Kitty Café Reviews 116

This was a present my adult daughter to me as a gift as we both love cats. Sadly this was distressing for us both. On arrival the noise level and amount of children felt like we were in a children's soft play area. Children in groups as young as 3 to 5 years trying desperately to stroke or heavily pat these poor cats. Most of the cats were visibly scared trying to slink away or hide up high out of reach. Someone broke a glass on the floor and to avoid injury to the cats they had to be hearded away by shaking a 'dreamies' treat box to the other room. It was total chaos. Why on earth have glassware for starters and children should not be allowed until about age 12 or over? One tiny white persian was in a low level basket trying to sleep despite having it's head patted heavily by numerous children. We were concerned it was ill and asked a staff member who seemed disinterested and just said oh she's 9 years old...an old lady. EVEN MORE REASON to allow her to rest in peace. My daughter who has 2 cats of her own left quite distraught. Since then I have seen a video of 'the pods' they are kept in overnight. A tiny cage that includes their litter tray! This appears to be a non caring money making business. At the very least Kitty café should only allow children from age 14...like in Manchester. Please avoid.

We visited the Nottingham site. First of all, my 10 year old nephew really enjoyed himself. But personally I do think it’s a bit overrated. We were seated at a table that was about the size of an average bedside table. The food and drinks struggled to fit on. It was also really awkward to eat properly as it wasn’t a proper set up, it was armchairs and a small table so I had to lean forward really far to eat and still managed to drop lots on the floor as I couldn’t lean properly over my plate. Food was average, ordered a southern fried chicken wrap that I didn’t finish. Nephew had chips and chicken nuggets which he said were fine. It’s also a bit difficult to get up close and personal with the cats as they seem to perch where people are eating so you don’t really want to disturb those who are eating by invading their space. Also we were seated one side where there was less cats.. the cats seemed to prefer the other end (up the ramp) so we didn’t see the cats whilst eating.
I booked a table online and missed the small print about a donation you have to give when arriving - £8 per adult and £6 per child. I understand it’s for rescue cats but I do think the charge should be more obvious on the website. Overall, not mad I experienced it as the cats were gorgeous, but I wouldn’t go back.

Nottingham Cafe
I visited the cafe on 23rd February with my daughter. We were seated quickly and our order was taken promptly. We ordered scones and tea. The scones were OK but bit over priced.
The staff knew the cats well and were happy to answer questions. The one thing I did notice is that they didn't stop the children from chasing the cats. Few more toys so we can interact with the cats would be nice.
Over all it was an enjoyable visit and we will visit again while my daughter is at uni.

We visited the Nottingham cafe excited to share a space with the cats, being an animal lover and owner of cats myself I was looking forward to the experience.
Unfortunately this was very disappointing and concerning. Not only was our food delivered with little time left to eat and relax, we were told we couldn’t order dessert as our time slot had run out.
Besides that, the cats were clearly keeping out the way of the hoards of children and adults- yes- adults who too were seeking out sleeping cats. No wonder many of them (we counted 8 out of the 21 who were visible) were staying high up and out of the way.
The extra welfare money charged is extortionate for the lack of true concern and wellbeing of the cats. I had expected the numbers of people let in at one time would be less, the cats would be in a less vibrant, over stimulating environment and that the whole experience would have been more relaxing. Maybe naively I had overlooked the fact that at the end of the day this is a hugely commercialised cafe chain and one driven purely by profit: sorry I won’t be returning and my charity will go towards companies such as the PDSA, Cats protection and such who actually do give a monkeys about the welfare of their animals!

I had a table booked on Friday 14/2/25 at 12.30 at the kitty cafe Nottingham, for myself, daughter and her friend.
We were shown to our table at 12.30 after that not one member of staff approached us, it was 45 minutes before anyone came to take our order by which point I decided we were leaving as that would only leave us 15 minutes to have food or drink .
The member of staff that showed us to our table , did come and clear tables either side of us and spoke to customers sat either side of us so she was aware we were sat there and had not yet approached us to take our order, despite me trying to get her attention she and no other member of staff approached us until 1.15 to take our order, I feel this is really poor customer service, considering it wasn't overly busy.
When I complained to the staff member all they could say to me was sorry , they did not offer to extend our booking so we could have time to order food and drink.
I paid the £20 welfare charge, which I wouldn't have minded if we had received the service that you expect from booking a table at the Kitty cafe.
I have emailed a complaint, but it's yet to be acknowledged or replied to .

Lovely experience here. Gorgeous kitties who look well.
Food a bit on the pricey side but worth it to make sure those kitties are provided for. Will definitely return 😻😺

Been here lots of times before but the last time might well be my final visit. I only usually go to accompany a friend. At £8 a time just to get in it's a bit much considering the food and drink isn't that cheap, but I go along to support the friend and the cats. We had asked at the start if we can stay longer and were told yes. This is always allowed if it's quiet and we always buy extra food and drinks, On our last visit on Monday afternoon after ordering food and drinks, we then later tried to order a second lot we were told we couldn't stay. When I asked why, it was said that they had observed a few rule breaks. When I asked them to clarify they said we had been feeding the cats, (not true), also that I had put a drink on the arm of the chair, (yes but this was to stop several cats from drinking it as the glass was too tall to put under the net food cover) so yes I moved it there and was keeping hold of it. At one stage there were three cats all persistently trying to get the food from my plate. Then two or three were licking an empty wrapper from a pat of butter, Another, unbeknown to me until later was licking what was left of a small plastic pot of cream on the floor (which was also empty by the way)? Staff need to be reminded that it should not be up to customers to police this. Short of keeping your food under the net the whole time and not eating it, there isn't much you can do to prevent them from scavenging. I also wonder if the cats are being fed adequately as they do seem to be very eager to steal the food. The owness should be on the staff to observe not the customer and they are failing to do this. To turn round and say we were actually feeding the cats was an out and out lie. I thought their attitude was quite petty and belittling. I've seen people pick the cats up before which also isn't allowed. I asked to speak to the manager but got the same snotty response. Wouldn't mind but the place was practically empty so if our money wasn't good enough then fine. Oh, and I also finished off a half eaten packet of crisps from my bag (which by the way they don't sell). They didn't like that. Seen people eat their own cake in there before and get away with it. Maybe they didn't like the look of us

Leeds branch:
These were some of the most anxious cats ive ever seen, and i worked at a shelter. They were running away and hiding from the swarms of unsupervised children chasing, grabbing at, shouting at and throwing toys at them. I was sat next to a cat who kept trying to fall asleep but at every sound would wake up startled and scared. No-one was looking out for the poor animals- one person labeled "animal welfare officer" was taking orders while a group of kids were crowding around and tugging at a bed that a cat was trying to sleep in

No-one respected space or privacy. The kids assume that because there are cats, they don't have to care about it also being a café. Multiple times children reached over us while we were eating to bother very clearly nervous cats.

Would not recommend. This place borders on abuse with how poorly they allow their animals to be treated.

Lovely atmosphere. Gorgeous cats and food

Leeds branch - Don't let the negatives put you off, as a first time I thought it was wonderful the staff were on hand to help with anything, the cats were adorable always running around and having fun!, No bad smells very clean and professional

Staff were lovely. Cost me £16 to sit with my son for the hour. With him loving cats I thought it would be a nice treat. Felt like I just chucked £30+ away.
You expect to have the cats come to you but most of them were frightened and ran off. Some people came in just to hog fussing the kittens. Then the staff took them away. You have to read a set of rules but whats the point when people stroke a sleeping kitten and children think it's a race course whilst their namby pamby parents who dare not say boo to their children, are allowed to scream the place down?
Thankfully one lady who worked there told this young child to stop screaming because it would scare the cats.
I ordered a tea, hot chocolate and two slabs of Victoria sponge cake. No bigger than a bavarian slice from Gregg's but costs £4.90. The tea had half a paper cup full of hot water in the pot and I paid £4 for that. Total rip off. And we barely got to stroke the cats let alone see them. Hogged or scared. Poor things. Definitely a tourist attraction. Definitely not for the cats.

We visited today and honestly they need to get a grip of how many children are visiting per booking. It was ridiculous . We were there with our two young kids and the amount of other kids descending on us when a cat was near us and grabbing at them was awful. We constantly had to bring our kids away from cats because when they were stroking them other kids just came up and started stroking/grabbing at them with their parents nowhere to be seen. The cats were incredibly tolerant but it didn’t really sit right with me, to be honest It was ridiculous. Coffee was awful too. All in all a very expensive visit that was disappointing. £28 admission was absolutely crazy for the non experience. Only one working toilet which was filthy, no hand drier and no paper towels. Grim. The staff were all very nice and friendly though.

Gave one star as not possible to give zero. My daughter booked this yesterday as a nice end to our Birmingham trip. Cost £8 each which was fine as going to the cat charity. Checked in at 12:30 and already noisy. Kids running around trying to catch the cats. No parental control as children pushing into other people spaces. And parents with them. Poor cats were trying to find a safe place.
Tried to order food but couldn’t find staff on floor. Eventually managed to place order after 25 minutes. We only had a one hour slot and had to get to the airport, After another 20 minutes we searched out a staff member to cancel our food as we had to leave. She was very apologetic and did cancel order, which I was surprised to see went back in my account this morning.
They really need to organise this cafe better. Why not give everyone a few cat treats for their table so everyone can enjoy the space and have an opportunity to pet the cats which is why we were there. Also maybe each adult should be restricted to two children so they can keep them under control. Not much point in signing that you agree to the rules when they are totally ignored. I certainly wouldn’t recommend this cafe . So disappointed

Booked this for my nephew (16) & niece (20) as a last minute treat. I'd booked before reading reviews and felt a little stressed as complaints included rude staff and anxious, stressed cats nowhere to be seen.

The staff were friendly, polite and welcoming. We went on a Sunday during term holidays and it was quite busy.

There were children present but they were just as excited as the adults, so they never affected the visit (reviews complained about little children).

The food looked great and my nephew & niece stroked and petted all the cats - especially during treats time.

Ignore the negative reviews. Staff were really chilled and polite. Great visit!

Only got a one star as it’s not possible to give it zero. Lucky if we saw more than 2 cats and those 2 were sleeping away from
Everyone
But the worst bit was the food. We ordered halloumi stack wraps and they came with one small piece of halloumi smaller than the size of my pinky nail. They wouldn’t take two of them back as we had ‘started nibbling them’. Extremely rude staff who advised we should complain and gave us a card (no one there could help). Made worse by the fact they make you pay in advance - deliberate I presume so you can’t then negotiate
They also have not responded to my complaints and have blocked me on Facebook for asking them to respond to my complaint
Extremely expensive wrip off. Don’t waste your time or your money

Booked for my daughter’s birthday. Cost £16 to get in. Fine. If it does go to the cat rescue. Then paid £24 for afternoon tea for 2. Ok. Reasonable. Sandwiches were dry. Had barely any filling in. One I’m sure was actually a ‘paste’. The amount of Rude grabby children unbelievable whose parents just ignored them. This isn’t a cat rescue. It’s a tourist attraction bordering on animal cruelty. Looked on the rescue website as I loved one of the cats in particular. No sign. Guessing because he was so chill and such a sweetie. Money maker. Won’t go again.

Treated a friend to Afternoon tea,also paid for extra hour so we could enjoy our experience,,Staff were lovely,Cats amazing. Food was a total rip off ,as i had been before pre Covid and had a lovely Afternoon Tea this visit i was shocked,The quality was cheap products,and tasteless.Left feeling very dissapointed as it was a Special Birthday Gift.

Please don't visit this atrocious place!!!!

The Kitty Cafe do not care about the welfare of their cats. They claim to be a rescue, however, only the 'poorly' behaved cats go up for adoption. Having visited the cafe and had nothing but a terrible experience, I spoke with an employee of the Kitty Cafe.

I have since seen photos of the very small cages that the poor cats are locked up in overnight, and now know why certain cats have been there for years. Unfortunately, cats like Jonny, in Nottingham, will never leave the cafe, due to his good nature and the money he generates for the cafe. Only the 'poorly behaved' cats are offered loving homes, as the Kitty Cafe cares only about the profits they make.

If you visit the Kitty Cafe your experience will go something like this:
Waiting a long time in the entry queue to pay £7 per person whilst the staff members stand around chatting. Then you will order poor quality, expensive food, this will probably never arrive at your table. A lack of rule enforcement will mean you'll see very young children waving things in cats faces, poking them whilst they're sleeping, and teasing them with food, and the poor cats who clearly need their eyes wiping, not to mention the children climbing across your table to reach the sleeping cats. Most staff members have no interest in the cats wellbeing.

Do not fund this terrible company.

So my son went to the kitty cafe Saturday and we paid £60 for the party package which included a birthday cake which is sold separately at £35.

We received a £10 shop-bought flake cake that looked like someone had scraped all the toppings off with a knife. I asked for a box to take the rest home in which I was told they would have to ask the manager. Followed by alot of whispering the lady actually gave me the flake cake box saying "this is one it came out of"

Shocking. This is an absolute rip off if I wanted a shop brought cake I could of brought my own.

On the day I was told to email their admin team in which she will inform them to expect an email from me. No reply as of yet and no resolution. So I have decided to take further action.

Beautifully decorated cafe the cats were very well kept the staff were very friendly and kind and didn't mind paying for entry fee as it goes to the cats. Food was very yummy! :)