Bold Street will soon be home to ten furry felines
AFTER the success of their Manchester branch, two cat loving sisters have revealed that they are finally planning to open a branch of their cat cafe in Liverpool.
For those who might not know, cat cafes don’t actually serve cats, but act more like a refuge for cat lovers to relax and enjoy a coffee whilst indulging in some furry therapy.
The idea is for folk to pop in, get their paws on a coffee and a snack, and immerse themselves in the healing and apparently psychological benefits of petting a cat.
A recent twenty year study showed that people who owned a cat were 40% less likely to have a heart attack, yet with an increasing number of people living in apartments with a no-pet policy, the popularity of these communal petting places is growing.
Owners Sarah and Ellie Close will be bringing ten fluffy and affectionate cats with ‘different personalities’ to their new home at 10 Bold Street, a four-storey unit, which was last used as a charity shop. 'Bear' and 'Max' have already been introduced via the cafe's social channels and customers will be able to see a brief personality profile of each cat on the cafe's website.
Due to ‘health and safety’ (ie. cat hair and cat bottoms on surface areas) there will be no fresh food actually prepared on site. Instead, customers are charged a fixed ‘pay as you stay’ fee which includes unlimited hot and cold beverages and snacks. The main rules are to make sure you don’t wake any sleeping cats and that all guests must be aged ten or over.
The cafe will make sure that there are no more than sixteen patrons allowed in the cafe at any one time, so as not to stress the mogs out - so booking is adviseable. For the two-legged with opposable thumbs, there will be free Wi-Fi, a computer and a TV corner with a games console.
Cats Protection may argue against felines being ‘exploited as a gimmick to sell coffee’ but welfare standards at these Cat Cafés seem impeccable. There are plenty of places for the animals to be alone: a wooden sky run, raised beds hidden in corners and somewhere to do their business in private. They also have a cat-only room too, into which they can escape any time and which contains all the creature comforts of the main cafe. Cafe facilities include scratching posts, personalised mini bunk beds, fresh water fountains and staff on hand offering 24-hour care.
As they have been doing in the Manchester branch, Liverpool’s Cat cafe will host weekly events such as cat yoga and film nights.
The Liverpool Cat Cafe is set to open this spring.
