Kitty Cafe — Restaurant in Leeds

Went last week with my autistic 12yo, taking advantage of a half-day school closure and some accrued annual leave. Therefore, our experience probably wasn't typical, as most family visitors will be attending at much busier periods such as weekends and in school holidays, but on a quiet Thursday afternoon we had the place virtually to ourselves bar another couple and a small group of women. If anything there were more staff than patrons.

I'd done a little research before booking so was aware of the cover charge. Had there been more of us it could have been prohibitively expensive. As it was we were shown straight to a table right at the back, orders were taken and brought out promptly. The food (chicken nuggets, cheese pizza and two pots of very weak tea) was nothing to write home about, and we weren't offered sugar, but I've paid more for worse in airports / stations and other places with a captive market, and again (having checked the website) it wasn't unexpected.

Of course, the main attraction for us was the cats, and this is where things started to go a bit sour. The layout of the place, which has been repurposed from a 1920s banking hall, is good, with plenty of nooks, crannies, elevated walkways, platforms and scratching posts, however the cats themselves were elusive. We found most of them at the back of the restaurant, hanging around in the little lobby by the toilets (which also seems to be a congregation area for the staff). Apparently that's where the cats are fed, in another room accessed by a small cat door at ground level.

I was concerned by some of the behaviour I saw displayed by the cats. Most were nervy and skittish and didn't want to engage other than to jump up on tables trying to steal food. This was initially endearing but soon became tiresome. Especially when cats were putting their paws under the heavy plate covers and batting food out of our hands. My child and I lost a chicken nugget, a slice of pizza and half a jug of milk before we realised just how determined some of the cats could be in their quest for scraps. If you've ever been raided for chips by seagulls on Scarborough seafront, well, this felt disconcertingly similar.

Other than that they really werent interested in interacting with humans, aside from a couple of cats that my child managed to coax into their lap late on in our visit. I suspect that the tales of weekend chaos and tail-pulling relayed by other reviewers have made them wary and nervy around humans even at quieter times. Fortunately (in contrsst to some reviewers being hounded out of the door before their allotted hour was up) the staff seemed in no hurry for us to leave - with the exception of our server, they barely acknowledged our existence - most seemed very young (not unlike the cats) and rather disinterested. Settling the bill is done at the bar rather than at your table, and in our case took some time due to a mix-up in the order of the people in line before us.

Since visiting last week I've researched the place more thoroughly and discovered that it's part of a larger chain owned by a couple from Nottingham. Some of the lurid tales of staff bullying, animal welfare issues and breaches of employment law that have come up on internet searches are really concerning and honestly (coupled with user reviews and my own experience of some very atypical feline behaviour) almost make me regret supporting this place. I suppose you live and learn.

Like others I am beginning to wonder if the very idea of a kitty cafe is a good one from a welfare standpoint, but if it is, it seems to me that it should be much more tightly regulated, rather than being operated seemingly as a moneyspinner where the cats are primarily used to lure in parents of young children and then milk them for overpriced food and souvenirs. My child wants to go back but I think we'll be looking elsewhere for...

Walked past whilst looking for a place to drink and decided to give it a go. I was a bit shocked to see a group with children but gave them the benefit of the doubt that it was a special booking or they were being closely monitored. This was not the case, and many families came and went. How well-behaved the children were, how much they affected the atmosphere and how much the staff actually intervened varied wildly, and for that reason, I stand by my original belief that cat cafes are not for children as it's just too hard to predict/regulate.

There was also a group near us who were overly familiar with the cats, grabbing them for quite forceful cuddles and breaking the house rules. When they went up to the counter, we realised they were either staff or ex-staff. This explains why they weren't told off, but made us even more uncomfortable. Learning this didn't make their behaviour with the cats any less immature. They were out of uniform and this could have encouraged other customers to act this same.

On the topic of staff, I didn't see anyone who looked over 25. I realise in hospitality this is often the case, but when animal care comes into it, I think long-term experience is necessary, and age is a strong indicator of it. I don't blame the staff themselves, but the fact that there didn't seem to be anyone in charge was concerning. Staff confidence and professionalism with the cats felt personal as opposed to informed/enforced.

The welfare of the cats I feel torn on. They looked very well and had places to hide and climb up high. They did get spooked by customers, especially children, and some got the zoomies. It got quite noisy at times and there was pop music playing. I saw a cat eating human food off a tray through the kitchen door. A lot of kittens, which is unusual, and makes me question how the rescue operates. There's unfortunately a lot of rumours about this online. On the one hand, a kitten's more playful and affectionate personality may suit the cafe environment better. One of them had a tell tale shaved patch suggesting they'd had their op, which is a good sign that they are being taken to the vet, and they're not planning to be bred. I didn't have any cat interactions other than looking, but as I respect cats, this was the height of my expectation. I have however, had cats come sit with me in other cafes. My friend managed to have a good play with a kitten towards the back of the cafe where it was quieter. There was no information on the cats. No rescue stories or warnings about their particular likes, dislikes or needs. Whether or not your average cattery is any safer or less distressing for a cat than this place is debatable. But other cafes certainly put it to shame.

We didn't order food but we had hot drinks. They weren't piping hot by the time they reached us but this wasn't my priority by then. The food I saw and the style of the menu gave me more and more the vibe this place's target audience is ignorant parents.

I looked them up afterwards and learnt it was a chain which explains a lot. It seems the original branch in Nottingham and its owners have an awful reputation, whilst the other branches have ups and downs depending on public interest and staff. While it seems most of what the company does is legal, it's certainly immoral. There's been lots of calls for investigations which haven't been pursued, which suggests the cats are ok, but that doesn't mean it's right. It's certainly not comparable to a charity. I can't say more without getting into the territory of theories that are unproven, or bad staff reviews that equally can't be proven true. At the very least, look up these employee reviews and make your own judgement.

This place didn't feel pure evil but I left feeling odd about it. I'll definitely stick to independent cat cafes and do my research before entering...

I would like to preface this review by saying that this is not a case that this is not a review against the welfare of the cats or the place its self, it is a lovely place with plenty of stuff for the cats to keep them engaged and they seem genuinely well looked after and happy, the staff are smiley and welcoming. The problem was the people, children running around having a mock, purposeful waking up cats mid sleep, banging on glass in the waiting room towards a cat, touching a cat whilst it was climbing a large scratch post, climbing over chairs and bannisters and not a parent or guardian in sight and when there was a parent they encouraged this behaviour. I completely understand what the assumption is when you come here, that you’ll see loads of cats, get to play with them and they will want attention off you. But that’s simply not the case, they’re cats! They sleep most of the day and depending on the cat might not trust anyone it hadn’t seen before, but the majority of people who was there at the time of the visit didn’t understand this, understand that these cats should be respected and treated like animals not attractions.

Furthermore, I would also like to add that if there is a cat sleeping but it’s in an area that people are sat, respect our personal space, this was the case with us as we were sat right by the door and their was a lovely grey cat sleeping on a post next to us and time after time after time again we had children, teens and adults the like coming and standing in our personal space and crowding around to purposefully wake up the cat and children climbing on the chair opposite us. It was incredibly uncomfortable I understand you wanted to see it but only one person asked if they could come and say hello to the cat as it was that close to us, obviously we’re not going to stop people from saying hello it’s not our cat and we don’t own the place but when it was so close to were we was sat it was just down right uncomfortable for us to have people crowding around when we were just trying to enjoy our time Again, the place is lovely and it’s clear the cats are well looks after but for anyone in the future who visits:

A) supervise you’re children, they will understandably be excited but this excited can’t turn into silly behaviour that will distress the cats, that is their home and we are the visitors, don’t encourage behaviour that will distress or upset the cats, if the cat is asleep, leave it to sleep! If it is hiding, leave it be! Don’t allow your children to climb over chairs to get to it and wake it up, respect their space, don’t allow your children to chase the cats around the building.

B) if you are a teenager or adult, do better! You should understand how to treat these cats fairly and respectfully, encouraging this behaviour is just upsetting to see and makes you feel bad for the cats you should be setting the example, if you’re not prepared to follow the rules then don’t come!

C) to the staff, please enforce the rules, it’s mention as you come in and as you sign in but from what we saw not a single time was someone warned or reminded of the rules despite breaking them right in front of you, it was disappointing, remind parents to keep children supervised and that it is everyone responsibility to look after the lovely cats you have.

I completely understand what the assumption is when you come and what you might expect and it very well live up to it and If you are a cat lover then it’s something to look at doing, but respect the rules, the place, and most of all the cats! Can’t say I would like to come again which is a shame because the cats...