Welfare
Welfare is incredibly important to us and we really encourage you to challenge us on our policies!
Any business that involves animals should be rigorously vetted, but unfortunately a lot of the time animals are able to be exploited for financial gain without much protection from government laws.
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Check out what we're doing below:
"Is it okay to keep so many cats in one space?
Cats tend to be more solitary animals but can be selectively social. In the wild, feral house cats often form colonies without a strict hierarchy. If a conflict occurs, it is almost always over resources. All of our cats are spayed and neutered, which helps to minimise some of the more aggressive behaviours you may find in a naturally occurring colony, and with a steady supply of food, shelter, and stimulation, our cats can comfortably live together in a group. Additionally, the cats we adopt have known each other since kittenhood, spending years growing and bonding together.
"How do you keep the place clean and hygienic?"
We take hygiene very seriously for the sake of our cats', staff and customers' health. Prior to opening we spent a long time thinking about how we can keep the café as clean as possible, and so have implemented the following actions: - all areas of the kitchen and café are cleaned thoroughly before, after and during opening hours, and the bathrooms are cleaned multiple times during shift. - cats only eat dry food as a mid afternoon snack during opening hours to lower the risk of mess with wet food. They all enjoy a wet food breakfast and dinner outside of opening hours where staff can more easily attend to any spillages. - the kitchen is separated from the main dining area by two sets of doors. - kitchen staff wear full-body PPE. - kitchen staff and front of house staff do not interact or swap roles while on shift. - dirty cups and dishes enter a sanitisation area to be cleaned before even entering food prep areas again. - hand washing facilities and sanitiser dispensers are available. - we clean out our litterboxes multiple times a day. - air purifiers are active throughout the café to maintain a clean air space. If you'd like to know more about our cleaning process please check out the FAQ page or send us a message!
"How do you keep the cats happy?"
We have lots of methods for enhancing the enrichment of our cats! Here are some: - the cats here are not short on play! There are many different toys dotted around, some that can be played with independently and others that allow visitors to engage with the cats. - we have cat furniture all over the café at different levels. Cats that prefer hidey-hole spaces low to ground will appreciate our covered beds, low tunnels and floor spaces while the cats that enjoy a higher point of view love the jungle-like stepping shelves that line the walls. - we keep our cats in tip-top health with regular health checks at the vet as well as our own weekly observational health checklist. We have collaborated with qualified vets to make all of our decisions surrounding animal health. - mental stimulation is very important for cats and we provide our residents with plenty of activities to keep them sharp. They eat from puzzle bowls that encourage slower eating and interactive toys that require them to use their hunting instincts. - Our cats can take a break from the café whenever they like by entering the 'no customer zone', which is a space the cats can retreat to if they want to be left alone for a while.
"What are you doing for the cats' physical health?"
We have collaborated with veterinary services to make sure our cats feel as happy and healthy as possible. Our cats are all neutered/spayed and microchipped as well as regularly dewormed. They are all insured and under pet plans at the vet and attend frequent check-ups. We also do our own weekly observations of their fur, teeth, claws, feet, etc. to search for any injuries or signs of discomfort. We track the general health of every cat so that when something irregular pops up then it can be seen to straight away. Day to day, our cats eat a healthy vet-approved diet that is rich in vitamins and minerals. They have access to running water 24/7 and overnight are monitored by CCTV that captures video and sound.
"What happens if a customer bothers a cat too much or breaks a café rule?"
Although our first course will always be to ask people to adjust their behaviour, we reserve the right to ask anyone to leave the premises should they not respect the rules and ethos of our café. The café is our cats' home and their welfare is our highest priority.
"Shouldn't cats have access to the outside?"
It very much depends on the individual cat. Most UK charities like the PDSA and RSPCA state that it is perfectly fine to keep cats indoors, but if a cat is desperate to go outside and you prevent them then that can impact their quality of life. Our rescue cats come from disadvantageous situations which can put them more at risk from diseases, violence, traffic, etc. As long as an indoor cat has plenty of enrichment they should be perfectly happy inside, and with the amount of work we put into our cats' ever-changing play environment - the cat wheel, rotating toy baskets, traversable shelving levels -we should be all set. If you have any new ideas to improve enrichment for our cats then please get in contact and let us know as we are always on the lookout for new ideas!
"Doesn't The Cats Protection oppose cat cafes?"
Cats Protection is a renowned UK charity that the founder of Puss In Books greatly respects. Their work campaigning for animal rights since 1927 has championed many cases of change and has always been a beacon for animal welfare. As such a large charity we understand that writing an umbrella policy opposing all cat cafés is much easier, and more likely to do more good, than a policy that generalises all cat cafés as acceptable. Animal-themed cafés began in Japan and then quickly spiralled into a profit-focused gimmick, many cafés popping up just to cash in on the trend and not caring much for the health and wellbeing of their animals. As a cat café, Puss in Books fully supports and encourages stricter welfare laws for all animal-based business. What we do in particular to make sure we are not lumped in with these less desirable businesses, is this: 1. Cat numbers - our cats are kept at a relatively low number for a cat café, and all have known each other since kittenhood. We adopt our cats for the café very carefully, making sure they have the right temperament for café life and adopting at a younger age so that they can grow up and adapt to life in the café rather than suddenly having to adjust to the environment after knowing a very different life. 2. People numbers - the café is limited to a certain amount of customers at one time, with no large groups. We currently do not demand an entry fee on the door, which we feel pressures some customers into staying for a minimum amount of time before leaving. Having no entry fee is a choice that we would like to maintain as we feel it makes the café more of a home and less of a pay-to-play experience, but this does mean we rely more heavily on commerce. 3. We do not rehome our cats so as not to create a rolling population of cats in the café, all our cats are permanent residents so that they do not experience an unstable environment. When a cat at the café gets to the point where they may want to retire to a quieter home, they will be rehomed with a staff member that they have known for a long time.