How cats in cafés became hip

Forget crazy spinsters, the new cat people are trendy East Enders who are using feline fixtures in their cafés, shops and pubs to draw customers in — and keep them coming back. And with a Tokyo style “cat emporium” scheduled to open in east London this year, kitties are only set to get even cooler.

Stop for a pint at The Blind Beggar on Whitechapel Road and you’ll find cats lounging by the fireplaces. Over at Scootercaffè in Waterloo’s Lower Marsh the tip jar is for the three hip cats who lounge around listening to jazz among the tables and vintage scooters. Now no Brick Lane shop is complete without a stylish pet.

Lik + Neon on Sclater Street, a boutique that sells T-shirts, bags and other items by independent designers and illustrators, has four cats which lie around in custom-made beds. Owner Janice Taylor says she likes the relaxed, homely atmosphere the pets create and that some customers come just to visit the cats. “We wanted to create a new type of concept shop where people could shop for rare vintage finds and newly discovered designers in an animal-enhanced environment,” she adds.

Taylor, who opened the shop in 2004 before adding the feline attractions, may have had some influence on the growing trend. Certainly, her adoption of moggy mascots indirectly led to vintage clothes shop Beyond Retro on nearby Cheshire Street acquiring a purring presence. One of the original Lik + Neon cats, Tiny, had been missing for months until (by chance) Taylor discovered that she had been adopted by the neighbouring shop.

In the past, cats were employed by establishments such as cafés to keep mice out — and it seems there is also an element of vermin control in the current revival.

“They’re great for pest control,” agrees Martin Hardiman, owner of Pedlars Workshop, a café-cum-bike repair shop in Bermondsey. “However, they are also a draw for customers. It makes people come back and is another feelgood factor, along with the music and home baking.” Two new kittens, Peggy and Beryl, can be found playing around inside, or sitting in the basket of the pastry delivery bike outside when it’s not delivering croissants to central London cafés.

If you can’t find any public pussycats in your area, take a look at pubcats.com, a worldwide map of cats in pubs and bars, which means you need never drink a cat-free pint again. There are many more London cats and this is the purrfect (sorry) place to find and share them.