The Cat's Whiskers — Restaurant in England

Conveniently located cat cafe near the York Shambles. Booked two tickets for 5pm in January on a weekday s a surprise for my spouse, was very excited for the experience. It was 1 hour until closing.

We felt that staff weren't the warmest on welcoming us and seemed flustered. When we entered the main downstairs area we were greeted with a very strong smell, which was similar to damp but upon reflection it was probably ammonia from cat urine.(!) Unfortunately it was rather unbearable and felt incredibly unhygienic as a facility serving food and beverages.

The cafe in general also could have been a lot cleaner (despite being the home of many cats) The sofa and seating was also quite uncomfortable with poor back support. There was classical music playing but it was a very quiet facility so everyone sitting could hear your conversation, it was quite echoey and there were many awkward quiet silences which made it quite uncomfortable for us when trying to interact with the cats in an engaging way).

There were about 10+ cats all around of different ages and personalities. however as the staff had treats, they often surrounded the staff members, despite this being a paid experience for visitors. I did enquire twice about whether we could hand out their approved treats but they said it was 'their policy not to'. As such, it was very hard to interact with the cats as many of them were aloof (as cats can be).

Moreover, as a cat cafe I would have expected there to be more extraverted cat personalities selected to interact with the public. I also had to go up to the staff myself to ask them questions about the cats to learn more and their answers were very short and abrupt, often one word answers. It felt like the staff just wanted to get on with it and get us out at closing which was a shame.

The cats seemed happy and content which was good to see. However I feel the experience was very mediocre for the price (£14 for two people for the hour, not including refreshments). They also do not offer disability carer tickets.

I feel the experience could be greatly enhanced by the staff showing enthusiasm and interest in the customers and their experiences with the cats, including sharing out the treats so the customers can interact with the cats for a change (who have paid to be there!), instead of the staff dominating the interactions when they see the cats on a daily basis.

Probably won't return, there are greater ways to spend 1 hour in York for the money. Do not recommend...

This is a difficult review to leave, as the staff are really friendly, and this is no one's fault in particular. Especially the cats.

I was desperately hoping to leave a 5 star review, I was so excited to visit.

However in two hours, and £14 each later. I probably had contact with cats for about 1 minute and 30 seconds in total, and this was forced forced contact, while they were laying on their beds trying to nap.

All but 2 cats were fast asleep, meaning you can't pet them or disturb them. The two cats that were awake, one did everything it could go avoid your hands and attention. The second cat only approached people with cake, and only, and I mean ONLY cared about the cake.

There didn't seem to be one cat that was there for cuddles, was a people person or particular affectionate.

I get it, I understand cats are naturally aloof. However if you're running a business, and a service that costs £7 for an hour, not including food or donations, and have no "working" cats. Then your customers are going to feel really disappointed.

Im super happy these cats are rescued, and that some have been homed through the cafe. It makes me wonder if the only cats getting rehomed and leaving the cafe are all the affectionate, cuddly ones and those that want to go on your lap.

It has to be said as well, that the music choices were really really jarring. It went from a peaceful piano song with birds playing. To a jarring opera / fast paced piano medley. It really suited how I felt most of the customers felt, awkward and on edge with no cat cuddles. :(

TLDR: If you visit, don't expect to actually cuddle / stroke a cat for your...

the manager Lillie is rude and angry with the rules, made us feel anxious and small. Yelled at us as grown adults. Won’t be returning because of this particular staff member. food is only cakes. No sandwiches or anything staff watch the creepy security cameras like a hawk and act like dictators with customers. £7 per hour is a bit expensive extremely strict 10+ age policy which didn’t affect us, Lillie the manager yelled in front of customers “CHECK THEIR AGES”! to another staff member, When some younger people came in. Made us feel very uncomfortable.

Read below for in depth review: The manager Lillie, I think her name was, ruined the experience, made my girlfriend nearly cry. She yelled at her with a mean face “YOU can’t pick up the cat!!!”. It was a happy cat and she didn’t pick her up, she just hugged the cat. And then the same woman was very rude and accusatory, made us feel like we committed a crime, when we made a simple error and genuinely thought we booked it properly, we were happy to pay anything and we did. Lilly the manager is a dictator type, could do with some more training with customer service, because it made us feel very small and unhappy, and customer service matters a lot. Won’t be returning because my girlfriend went to relax but the creepy security cameras everywhere and the fact the staff watch it like a hawk and the manager yelling made my girlfriend very anxious. So wouldn’t recommend it for people with anxiety. Anyway the other staff were lovely and the room was 3 floors and the cats were cute. I prefer the Leeds cat cafe for the...