Cat cafe.........?

Didn't Jasper Carrott have a character called Wiggy?

I`ve never heard of these cafes till now, I love cats, but don`t think it`s very fair on the cats. As for shuddering at the idea of cats wandering around houses, mine is not allowed on the worktops, in fact she`s never even tried to get up there. Most cats are very clean, I`ve told my husband that the cat is more hygienic than he is!

"Wiggy" - gosh; I know someone who uses that term as a euphemism for her genitalia - reading thee posts has been somewhat strange!

I don't see much wrong with the idea, after all there are often dogs in pubs and nobody seems to mind.

My family who live locally come to tea on Sundays - 9 or 10 of us in my small kitchen and all our dogs under the table. I have a cat but the family never set eyes upon him and insist he's imaginary, like Lola's friend Soren Lorenson.
The cat cafe cats must be very laid-back, mine disappears until everybody's gone.

Just don't take Wiggy to the cat cafe, Henetha!

Aw! I bet she's lovely.

She's a free range bird most of the day ! I can't bear birds in cages now.
She first came to live with me on loan, but seems to have become a permanent fixture now. But it's amazing how she has grown on me and I am ridiculously fond of her. Better a cockatiel to talk to than no-one.

Couldn't have coped with that Jingl-would have been out of there like a shot!

Alright through the bars of a cage henetha. Just not near me! [shudder]

Ah, jinglebellsfrocks.... you wouldn't like Wiggy then. She can be fierce.

Well, that's typical Totnes. I do like Totnes, but it is very strange,- which is probably why I like it.

You are all very welcome to come here and stroke Wiggy, my cockatiel.
She might hiss at you, or even peck you, so I'm not sure if your blood pressure would be lowered or raised. .

A cat cafe does seem an odd idea and I can't quite see how it would work successfully.

It's not as bad as some farm cafes where chicken hop up onto the table (in the garden) and start eating your dinner. Happened to me twice. Hens are very persistent. (and I've got a phobia of feathered things)

Last year, I saw one in Totnes....don't know if its still going.

I have been to the one in London. Great fun, even though we have a cat at home, it was nice to interact with the cafe cats, which are all rescue cats, and the slightly eccentric humans who run it. I took my husband who has dementia, and he loved it, and can still remember our visit nine months later, unlike most things that he can't remember for five minutes. The cats all seemed very happy with lots of interaction with the customers, toys and activities and got along fine. I can't see the harm in it at all. The food was nice too!

All the cats seemed very laid back. Most were noticeably sleepy but then cats sleep for 18 hrs a day anyway. The cafe kitchen was strictly off limits to the cats. Everything was sparkly clean and the staff were lovely. Obviously the cats were loved but if you really loved cats would you subject them to a life like that? I certainly wouldn't.
On a different note we once went to a tea room in Madeira and cats patrolled the tables outside. They belonged to the tearoom and weren't strays. They were very funny and sociable. Loved it. Of course they were free to wander off any time and had a choice whether to speak to us or not.

My two are banned from worktops and always have been. They do learn not to do it if you start when they're young.

The cafe sounds more like a petting zoo. How are they going to get 10 territorial animals to share this space-mine go mad if another cat dares to come into the garden. Some cats will love meeting new people all the time and others will just be beside themselves. I don't think I agree with these cafes at all.

My GC have interactive pets that respond to speech and stroking and they don't give them hay fever. I can see into a neighbour's kitchen window and her cats are always on the worktop while she is cooking and she stops at intervals to stroke them, it makes my toes curl.

People with dementia respond well to animals, real or stuffed.
A couple of news articles about Paro, a stuffed animal with built-in responses to being stroked and so on.
- It's not just a stuffed animal
- It's Not a Stuffed Animal, It's a $6,000 Medical Device

Stroking any soft animal is supposed to help reduce anxiety heart rate blood pressure etc.
When my nan in law had dementia and was in a care home one of the daughters bought her a soft toy dog to hold and stroke. She was really fond of it and enjoyed having it with her.

Very many years ago when I was somewhere in the Lake District there was a cafe that was running alongside a cat rescue place. The Cats were walking about everywhere in the kitchen.

The hygiene was quite disgusting, but in those pre internet days it was not so easy to find out who to complain to particular as a visitor on a weekend.

They would never get away with that now.

Well I for one would not eat around cats - I am revolted by homes where cats wander about on the kitchen working surface - yuk!

I saw a programme about cats last night on the TV and it featured the NE cafe amongst other cat tales. Ugh, 'orrible.

There's one in Edinburgh. I was prevailed to go along with a group of friends who all love cats but aren't allowed to have one. You have to book in advance, £7 entrance fee. It was very clean and the cats are plainly well looked after but it just felt like a jail for cats. There was an 'air lock' entrance and we had to either remove our shoes or wear those shoe protector thingys. I don't want to go back but I do have the luxury of constant feline companionship. I had heard tell of an owl cafe in London. Any truth in that rumour?

Apparently, stroking an animal helps to slow the heartbeat and induce relaxation in both the animal and its owner - and also to help with depression and anxiety. Perhaps that's why the café might attract people, although - whilst I quite like cats - I find dogs more companionable.

I don't see why there being food around is such an issue - presumably they're not in the kitchen? If you have a cat at home it will surely be around when you're eating sometimes?

We have one in our city and a one in Newcastle called naffly 'mog on the Tyne'. DD and SIL love cats and they have visited, they have also been to the one near their home in Brussels. I am at a loss as to how they get permission to serve food, you won't catch me in a cat café.