London Cat Village is a forest themed cat café, located in Shoreditch, London. It was set up last summer by a man who suffered with depression. He began to cure his mental illness by opening the Cat Village with his wife. They wanted to provide a place for all of the cat lovers to indulge in all the cuteness and snuggle in a ‘homely and stress-free environment.
Before arriving to the Cat Village, I reserved my one hour visit online – I strongly advise you to do that, because it can/does get busy, especially during the weekends.
Up on your arrival, you will be told a set of rules which you have to follow during your time at the Cat Village, such as:
- Take your shoes off – either wear slippers provided or your socks
- Don’t pick up the cats
- Don’t disturb them while they eat, drink and/or sleep
- Don’t feed the cats
- Camera’s and phones are allowed but NO flash photography
- Be respectful and give them space
- Guest food and drinks can be bought for extra cost
The whole place is fairly small and can get crowded at times; however there are two floors, so guests can move around both floors during their visit. You’re allowed to sit on the beanbags, but when I visited all the cats took up the beanbags so most guests were sitting on the floor. The whole environment was very relaxing, with peaceful music playing in the background, and cats running around on both floors.
Throughout your hour at the Cat Village, you can order food and drinks. There is a variety to choose from – everything from sandwiches, cakes, ice cream to hot and cold drinks. If you do order any food, I would be careful and keep an eye out. This is something I have learned within the first 5 minutes of my food arriving. The cats do jump around and they will try to eat your food, whether the food is in your hands or on the table. I bought a pot of tea and left it on the side table for a few minutes to take photo’s of the cats. A few minutes later, I turned around and one of the cats was drinking milk for my tea.
My experience at the Cat Village wasn’t what I expected but I still had a wonderful time. What I expected was a big room filled with lots of hyper cats, tables and chairs where customers can sit down and relax amongst the cats. But the reality was, most of the cats were either asleep or eating – but then again, I don’t know what I was thinking… You can’t expect cats to be hyper and running around all day long. There was also very limited amount of chairs and tables for customers so sit down on – and those that were provided weren’t in the best state. Despite all of that, I would still recommend visiting the cat café, especially if you don’t have the possibility to have a pet at home.
Important details
Price: £5 per person per hour
Nearest station: Old Street
Hours: Open seven days a week, 09:00 until 22:00
Tips
- Don’t wear your best clothes. As you can imagine the place isn’t spotless when there is so many cats running around 24/7. The cats do moult and don’t have any restrictions as to where they are allowed to sit/walk around (this includes tables too)!
- Book in advance. Some people have been lucky to be accepted as soon as they arrive at the door step, however that’s usually the off peak times. However if you’re planning to visit during the evening and/or weekend, I would strongly recommend booking in advance.
