We’ve a latte love to give
Cat café owner Sarah Zong is rehoming unwanted kitties by offering customers a coffee and a kitty to go. She runs Catpawcino in Newcastle upon Tyne and has teamed up with local rescue centre Feline Friends, to match potential owners with pets.
So far, 11 cats have found loving new homes and Sarah currently has two adorable kittens with her for the next four weeks until they are ready to meet their new owners.
She said: “The idea to rehome cats through the cafe came about when I helped with some fundraising and decided I wanted to do more.
“So I asked Feline Friends and they agreed. The cats that come here are friendly and settled around lots of people.
“Because they meet so many people, it can be easier to rehome them and it frees up space for the charity to take more cats. If people decide they’d like to adopt them, the necessary checks are carried out.”
Although the RSPCA has said cafés aren’t suitable environments to meet the welfare needs of cats, they have been popping up in recent years, with 17 across the country. Sarah set up her business two years ago after visiting QiLin Cat Café in China. She spent two years researching and planning the project.
She resigned from her job in marketing to open the café on the city’s Quayside, and it’s now home to her own cats Alfie, Betty, Chocolate, Darvin, Eddy, Flora, Hugo and Iva.
They live in the café and have a bedroom and relaxing room if they need some quiet time, and Sarah watches them on CCTV when the café closes.
Visitors pay £5, which goes towards vet bills and cat food, plus the cost of drinks and food. Entry is free for autistic children. Sarah said: “The children love hearing stories about the rescue cats. It’s a nice place for them to live before they are matched with new families and we feel we are doing something to help too.”
Student Abbie Roseby, 21, is a regular. She said: “I have a cat at home and I just love being around cats. I usually come in and have a coffee once a week, stroke the cats and catch up with friends.”
Gillian Connor from Feline Friends added: “Rehoming the cats through Sarah’s café has been marvellous. It makes such a difference when people meet the cats. You can only see so much from a photo. We’re very grateful.”