednesday, Opened on weekdays from 10am to 5pm and on weekends from 10am to 5:30m
La maison du chat, a former cat cafe London Pimlico
Until December 2022, La Maison du Chat was a cat cafe Pimlico bound that was home to 3 to 9 rescue cats. As of the end of December 2022, La Maison du Chat is sadly permanently closed as a consequence of the 5 letter C word.
Cafes with cats in London
In addition to the cat cafes in London, we also noticed a couple regular cafes who own a cat. These aren’t your typical cat cafes but they do have a cat on the premisses. These can be a good alternative if you have children who are too young to access the London cat cafes or if you are a bit anxious with the idea of being surrounded by several cats.
ScooterCaffee
One of the places you can have coffee with cats London offers is ScooterCaffe. ScooterCaffe is a London cat coffee place which has one resident cat called Bob. It’s an eclectic cafe located in Waterloo. You can find more information here.
Tea House Theatre
The Tea House Theatre is a popular cafe located in Vauxhall across from Westminster. They serve anything from tea to scones and are popular among locals! Their Christmas pudding has got many stars in fact! There are a couple of resident cats in the cafe which delighted previous visitors. You can find more information here.
Verve London Pet Boutique & Cafe
Verve is a pet cafe located near Kensington Gardens. This a cafe where people can bring their dogs, cats and birds and enjoy some time with them. You can go without a pet and spend some time with them as well. Note that Verve is also a dog cafe London offers so if you’re allergic to dogs, this might not be the best place for you to go! You can find more information here.
Cat Cafes UK bound near London
Though there are 14 cat cafes in the UK at the moment, including those in London, we wanted to include some that weren’t in London but that weren’t too far from it either. We’re not sending you to Scotland but if you live on the outskirt of London, you may want to consider one of those.
Find a cat cafe Brighton bound
The Mad Catter Cat Cafe
With 16 resident cats (not up for adoption), the Mad Catter is definitely one of the top cat cafes England has to offer! It opened in 2019 and has been running ever since. The cafe organises sessions of one hour and fifteen minutes at the price of £3 per person. You can then enjoy time with the cats along with delicious treats and drinks such as chocolate brownies and scones.
Before showing up, you’ll have to book at 07904 973166. The cafe’s capacity is 20 people at once to preserve the cats. Find more information here.
- Address: 7 Station Parade Eastbourne BN21 1BE
- Opening hours: Thur/Fri: 10am to 5:45pm, Sat/Sun: 10am to 5:15pm
Pause Cat Café
Located in Bournemouth, The Pause Cat Cafe is another cat heaven for cat lovers! With 11 resident cats, the cafe serves delicious treats and drinks also mostly sourced locally. The cats are a mix of rescues and donations as some of their owners have died and the cats needed a place to go to. None of the cats are up for adoption and have found their forever home at the cafe.
When booking, you can choose your preferred table and booking costs £5 per person and sessions are generally for an hour.
The cafe also organises detective like events for children and high tea specials for events such as Valentine’s day. Find more information here.
- Address: 119 Old Christchurch Road, Bournemouth BH1 1EP
- Opening hours: Wed/Thursd/Frid: 10am to 4pm, Sat/Sun: 11am to 5pm
Find a Cat cafe Kent bound
Paws cat cafe, a cat cafe South London offers
Paws Cat Cafe is a cat cafe located in South London in Tonbridge. It offers one hour sessions of cat therapy aka cat snuggle sessions! The cafe offers a range of treats and drinks including gluten-free, vegetarian and vegan treats.
The cat cafe London’s Tonbridge offers is home to several cats including Simba and Nala, Tigger, Shadow and Bailey. The cats are a mix of rescues and the owner’s cats as well.
The hour session is priced at £5 exclusive of drinks and treats. You can find more information here.
- Address: 8 Angel Walk, Tonbridge, Kent TN9 1TJ
- Opening hours: 10am to 4pm, closed Mondays and Thursdays.
The Cosy Cat Cafe
With 14 resident cats, The Cosy Cat Cafe, located in Herne Bay, is the perfect place to hang out with the cats in the South of the country! Their package “Entry, Cats and a Cuppa” costs £9.25 per person and includes: a session of 45 minutes with the cats, a regular drink of your choice and a cake. Alternatively, you can book for an Afternoon Tea for £21.95 per person.
You can find more information here.
- Address: 138 Highstreet, Herne Bay, CT6 5JY
- Opening hours: 10am to 4pm Monday to Saturday, closed on Wednesdays, 11am to 4pm on Sunday.
Practical information when visiting cat cafes in London
In this section, we’ll go over some practical information you should know before heading to one of the London cat cafes.
Booking
Cat cafes are quite popular these days and usually have limited space to welcome visitors. We highly recommend booking your session ahead of time to ensure your spot is saved. We always had a booking but have seen people having to turn around because they didn’t and the sessions were full for the day, sometimes even for the next two days. If you’re only in London for a couple of days, absolutely book in advance!
Rules at cat cafes in London
All cat cafes have slightly different rules. Before going into one of the cat cafes in London, make sure to read them online and to pay attention to what the employee or volunteer is telling you.
Respect the cats
In good cat fashion, cats pretty much do whatever they want. If they want pets or to come on you for snuggle, they’ll let you know. If they run away when you approach, it means they don’t want to be around you. Don’t take it personally but also don’t force them to go your way. We all need a break sometimes.
Best time to visit a London cat cafe
We have visited cat cafes at different times of the day and based on our experience, we recommend visiting cat cafes in the morning. That’s because at the end of the day, the cats have had plenty of strokes and playtime and just want to chill. So they are less likely to move around and come for playtime at that time of the day. That said, we visited Java Whiskers at 5pm and got some extra snuggle time with Tom which was absolutely amazing. But most cats also wanted to just chill so none were extra playful.
What to wear when visiting cat cafes in London
In general, you can wear whatever you’d like to a London cat cafe. But since we’ve gone to many cat cafes, here’s a couple of tips from us to remember when packing for your trip to London:
- Wear socks: some London cat cafes require you to remove your shoes and it can be uncomfortable wearing tights or being barefoot in the cafe.
- Wear clothes you don’t mind getting a bit dirty or nicked: Cat cafe cats are sometimes not well potty trained so you don’t want to be wearing your most expensive pants if a cat ends up peeing on you. Cats also have claws. If they lay on you and get comfortable, they sometimes put their claws into the finer of your clothes so that’s something to keep in mind.
Kids
If you would like to bring kids, make sure the cat cafe you pick allows them.
Adopting
Some cat cafes have cats up for adoption. If you’ve never had a cat before, don’t jump on the opportunity. Feral and rescued cats require a lot of attention and most cat cafes will require the adoptive parents to have experience. Think about the cat rather than yourself and really ask yourself whether you’d be the right fit for them!
Photos and Videos
Photos and videos at a cat restaurant London offers are usually allowed but don’t use the flash as this might scare the cats. Don’t forget to use one of our London captions to illustrate the photos of your experience!
Hygiene
Be sure to wash your hands before entering the cat area and after. Remember not to feed the cats with human food.
Does the UK have cat cafes?
Yes, the UK has got 13 cat cafes with the majority of them being located in Central London. A couple are located in Kent and near Brighton.
What is the purpose of a cat cafe?
There are different purposes to a cat cafe depending on your perspective. From the cat cafe’s perspective, the purpose is to rescue and house cats that have been abused or come from the street. The cat cafe provides them with a safe environment thanks to visitors who pay to enjoy the services. The services are to provide food and time with the cats.
In some cases, cat cafes also put the cats up for adoption. In this case the purpose of the cat cafe is to find homes for the cats on top of the other services.
From the visitor’s perspective, the purpose of a cat cafe is to spend time with cats. Depending on the cat cafe and its rules, sending time with cats can be anything from being surrounded by cats without touching them to petting, holding and playing with the cats. Spending time with cats has got great benefits such as being relaxing and making people feel more positive.
What happens to cats in a cat cafe on a night?
In most cat cafes, the cats actually live in the cafe. They usually have their own space that is not accessible to visitors. This is also a space they can access during the day if they are tired of humans. In some cases, cat cafes put the cats up for adoption meaning a cat could be spending time at his forever home tonight!
For example at Pause Cat Cafe, the cats have their own room that they can go to at night. Kittens are free to roam though. The team takes turns to stay with the cats at night though the cafe is also equipped with cameras to keep an eye on them.
How many cat cafes are there in the UK?
There are 13 cat cafes in the UK with most of them in London, some in south England, in Scotland and Northern Ireland. If you haven’t found one close to you in this list, you can try searching “cat cafe near me” and see if any pops up. Cat cafes, though developing, are still rare especially in smaller cities or towns. They require quite a lot of effort and a big passion for cats to keep them running.
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