A new find for us and the perfect treat for me to celebrate my 30th birthday. Yes I am 30 and yes, I wanted to spend a quiet moment at a cat cafe with some lovely felines and sweet treats. Because I am an adult. Now I have said before that personally, if the cafe is done in the right way, I do not think there is anything wrong with a cat cafe. Java Whiskers is one of those cafes that I did a lot of research into before visiting and it seemed very good. The cats really are the main focus and they are all available for adoption which is also lovely.
Upon entering, I was met with the very welcoming and helpful staff. I had booked a reservation which was absolutely needed as they seemed to be busy the entire day. They have a kitten lounge and a cat lounge. I decided to visit the cat lounge, as the kitten lounge was booked up solidly for at least the next 2 weeks. Plus I thought some of the older cats would need some loving. We were told to order our food and drink first and then once we were shown to our table one of the staff would bring this out to us. They has a huge selection of vegan cakes and apparently also quite a lot of vegan savoury treats such as sandwiches and bagels. I did not see these as I was blinded by the huge selection of cakes, cupcakes and cookies that were on display.
I went for the vegan jaffa mini loaf and my partner tried the red velvet cupcake. Both were very nice. The loaf was ever so slightly dry but with a cup of tea it was a great combination. Now I know that the main selling point of these places is not the food…it’s the cats. Therefore I do not expect mindblowing food. That said the loaf and the cupcake were very enjoyable and the sandwiches I saw other tables ordering did look delicious. Price wise the food is somewhat expensive – two cakes and two drinks was roughly £14 – but this place is in central london so I wouldn’t say it was overpriced. I think that’s actually pretty standard for London coffee shops.
We were also given a list of house rules before being shown to our table and they were what I had expected. Do not pick up the cats, unless they are trying to steal your food, in which case you may gently move them away. Do not chase them. Do not disturb sleeping cats or cats that are up high. We were told we could give soft head rubs to any sleeping cats if we wished, but for the most part it is best to just leave them be. We did have tables but were encouraged to wander around as much as we liked to see the other cats and to play with them. We could take as many pictures as we liked but no flash photography. The standard things you would expect but it was very reassuring to hear them putting the cats welfare and comfort ahead of everything else. One of the main reasons I wanted to also visit was because they did not allow large groups and did not allow children under 10. In my experience, this is always a sign that the cats are being well looked after and that their welfare is top priority.
But onto the main part…the cats. Goodness me were these some beautiful cats. These cats were all calm (aside from a few mad zoomies) and very relaxed to just walk around and have a little sniff of the new people. There were all super soft and were very clearly well loved and looked after which is always lovely to see. You also got a real feel for their personalities and as they were all available for adoption, this is so great to see because you can really get to spend time with them before you commit to the adoption to make sure it is the perfect connection.
Now I did lose my seat literally as soon as I stood up, so spent most of the visit on the floor. But when the chair stealer looked so comfy and so content, it was hard to be too mad at them. My chair stealer was called Demeter and she was truly the sweetest little thing. She curled up on my chair and accepted all of the head rubs while purring away. She even had a little dream as I saw a few little whisker twitches and paw twitches.
I had a lot of fun with little Anise who was just a ball of wild energy. Anyone waved a toy within the area and she was on it like a shot. She also had the best butt iggle pounce I have ever seen and made these funny little growl noises when she was zooming around the cafe floor like a rocket. But then she would just plonk down nearby and have a quick power nap before even more wild zoomies upon waking. How she had so much energy was beyond me but she was an absolute pleasure to be around and to have some playtime with.
Shadow was very similar. I did not know it was possible for a cat to spin in so many circles so quickly for such a sustained amount of time. She was also the master splooter. I love that every animal sploots in the same way, and it always makes me happy to see an animal really relaxed and content. I have also never understood why people are superstitous about black cats because every single black cat I have ever met has been the sweetest, most affectionate creatures around.
All of the cats were such a calming presence. They were relaxed and curious and just so lovely to watch. The entire place is decorated quite minimally and is a very cosy and relaxing place to be. They even had a few cat themed books and boardgames for you to enjoy during your stay. The staff were friendly, welcoming and clearly cared a lot of every one of the cats in their care. They knew all of their little mannerisms and were happy to answer any questions you had about the cats or the business. Now I only booked a time slot for one hour, but you could book for up to 2 hours if you wished to. Personally, one hour was more than enough for me. I got to meet lots of cats, have a play, have a cup of tea and some sweet treats, and just take a moment to relax. Now I know that cats also spend at least 18 hours a day sleeping, and when we were leaving at 1pm they were all starting to settle down for their midday nap. Personally, I felt that one hour was more than enough time and it set me up for a very peaceful day.
Cost wise, paid £36 for the two of us to spend an hour. I think this is pretty average for a cat cafe, although there are obviously options way cheaper than this and others far more expensive. As I say though I would happily pay more money to go to a cafe where the cats welfare is top priority and not just making money. Personally I think this was very good value for money too as the entire place is a lovely spot to visit even without the cats. It is also clear that the money does go towards the cats because every single one of them had a glossy coat, bright eyes and were clearly very comfortable being there. The cafe was also designed to have a lot of hidey places for cats to go to if they did feel overwhelmed and that is something very important for me as an animal lover and a cat lover. So while it is somewhat expensive, for me the experience was completely worth it and it is easily one of the top cat cafes I have been to.
If you want to visit or want to read up on it all, please do visit the website: http://www.javawhiskers.co.uk
Taylor Talks Vegan 