Feline lovers on the prowl for a new place to spend time with cats in Hull don’t have long to wait
Cat Powling, one of the cafe co-founders, with her cat Weary Traveller, who has provided the naming inspiration for the cat cafe(Image: Weary Traveller)
Cat lovers will soon have the purr-fect place to unwind with feline friends in what promises to be a pawsome addition to Hull’s cafe culture. Cat cafes have long been popular in Japan and have become popular additions in a fair number of UK towns and cities, providing a heart-warming experience for those who don’t have pets or are unable to keep them because of lack of space.
Now Hull is set to get a new cat cafe which owners say will also be the city’s only fully gluten free cafe, while also helping to find new homes for rescued cats in a partnership with local shelters. Founders Sam Kite and Cat Powling have told how they are poised to transform a currently secret city centre location into a top quality kitty haven.
The pair are working hard behind the scenes on creating Hull’s newest moggy meeting place – called The Weary Traveller Cat Cafe – ahead of a planned opening in late May, and they can’t wait to enlist their first guests, of the human and furry kind. The young entrepreneurs will have up to 16 cats that guests can meet – on the cats’ terms of course – with up to eight set to form the resident cat family, and others coming from local shelters which could be rehomed through the business.
Founder Cat Powling, 28, whose own tabby cat Weary Traveller has provided the cafe name, said: “I’ve always loved cats, always, and I knew cat cafes existed. A few years ago when I actually went to one it was amazing but I couldn’t eat anything because I’m Celiac.
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“A lot of the pre-made drinks were not suitable for me either. So I thought if I was going to make a place for me, it would contain cats and things I can actually eat!”
Sam Kite, 30, fellow founder, said: “I have always liked the idea of going into business myself. I’ve always struggled in traditional forms of employment. When Cat mentioned to me about one day wanting to start a cat cafe I felt I could put my talents to use to create a venture that hopefully will marry perfectly between people in Hull’s love of cats and the somewhat under-appreciated severity of gluten intolerances and celiac disease itself.”
The pair will initially run the venture together but hope it proves popular enough to bring more staff on board. The Weary Traveller Cat Cafe unit is set to be transformed with a “sino-Japanese rustic aesthetic”, bringing together bright and traditional Japanese designs and murals, with lots of blues and pinks, to create a quirky and quaint atmosphere. Sofas and coffee tables will be put in place to create a cosy place designed to make visitors feel like they’ve just stepped into a comfortable living room.
With a full focus on a gluten free offering, they will also serve cakes, cheesecakes, cookies and bakery treats alongside savoury toasties and sandwiches, and hot and cold drinks. And the most important part of their planning involves their star attractions – the cat family.
Cat said: “At first, when we open, we are going to have about seven or eight cats which will be classed as residents and will stay there forever with us until they retire.
Sam said: “The eight resident cats will stay with us but then we are reaching out to local cat charities. We’ve already spoken to a few and we would like to push our capacity up to 15 or 16 cats but we would like the remaining eight to come from the multiple cat charities across Hull, including Never Give Up Rescue, Jenny’s Cat House and Harley’s Angels. We can create a space where people can see the work they do, the amazing values they hold, and show this marriage between fostering and the importance of adopting.”
Unfortunately, very young children won’t be allowed to visit, and entry will be for eight-year-olds and over only, accompanied by adults.
Sam added: “We want to make sure that the cats are protected first and foremost and we need to make sure that all of our clientele can read and understand our rules – which are that you do not chase the cats, you do not pick up or pull the cats, if they come up to you and they want strokes that’s fine you give them all the strokes and the fuss that they want. But when they’ve decided it’s time to go you let them run off.”
The cat mad company owners are both very excited and raring to get started. Cat said: “We’re hopeful. Very hopeful. We haven’t really left anything out of the plan.”
Sam added: “We’ve put our heart and soul into this for the last well four or five months – especially this past two months every single day has been working on this. We think we’re in a good spot and I’m just excited to get it off the ground and turn it from virtual into reality.”
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