As you probably already know, I’m on a mission to visit every cat café in the UK. Every month another one seems to pop up and they always seem to be quite far away from me. At the beginning of December, a cat café was opened in Stratford Upon Avon, Warwickshire. Stratford Upon Avon isn’t too far away from me, so I had been meaning to visit ever since it opened. Last week, I finally decided it was time to go. This was very spontaneous decision, I woke up in the morning and the idea came to me. I checked online and luckily they had plenty of spaces and I booked in advance.
Shakespaw Cat Café
Based on Union Street in the heart of Shakespeare’s town, the Orangemabel tea rooms has now been converted to a quirky cat cafe. Home to 7 resident cats, Shakespaw Cat Café is open from 10am until 6pm everyday but Tuesday and anyone over the age of 10 is welcome. Children under the age of 10 are not allowed as it is a safe environment for the cats and you can’t guarantee that smaller children will understand the rules. However, during the summer holidays they are going to be running some workshops for children. These will include things like, how to handle cats properly, hot to spot signs of stress etc. I think that this is a great idea and is a great way to teach children how to treat cats.
The cost
There is a £5 entry fee which goes towards the welfare of the cats and this allows you to stay in the café for 90 minutes. Of all of the cat cafés that I have visited in the UK so far, this is the cheapest entrance fee and the best value for money. Most of the cafés only allow you to stay for an hour. If you’re just looking to spend some time with cats, then you definitely get value for money here. A lot of people get put off visiting cat cafés due to the entrance fee, but I think that it is a great idea. You are paying to see the cats and then the money goes towards feeding and looking after them. Cats are expensive creatures after all.
Getting there
Stratford Upon Avon is just 40 mins on the train from Birmingham Moor Street. It is also just over two hours from London Marylebone. Shakespaw is around 13 minutes walk from the main Stratford Upon Avon railway station. It is really easy to find, just around the corner from Shakespeare’s birthplace. It’s tucked away from the main hustle and bustle of Stratford Upon Avon, but it’s not so hidden that people don’t stumble upon it. While I was there, several people noticed the cat café and came in to ask questions about it.
The cats
Shakespaw is home for the seven resident cats. They stay there overnight, the café is their home. They have someone checking up on them during the night. There is a brilliant mixture of breeds and personalities.
Puck is the youngest of the bunch. A black and white male who had been for his “big boy operation” on the day I was visiting. He arrived back at the café while I was there and he was so sweet and dozy after his anaesthetic.
Bottom is the grumpy Persian. He spent most of his time sleeping although he did have a bit of a groom which apparently, is very rare for him. He seems to think that it’s a human’s job to groom him.
Viola is the tabby. She was very active, wandering around and jumping on tables. I have a bit of a soft spot for tabbies as I have one myself.
Hermione is the ragdoll. While I was there, she spent most of the time asleep in a suitcase but she did get up for a play before I left.
The three white cats are called Romeo, Juliet and Tybalt. There’s obviously a bit of a Shakespeare reference there! One of the members of staff taught me how to tell the three of them apart. When I first arrived, they were all snuggled up in a box downstairs which was adorable.
The atmosphere
When I was there on a Thursday afternoon, the café was pretty quiet. When I arrived there was just one other table occupied and when they left another couple came in, but only stayed for half an hour. So, I pretty much had the whole cat café to myself! The cats were so lovely and playful, they took themselves off when they didn’t want to be around the humans. I spent a lot of time fussing Bottom who was wandering around a lot. Although, he didn’t want to play when I tried to tempt him with a ball!
The quirky decor just makes the place feel so cosy and it is like you are in someone’s home. I felt so relaxed there and I loved just sitting at my table and watching the cats. The staff were also so friendly and knowledgeable. I had a great chat about the cats with one member of staff, Sam. You could tell that she really loves each and every one. The same can be said for the rest of the staff who were there on that day.
The food
I only fancied something small when I was at Shakespaw cat café. My booking was at 2pm, so I had already had my lunch. I had a look at the menu and decided on a hot chocolate with cream and marshmallows and a scone. The scone wasn’t actually listed on the menu on its own, but as part of an afternoon tea deal. I was able to order just the scone though. It came with a pot of clotted cream and I could have had jam as well. The scone was warm when it came out and it was pretty big. After eating this and drinking the hot chocolate, I was reasonably full and satisfied. All together, this cost me £6.50 which is really good for a cat café.
I really enjoyed my visit to Shakespaw Cat Café and I will definitely be going back. It was such a friendly atmosphere and all of the cats were lovely. It has to be in my top 5 cat cafés!
