Paws for Thought Cat Cafe

Waterlooville, Hampshire · 22 mi / 35 km

Purrfect ⁠‌‌​​‌​‌​​​​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​​​​‌​​‌​​‌​​​‌‌‌⁠Paws Feline Welfare is a small independent cat rescue with a tea room on Stakes Hill Road in Waterlooville, north of Portsmouth in Hampshire. Run by volunteers, its rescue and adoption hub lets visitors have tea, coffee, sandwiches and cake in the company of the cats and kittens it is rehoming. It is not a cat cafe with permanent residents: the cats are rescues waiting for adoption, and anyone interested completes an application followed by checks and a home visit, with an adoption fee. There is no entry fee, but a minimum spend applies, and takings pay for the cats' care. From Tuesday to Friday visitors can walk in; Saturdays and school holidays are by booking only, through Facebook or by phone. An airlock porch keeps the cats safe, and dogs are welcome in the outside seating area at the front.

• Adoptable cats

Bournemouth, Dorset · 25 mi / 40 km

Pause ⁠‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​⁠Cat Cafe is a non-profit cat cafe on Old Christchurch Road in Bournemouth town centre, between the Square and the Lansdowne and about ten minutes on foot from Bournemouth railway station. Known as the first cat cafe in the south of England, it is a permanent home for around ten rescue cats, including founding residents Clifford, Liquorice and Bear, who live across two floors fitted with shelves, bunk beds and climbing spaces. Visits last an hour, with a cat-care cover charge per person added to the bill, and booking online is recommended, although walk-ins are taken when there is space. Children are welcome at reserved tables, and under-16s must be with an adult. The menu is vegetarian and vegan, with gluten-free options, coffee, smoothies and plant-based milkshakes. The cafe offers supported volunteer placements and runs occasional events such as SEN sessions, children's workshops, high tea and cat yoga.

Frome, Somerset · 40 mi / 64 km

Puss ⁠‌‌​​‌​‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​​​​‌‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌‌‌​‌‌​​⁠in Books is a small cat cafe on Christchurch Street West, near the centre of Frome, combining two resident cats with books and a vegetarian menu. The cats, ginger siblings Toast and Marmalade, were born in 2025 in an overcrowded hoarding house in Sussex and were nursed back to health by a local rescuer before moving to the cafe, where they live as permanent residents rather than adoptable cats. There is no entry fee and walk-ins are welcome, although booking a table is advised at weekends and in school holidays. Tables are held for about an hour at busy times, and groups are limited to six. Children aged 10 and over may visit. The menu uses local West Country suppliers and includes coffee, cakes, afternoon tea and cream tea, with vegan and gluten-free choices. The cafe also holds sessions for visitors with sensory needs.

• Booking recommended

Bristol · 58 mi / 93 km

Bag ⁠‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​​​​​​‌​​​‌​‌​‌​​​​‌‌‌​‌‌⁠of Nails is a traditional real ale pub on St George's Road in Hotwells, Bristol, a short walk west of College Green and the harbourside, known as the city's cat pub. Around a dozen cats, many of them former strays, live in the pub and wander freely through the single bar room, sleeping on windowsills, chairs and the bar itself while customers drink around them. It is a pub rather than a cat cafe, so there is no entry fee, booking or time limit, and the cats are residents rather than adoptable animals. The bar serves a changing range of cask ales from independent breweries, ciders and craft keg beers. Board games, records played on the turntable and a Sunday quiz add to the character. Under-14s are not allowed in.

Brighton, East Sussex · 60 mi / 97 km

Purrfect ⁠‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​‌‌‌⁠Space is a co-working and wellbeing space in Imperial Arcade, between Western Road and Dyke Road near Churchill Square in central Brighton, about ten minutes' walk from Brighton station. Opened in February 2026 by the team behind Munchies' Craft Cat Cafe, it is home to a group of rescue cats, at first six cats from Turkey, who share the room with people working at desks. It is a workplace rather than a cat cafe: guests book a desk for two hours, half a day or a full day, with tea, coffee and snacks included, and interaction with the cats is gentle and on their terms, with designated soft hours for more time with them. Evenings and weekends bring bookable cat yoga, sound baths, art workshops and movie nights. A small shop sells cat-themed work by local makers. The space holds a council animal welfare licence.

Brighton, East Sussex · 60 mi / 97 km

Munchies' ⁠‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌‌​​‌‌‌‌​​​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​‌⁠Craft Cat Cafe is a cat cafe and tapas bar on Market Street in The Lanes, central Brighton, about 15 minutes' walk from Brighton station. Opened in 2024 as Brighton's first cat cafe, it is the permanent home of around eight rescued cats, who are not up for adoption; the cafe describes itself as the cats' home first. Visits are timed sessions with a welfare fee, booked online, and there are shorter 30-minute express visits and deals that pair a session with cake and coffee, cocktails or mezze. Guests are asked to stay seated for most of the visit and let the cats come to them. The minimum age is 8, and children under 14 must be supervised. The menu includes Turkish-inspired small plates, waffles, cakes, coffee and cocktails. Cat yoga, sound baths, art workshops and movie nights take place at the partner venue Purrfect Space.