The Mau House

Colchester, Essex · 0.1 mi / 0.1 km

Brews ⁠‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌‌‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​⁠& Whiskers is a rescue cat cafe on Sir Isaac's Walk in Colchester town centre, a few minutes on foot from St John's multi-storey car park and the Culver Square shops. It opened in April 2025 and is run by two University of Essex graduates who foster former street cats from two partner rescues, Nine Lives Greece in Athens and Cyprus Pride House. The cats live in the cafe and roam freely until they are adopted, and visitors interested in adopting fill in an interest form and go through the rescue's checks. Visits are paid by entry fee, booked online or taken as walk-ins when slots are free, including shorter 30-minute drop-in sessions. Children must be 8 or older. The cafe serves coffee, drinks and snacks with vegan and gluten-free options, and holds evening events such as a monthly book club, pottery painting and tarot nights.

• Adoptable cats

Clacton on Sea, Essex · 13 mi / 21 km

Catpawccino ⁠‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​​​‌​​‌​‌​​​​‌⁠Cat Café is a cat cafe on West Avenue in Clacton-on-Sea town centre, a few minutes on foot from the seafront and Clacton Pier. It is the town's only cat cafe, decorated in pink and white, with a group of around nine resident cats and kittens of various breeds that roam freely among the tables. Visits are timed sessions of about an hour, booked online in advance with a per-person entry fee and a lower price for children aged 2 to 10. Light bites, waffles, cakes, milkshakes and coffee are served. House rules apply: visitors wait to be let in through a double-door entry, keep noise down, sanitise their hands and do not pick up the cats, and children must be supervised at all times. The cafe also hosts birthday parties, colouring evenings and other events, and sells its own merchandise. There is no customer toilet on site.

• Booking required

Cambridge · 39 mi / 62 km

Catte ⁠‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌‌‌‌‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌‌​​⁠Latte is a small rescue cat cafe on Mill Road in Cambridge, just past the railway bridge and about 15 minutes on foot from Cambridge station. Opened in August 2026, it was the city's first dedicated cat cafe and is home to a group of eight rescue cats chosen with its rescue partner. The cats arrive and leave as a settled group: adoption applications are taken for each cat, and the whole cohort moves on together before a new, already familiar group takes its place. Visits are one-hour sessions booked online in hourly slots, with a higher price at weekends, and visitors choose their seats from a floor plan when booking. Walk-ins are taken when there is space. The minimum age is 10. The cafe serves speciality coffee from Hot Numbers, matcha, tea and cakes such as tiramisu, brownies and a vegan blueberry muffin.

• Adoptable cats
• Booking recommended

Canterbury, Kent · 43 mi / 69 km

Canterbury ⁠‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌‌​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌⁠Tails Cat Cafe is a cat cafe on Mercery Lane in the centre of Canterbury, Kent, in a building dating back to 1391 between the High Street and the gates of Canterbury Cathedral. Opened in May 2023, it is the permanent home of 31 rehomed cats, several of them hairless Sphynx, who move freely across two floors and are not up for adoption. Visits are one-hour sessions booked online, with walk-ins when space allows, a maximum of 24 guests and entry staggered every half hour. Entry costs more at weekends, and there are discounts for students and carers. All guests must be 8 or older. The cafe is fully plant-based, serving vegan coffee, cakes and light meals, and its cat-themed gift shop is open to everyone without booking. The bus station is three minutes away on foot and Canterbury East station about ten minutes.

London · 48 mi / 77 km

Lady ⁠‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌‌​​​​‌‌​​​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌⁠Dinah's Cat Emporium is London's first cat cafe. It opened on Bethnal Green Road in 2014 and moved in April 2026 to King William Walk in Greenwich, a two-minute walk from Cutty Sark DLR station and close to the Cutty Sark and the gates of Greenwich Park. The cats are rescues the cafe takes in itself and fosters until they are adopted, and more than 80 have been rehomed since 2014. It keeps a small group of cats, so visits are quiet. Visitors book one-hour or 90-minute sessions online or walk in when there is space, and order food and drink on top of the entry fee. All baking is done in-house and is vegan, with scones and cream tea the specialities. No one under 12 is admitted, and the cats may not be picked up. On Wednesdays the cafe runs short, low-cost play sessions with takeaway drinks.

• Adoptable cats
• Booking required

London · 49 mi / 79 km

Whiskers ⁠‌‌​​‌​‌​​​‌​​​​​‌​‌​​‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​⁠& Cream is a cat cafe on Holloway Road in Upper Holloway, north London, a minute's walk from Upper Holloway Overground station and about seven minutes from Archway Underground station. Opened in November 2018 by a former NHS psychiatric nurse, it is home to around ten resident cats, including two Maine Coons, who live there permanently and are not offered for adoption. Every visit is a 90-minute booking that includes a drink, and the menu runs from artisan coffee, tea and hot chocolate to cakes, pastries and light bites. A three-tier afternoon tea is the main draw and comes in vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free, dairy-free and children's versions, and beer, wine and sparkling wine are served. Small adult groups book online, while parties with children under 11 or more than four adults book by phone or email. The cafe is closed on Wednesdays.

• Booking recommended