A Brief Guide to Cat Cafes in the UK

Cat cafés may have started in Taiwan, but the UK has built one of the most distinctive scenes anywhere in Europe. Tucked into Grade II listed townhouses, repurposed iron works, Lake District alehouses, and Victorian shopfronts, British cat cafés tend to feel less like novelty venues and more like neighborhood fixtures, often run by families and tied to a local rescue.

What makes the UK lineup interesting is how varied it is. Lady Dinah’s in London opened back in 2014 as the country’s first; today you’ll find a fully plant-based cafe in Canterbury, a craft beer bar in the Lake District, a cat lounge that doubles as an arts centre in Norwich, and a Wolverhampton cafe whose residents were rescued from the streets of Qatar. We’ve put this guide together to spotlight every active cat café across England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, with a section for each so you can find the right spot before you go.

What to Expect When Visiting a Cat Café in the UK

If you’ve never been to a cat café before, the UK rhythm is fairly consistent. Most charge an entrance or “welfare” fee somewhere between £6 and £12 per hour, which goes toward the cats’ food, vet care, and enrichment. Some places include a drink with entry, others charge separately. Almost everywhere uses timed booking slots, and weekends fill up quickly, so it’s worth reserving online before you turn up.

Once you’re inside, the cats run the show. They might come straight over, or they might nap through your entire hour. The expectation is the same everywhere: let them come to you, no picking them up, no waking them, no following them into their private spaces. Most cafés have a minimum age (often 8 or 10), a triple-door system to stop escapes, and a no-outside-cats policy. For a deeper look at how these places work, see our guide to what a cat café is.

Cat Cafés in England

England has by far the largest collection of cat cafés in the UK, spread from the south coast through the Midlands and up into Cumbria and the North East. Below are the active spots in alphabetical order, with notes on their atmosphere, the cats, and what visitors tend to single out.

Bedford Cat Café

Courtesy of @bedfordcatcafe on Facebook

Bedford Cat Café sits at 87 High Street in the centre of Bedford and reopened under new ownership on 30 June 2025, picking up where the original cafe left off. Cats here come from Peterborough Cat Rescue, with a particular focus on rehoming older cats and those with disabilities or extra care needs.

The space leans calm rather than busy, which several autistic guests have specifically mentioned in reviews as a real advantage. The food and drink menu has expanded under the new management, and there’s afternoon tea and group bookings available alongside the standard hourly slots. Booking ahead through their website is recommended.

Cafe Meow

Courtesy of @cafemeowblackpool on Facebook

Cafe Meow on Birley Street is Blackpool’s only cat café and operates as a high-throughput rehoming partner with Cats in Care and Tenderpaws. They’ve moved well over a hundred cats into homes since opening, and an “Adoptions” wall by the entrance keeps the running tally on display.

Sessions are £12.50 and include a complimentary drink from the Black Menu, and there are usually a few kittens around alongside the resident adults, which is handy if you’re visiting with kids. The premises is fully wheelchair accessible with ramps and adapted toilets. Reservations are bookable on their website, and the place currently sits at 4.9 stars.

Canterbury Tails Cat Cafe

Courtesy of @canterburytailscatcafe on Facebook

Canterbury Tails opened on Mercery Lane in May 2023 and is the UK’s first fully plant-based cat café. The milks, cakes, and full menu are all vegan, and the deluxe hot chocolate gets singled out so often it’s nearly a meme in the reviews. The cafe spreads across multiple floors of a cosy listed building, with electric fires running through winter and 25 resident cats roaming between the levels.

Welfare comes first here: cats have private spaces to retreat to, the table legs are wrapped against scratching, and there’s a minimum age of 8. Bookings are essential and can be made through their website, where you can also browse the full cat roster before you visit.

Cat Cafe Liverpool

Courtesy of @catcafeliverpool on Facebook

Cat Cafe Liverpool is the most established cat café on Bold Street, spread across three floors with rescue cats roaming all of them. The defining feature is the unlimited hot and cold drinks model: paid entry buys you a session of bottomless coffee, tea, and soft drinks while you mingle with the cats, though that does come with the trade-off of a busier, livelier atmosphere than most.

Recent reviews note prices have risen and sessions have shortened to an hour, so it’s worth checking pricing on their website before booking. The merchandise side is unusually deep too, with a substantial online shop running jewellery, jumpers, and personalised cat magnets.

Cat Village North

Courtesy of @catvillagenorth on Facebook

Cat Village North in Grassmoor, just outside Chesterfield in north Derbyshire, is one of the most unusual venues in this guide: a not-for-profit cat café, bistro, pizzeria, lounge bar, and gym all on the same site. Resident cats roam the cafe and a covered catio, while the bistro side is separated for evening dining.

The community side runs deep here: bereavement and mental health support groups, gamers’ nights, animal-assisted therapy visits to local hospitals and care homes, and a free Christmas Day meal for people who’d otherwise spend it alone. Booking is essential for the cat café portion. See their website for the current session and event schedule.

Cat-titude Cat Cafe

Courtesy of @cattitudecaf on Instagram

Cat-titude on St John’s Hill in Battersea is one of the few London cafes with a fully cat-proofed outdoor garden. On warm days the cats can roam between the indoor lounge and the garden, and guests can join them. Sessions run 1.5 hours, and the resident cats live there permanently rather than rotating through for adoption, with private retreat space when they want a break.

Visitors mention the croissants and the matcha alongside the cats, and the staff are generally praised for explaining each cat’s quirks before you sit down. Cat-titude is open seven days a week from 10 AM, and bookings can be made on their website.

CatPawCino

Courtesy of @catpawcino on Facebook

CatPawCino sits on Newcastle’s Quayside overlooking the Tyne, with a garden-themed interior designed to feel like an outdoor space brought indoors. The café is small (typical reviews mention it’s one of the more intimate cafes they’ve visited), which works in its favour because sessions stay quiet and the cats stay relaxed.

The eight permanent cats (including a Ragdoll, Birman, Scottish Fold, and British Shorthair) were raised by the owner from kittens, and the cafe also fosters and rehomes through Friendz Feline rescue. Entry is £7, and toasties are available alongside drinks. Book a slot on the official website; walk-ins are often turned away on busy days.

Coffee Cats Lincoln

Courtesy of @coffeecatslincoln on Facebook

Coffee Cats on The Strait is Lincoln’s oldest cat café, set inside a Grade II listed building near Steep Hill. The interior runs on a Lord of the Rings theme that visitors keep mentioning, with bespoke cat walkways looping above the seating so the resident rescues can move overhead while you eat.

It’s a small operation, with a couple of staff on at a time, which keeps the atmosphere calm and the staff well acquainted with each cat. Cake, shortbread, hot chocolate, and iced coffee are the consistent picks from reviews, and the loyalty stamp card brings a lot of returning regulars. Book sessions on their website.

Cool for Cats Cafe

Photo by Emily Khlebutina via Google Maps

Cool for Cats sits on Moorview Farm just outside Newton Abbot in Devon, and combines a cat café with a luxury cattery and a rehoming centre across the same rural plot. Resident cats (eleven at last count, including the chatty Domino, mischievous Whizzy, and the loud-purring Mango) drift between three lounge areas and the gardens.

It’s run by Liz Dyas and Bill Knott, who between them have over twenty years of experience and previously worked closely with the RSPCA and Cats Protection. Reviewers describe it as a “hidden gem” and praise the homely feel; the cattery side runs CCTV pods so boarders can check on their own cats remotely. More on their website.

Darling Darlings Cat Lounge

Courtesy of @darlingdarlingscatlounge on Facebook

Darling Darlings on Marine Parade in Great Yarmouth is unlike anywhere else in this guide: a retro time capsule themed across the 1950s through to the early 2000s, packed with vintage memorabilia, classic toys, and pop-culture artefacts (one reviewer called out the G1 Transformers display by name). Six therapy-trained cats share the space: Coconut, Teddy, Stanley, Maverick, Ernie, and Olive.

It’s a family-run business and consistently won the TripAdvisor Travelers’ Choice award in 2021 and 2022. The retro food and drink menu is short but ambitious; the potato pots come up a lot in reviews. Bookings go through phone, with payment over the line to confirm. See more on their website.

Jackson’s Rescue Cat Cafe

Courtesy of @jacksonsrescuecatcafe on Facebook

Jackson’s Rescue is a non-profit run by Jackson’s Animal Rescue in Hoylake on the Wirral, and is one of the highest-rated cat cafés in England (4.9 across well over a hundred Google reviews). It homes 10 to 15 rescue cats at a time, with overhead walkways letting them retreat to a private upstairs area whenever they want a break.

Beyond the regular drop-in sessions, Jackson’s runs quiet hours for sensory needs, educational talks, and book clubs, and reviewers regularly mention the genuine accessibility of the building, which most cat cafés can’t match. All proceeds support the rescue’s wider rehoming work. Book through their website.

Java Whiskers Cat Café Marylebone

Courtesy of @javawhiskers on Facebook

Java Whiskers Marylebone opened on Great Portland Street in October 2020 as the UK’s first Java Whiskers branch, an eight-minute walk from Oxford Circus. The cafe spans two floors (a wheelchair-accessible ground-floor Cat Lounge, and a Kitten Lounge below for younger felines) and is topped by a glass ceiling that floods the space with light.

The chain runs hard on adoptions, around 900 in 2024 alone, and you can read each cat’s bio in the booklets at the table. The events programme is unusually creative: Afternoon Tea, Kitten Yoga, and “Meowfulness” mindfulness sessions all show up in regular rotation. Book sessions on their website.

Java Whiskers Cat Café White City

Courtesy of @javawhiskers on Facebook

Java Whiskers White City is the chain’s flagship, opened next to Westfield Square in December 2022. Both the Cat Lounge and the Kitten Lounge are wheelchair accessible, large windows let passers-by see in (and the cats see out), and there’s a small outdoor seating area for warmer weather.

The site runs the same Kitten Yoga and Afternoon Tea sessions as the Marylebone branch, but with more space and a slightly larger roster of cats and kittens. Reviewers note the staff prioritise welfare strictly, with low-volume music, low-key check-ins, and separate kitten and adult areas, even when that means saying no to overzealous guests. Book on the website.

Kiko’s Cat Cafe

Courtesy of @kikoscatcafe on Facebook

Kiko’s is Rye’s only cat café, set inside Unit 1 of the Rother Iron Works, two minutes from the Lucknow Place car park and a short walk from Rye’s old town. It functions as a foster home as much as a café: every cat is awaiting adoption, and the team will tell you which ones are ready to be approached and which prefer to come to you.

The space is bigger than the Google Maps photo suggests (recently moved venue) and runs a triple-door system to keep cats safely indoors. Children over four are welcome with supervision. The shop side stocks cat-themed gifts that double as fundraising for the rescue. Book through their website, and expect a 4.9-star experience.

KITTchEN

Courtesy of @kittchenhawkshead on Facebook

KITTchEN in Hawkshead is the most unusual venue in this guide: an independent craft beer bar and bottle shop with seven rescue cats in residence, set in the heart of the Lake District. Their house IPA, brewed locally with Fell Brewery, is named “Cat Pissed” and you can drink it on draft while a cat dozes on the next stool.

There’s a strict no-children, no-dogs rule, and the focus is firmly on quiet, beer-and-cats time, which the village setting and the Cumbrian alehouse fixtures lean into nicely. Film screenings and live music run intermittently. Open seven days a week from noon to 8 PM. Browse the tap list and book in on their website.

Kitty Café Birmingham

Courtesy of @kittycafeuk on Facebook

Kitty Café Birmingham sits on the upper level of Grand Central Station, directly above the New Street platforms, making it one of the most convenient cat café locations in the country if you’re arriving by train. It’s a large, family-friendly venue with nooks, climbing structures, and high resting platforms so cats can opt out of human contact when they want.

A welfare charge of £8 per adult and £6 per child applies (rising to £9/£7 on weekends, bank holidays, and school holidays), and food is ordered separately. As with most high-traffic city venues, individual experience varies: some reviewers mention the cats stayed asleep, others rave about how interactive they were. Book a table on their website.

Kitty Cafe Leeds

Courtesy of @kittycafeuk on Facebook

Kitty Cafe Leeds on Kirkgate is the chain’s second location, set inside a converted heritage building that used to be the old Yorkshire Bank. The interior is unusually spacious for a cat café, with comfortable seating, lots of climbing structures, and dozens of resident cats spread across the floor.

Reviews are mixed in the way most high-volume cat cafés are: some visitors report wonderful, well-supervised hours, others find weekends too busy for the cats. The card-only welfare charge is £8 adult / £6 child (£9/£7 on weekends and holidays), and there’s a vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free menu. Reservations on the website are strongly recommended.

Kitty Cafe (Nottingham)

Courtesy of @kittycafeuk on Facebook

Kitty Cafe Nottingham is the original location of the chain, on Friar Lane in the city centre, ten minutes from Nottingham Station. It’s fully wheelchair accessible, has full changing facilities, and provides food nets at every table so cats can’t help themselves to your lunch, a touch reviewers consistently appreciate.

This is the largest cat roster of the three Kitty Café branches, with a steady rotation of rescue cats moving through and into homes. The welfare model is the same (£8/£6 standard, £9/£7 peak), and weekends extend to 8 PM on Saturdays. Book on their website.

Lady Dinah’s Cat Emporium

Courtesy of @ladydinahs on Facebook

Lady Dinah’s on Bethnal Green Road in Shoreditch is the UK’s first cat café, opened in 2014 after a successful crowdfunding campaign and still London’s longest-running. It’s home to up to 20 rescue cats and kittens, often ones turned away by other shelters, and runs full table service for cream teas, à la carte snacks, and seasonal specials.

The cats-first welfare policy is strict (no one under 12, no walk-ins, no picking up), and the booking window is generous at an hour and a half rather than 60 minutes. It’s a five-minute walk from Brick Lane and Spitalfields, which makes it easy to slot into a longer East London day out. Reservations on the official website.

Meow Cat Café Colchester

Courtesy of @meowcatcafeessex on Facebook

Meow Cat Café Colchester on Eld Lane is the current home of Rebecca White’s Essex cat café concept. The original branch opened in Halstead in spring 2023, this Colchester site followed on 26 July 2024, and after a year of running both, the Halstead unit closed in spring 2025 and the cats moved here. The team partners with Friends of Felines and has facilitated more than 205 adoptions, including cats rescued from kill centres in the UAE.

The Colchester site is roomier than the original, with cat-friendly furniture for climbing and lounging, a strict no-handling policy, and treats brought out partway through your booking. Autism-friendly sessions are available for guests who want a calmer environment, and reviews note it’s particularly good for younger children. Book sessions on the Meow Cat Cafe Essex website.

Mog on the Tyne

Courtesy of @mogonthetyne on Facebook

Mog on the Tyne is Newcastle’s first cat café, tucked into the narrow Pudding Chare alley a couple of minutes’ walk from Newcastle Central Station. The cats are rescues from local organisations, and the cake selection comes from Pet Lamb Patisserie, a small but well-loved local bakery whose brownies show up in nearly every review.

The café closes between 3 PM and 4 PM each day for scheduled cat naps, and runs adoption days on a regular cadence. Walk-ins are technically possible but the place fills quickly, especially on weekends, so booking on the website is the safer move.

Paws Cat Cafe

Courtesy of @pawscatcafe on Facebook

Paws Cat Cafe on Angel Walk in Tonbridge is run by a mother-daughter duo who built the business explicitly around the mental health benefits of being with cats. Reviews back this up: the warmth of the welcome and the small touches (a printed booklet for each cat with their name, story, and rescue background) come up consistently.

It’s a small, family-run space, which means weekends and school holidays book out quickly, and the cafe occasionally closes early on quiet afternoons. Children are welcome with adult supervision under specific ratios that you’ll need to arrange in advance. Booking and full house rules are on their website.

Paws For Thought Cat Cafe

Courtesy of pawsforthoughtcatcafe.com

Paws For Thought on Church Street in Romsey, Hampshire, was one of the earlier UK cat cafés and remains one of the highest-rated (4.8 across 600+ Google reviews). It runs a small outdoor space for warmer months, sandwiches and afternoon tea on the menu, and a £6 per person, per hour cover charge that funds the resident rescue cats.

Children over six are welcome, and the team works closely with local rescues, hosting events and offering adoption advice on top of the regular sessions. Reviewers single out the carrot cake, the pistachio scones, and the staff’s patience with first-time visitors. Book through their website.

Pause Cat Cafe

Courtesy of @pausecatcafe on Facebook

Pause Cat Cafe on Old Christchurch Road in Bournemouth bills itself as the South’s first cat café and has built a particularly strong community reputation since opening, including hiring people with learning difficulties, running events, and offering a VIP membership. Ten resident cats roam the space, including Clifford, Marijke, and Sweetcheeks.

The kitchen leans heavily vegetarian and vegan with locally sourced produce, and food is plated in little lunchboxes designed to keep curious cats out. The downstairs main playroom is the busy zone; there’s an upstairs area for quieter sittings. Open Wednesday through Sunday with extended weekend hours. Book on their website.

Shakespaw Cat Cafe

Courtesy of @shakespawcatcafe on Facebook

Shakespaw on Union Street in Stratford-upon-Avon is the closest cat café to one of the UK’s busiest tourist towns, and runs as a vintage tearoom serving breakfast, lunch, and afternoon tea with rescue cats roaming around. Sessions are 80 minutes, longer than most, and bookings are taken exclusively through the cafe’s own website rather than third-party platforms.

There’s a strict no-under-10s rule and a no-handling rule, but the cats are confident enough to sleep next to you while you eat. Reviews repeatedly call out the staff’s care for the cats and the genuinely warm welcome, and multiple autistic visitors have flagged it as one of the most accommodating venues they’ve been to. Book at the official site.

Tabby Teas Cat Cafe

Courtesy of tabbyteas.co.uk

Tabby Teas on Cemetery Road is Sheffield’s first cat café and stays one of the most consistently praised in this guide, sitting at 4.8 stars across 850+ Google reviews. Hour-long slots cover both kitty time and a calm, well-decorated café atmosphere; the rescue cats here come from a mix of backgrounds, all fully vetted, with plenty of room to roam or retreat.

The vegan and gluten-free options are noticeably solid (the shortbread and Milky Way cake gets singled out a lot), and feeding sessions partway through the booking are part of the standard experience. The café is closed Mondays and Thursdays, and won’t admit children under 12. Book on their website.

The Cat House - Norwich

Courtesy of happycow.net

The Cat House on Dereham Road in Norwich is technically a cat lounge rather than a café (they don’t serve savoury food, just quality drinks and sweet treats), but it deserves a place in this guide for its scope. Around 20 cats across more than a dozen breeds (including a Lykoi) call it home permanently, and it doubles as a cat-themed arts centre and gallery hosting astrology, crystal, and soundbath sessions alongside the regular lounging slots.

Sessions are bookable through the website, ages 10 and up only, and there’s an on-site car park (rare for cat cafés). The 4.9-star rating across 570+ reviews speaks to how unusually consistent the experience is. See more on their website.

The Cat’s Whiskers

Courtesy of thecatswhiskersyork.co.uk

The Cat’s Whiskers on Goodramgate is York’s only cat café and operates inside a charming Grade II listed building a stone’s throw from York Minster. The two floors (an accessible ground level and an upstairs Minster Room with views) give the rescue cats real range. All cats come from the Cat Rescue and Welfare Trust and are looking for permanent homes.

Cakes are baked locally by The White Cherry Bakery, with vegan and gluten-free options always on hand, and the £8-per-hour admission directly funds the cats’ care. Booking ahead through the website is essential on weekends, since walk-ins frequently miss out.

The Pawsome Cat Café

Courtesy of dayoutwiththekids.co.uk

The Pawsome Cat Café on North Road in Durham is a small, warm space focused as much on rehoming as on the regular café experience. The current resident and foster line-up (Alvin, Poncho, Simon, Moe, Walnut, Evie, and Bagel) gets genuine name recognition in reviews, and the café actively rehomes cats from the visitors who get to know them.

Entry is £7 per person (with a £2 deposit when booking online), bookings are an hour, and the no-shoes policy keeps the lounge floor clean. Slippers are provided if you don’t have socks. Children under six aren’t permitted. Reservations and house rules are on the website.

The Qattery Cafe & Cats

Courtesy of @theqatteryuk on Facebook

The Qattery opened in 2025 on Victoria Street as Wolverhampton’s first cat café, and it has one of the most distinct origin stories in this guide: all 16 resident cats were rescued from the streets of Qatar by founder Debbie Morgan and brought to the UK. The ground floor runs as a regular artisan coffee shop open to passers-by, while upstairs is the cat haven.

Cat-room access runs £5 for 30 minutes, with food and drinks brought up to you. There’s a cat flap into a separate room with litter trays and food so the cats can opt out, and the café also runs autism-friendly nights and educational sessions on responsible cat ownership. Book through their website.

Whiskers and Cream

Courtesy of @whiskersandcream on Facebook

Whiskers & Cream on Holloway Road in Upper Holloway is London’s longest-running cat café outside Lady Dinah’s and pitches itself firmly as the city’s “luxury” option. The afternoon tea is the headline (sandwiches, pastries, and savouries with allergy options across the board), and the licensed bar runs bubbly, wine, and cold beer alongside the artisan coffees and award-winning teas.

Two of the most-mentioned residents are the Maine Coons, Jasper and Winnie, and reviews consistently call out how well-groomed and relaxed the cats are. It’s open Thursday through Tuesday with Wednesdays closed. Pre-bookable study sessions are available, and the full booking calendar lives on the website.

Cat Cafés in Scotland

Scotland’s cat café scene is smaller but tightly clustered around Glasgow and Edinburgh, with one outlier in Ayr. All four active venues are detailed below.

Kitty Cat Cafe

Courtesy of ayrshiremagazine.com

Kitty Cat Cafe on South Harbour Street is Ayrshire’s first cat café and was founded by NHS nurses Amy Anderson and Laura Harvey, who built the business around a shared love of cats and a clear focus on welfare. Sessions are tightly capacity-controlled, with only a handful of guests at a time, which keeps the room calm for the 18 resident cats.

The schedule runs in 60-minute slots from late morning into the evening on weekends, with Friday evening sessions and additional weekday gaps for cat rest. Reviews are unusually warm even by cat café standards (4.9 across the board), and the staff are flagged consistently for their welcome. Book on the website.

Maison de Moggy

Courtesy of @maisondemoggy on Facebook

Maison de Moggy on West Port in Edinburgh is Scotland’s first cat café, and is run by Laura and Jon, who raised the resident cats from kittens before opening. The space is custom-built around the cats, with climbing structures, perches, and snooze nooks throughout, and a dedicated Cat Nanny is always on shift to keep the room running smoothly.

It’s smaller than most of the bigger English cafés, which keeps the atmosphere intimate but means slots fill quickly. The cherry lemonade and the merchandise both come up frequently in reviews. Open seven days a week from 10 AM to 7 PM. Book through the website.

Meow Cat Café Glasgow

Courtesy of @meowcatcafeglasgow on Facebook

Meow Cat Café Glasgow sits on Woodlands Road in the West End and runs a Japanese-themed interior that visitors keep singling out for its soft lighting, careful decor, and unusual level of cleanliness for a multi-cat venue. The cats have doors all around the cafe so they can disappear into private spaces whenever they want.

Owner Jack and the team are praised consistently for the care that goes into the operation; there’s a separate adjacent cafe area for waiting before your slot, and the place opens early enough to slot in with a half-day West End wander. Open daily from 11 AM to 6 PM. Book through their site.

Purrple Cat Rescue

Courtesy of @purrplecatrescue on Facebook

Purrple Cat Rescue at St Enoch Square is the successor to the original Purrple Cat Cafe and is now run primarily as a rescue charity with a cafe attached. Every cat in the building is adoptable, and a £5-per-person fee goes directly to cat food and care. Bookings and walk-ins are both possible, and there’s a board listing currently available cats.

The fit-out keeps space for the cats to retreat and rest when they need to, and the menu (the Cat Bandit latte gets a lot of positive press) keeps things tight. Open seven days a week. More on their website.

Cat Cafés in Wales

Wales spent several years without an active cat café after the early venues in Cardiff and Newport closed, but the scene is back on the map thanks to a small operation up on the north coast.

The Little Gatito

Courtesy of @The-Little-Gatito-Cat-Cafe on Facebook

The Little Gatito on Russell Road in Rhyl is currently the only cat café operating in Wales: a small, rescue-focused space on the Denbighshire coast where you can unwind with resident cats, homemade cakes, and a calm, pre-booked atmosphere. Entry is £5 per person and walk-ins aren’t accepted; bookings go through Messenger, phone, or WhatsApp on 07787 418524.

Hours rotate through the week: open Monday and Tuesday until 5 PM, Wednesday until 7 PM, Friday until 8 PM, and Saturday until 5 PM, with the café closed Thursdays and Sundays. Follow @The-Little-Gatito-Cat-Cafe for current cat news, or visit the official site for booking details.

Cat Cafés in Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland was the last part of the UK without an active cat café for years. An earlier attempt, Kitty Winkles, ran a Belfast Kickstarter in 2016 but didn’t hit its £20,000 goal and never opened. That changes in May 2026 with the launch of Kumiko Cat Lounge in Ballyhackamore.

Kumiko Cat Lounge

Kumiko Cat Lounge on Upper Newtownards Road in Ballyhackamore, East Belfast, is set to be Northern Ireland’s first cat café when it opens in May 2026. The team’s tagline, “welfare for cats, wellbeing for you,” puts the lounge in line with the more rescue-focused, welfare-first end of the UK cat café scene rather than a novelty venue.

Specific details on hours, pricing, booking policy, and the resident cats haven’t been published yet. The best way to track the launch is via the café’s official site or their socials at @kumikocatlounge on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok.