Kitties and cake

Late Friday night at work I found myself looking at an empty Saturday - not that I mind that. But somehow, from a forgotten to do list subconscious, I found my fingers tapping away and finding an empty afternoon tea spot for one at Lady Dinah's Cat Emporium.

Petra asleep, Artemis looking disdainfully at a guest keen to brush her and Carbonelle, also asleep

Petra now has my heart. So do all the other cats at  Lady Dinah's cat cafe. I whiled away an hour and a half with watching self propelling furballs (aka cats) sleep and play while drinking tea and eating scones.

Petra eyeing a bit of string off camera

Petra asleep in  the window

I have been wanting to visit Lady Dinah's cat cafe from when she was still trying to find a suitable location and getting all the necessary permits. I wasn't the only one, when the cafe was finally opened, it was booked out for MONTHS! It still gets booked out, but its not so bad if you are on your own or with a friend or two.

1)Wookie's tail (he's also in the very first photo at the top) 2) Didn't get this little ones name 3) Biscuit

Before being shown my table, I was asked to wash my hands and informed of the house rules. They are not as strict as the cat cafe in Tokyo, but essentially, the welfare of the cats was of the utmost importance. As it should be really.

1) Romeo and Donnie 2) Biscuit and Romeo 3) Donnie, Mue (also known as 'Mamma' coz shes the mum to 7 of these cats)

My seat was downstairs but I was free to wander round, make friends and play with the cats that were awake and take lots of photos. The cats were snoozing in their perches or wandering around making sure everything was in order. The youngest kittens were very affectionate and would pick someone to sit next to and befriend to the utter delight of the chosen person.

Downstairs at Lady Dinah's

This little kitten surprised this guest with a cuddle.

The staff were lovely, friendly and happy to talk about the cats and tell you about their personalities, their preferred pats and how they liked to play.

Romeo fast asleep in his hammock.

I really cant think of anything more relaxing that chilling out in a cafe filled with warm, sometimes playful, sometimes snoozing, fuzzy things.

Would you visit a cat cafe?

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Book review: A Street Cat Named Bob

This weekend i finished reading A Street Cat Named Bob. It initially came to my attention when i was walking along in Covent Garden and spotted a guy sitting on the side of the street surrounded by people who were fussing over a ginger cat. Bit of a strange sight - even for London. I didn't want to be nosy but i couldn't help it - i love cats. As i walked past my eye caught sight of a book with the cats photo on it, it stuck in my mind and, recently, i stumbled across the book and picked up a copy to read.

The story is about Bob (the stray ginger cat) his owner James Bowen, how they met and how they changed each others lives. James - living in vulnerable housing and battling a drug addiction meets Bob and his life is no longer the same. Its a sweet and touching story. One particular chapter had me in tears; James talks about going through withdrawal as he tries to get of Methadone and how a concerned Bob places his face up close to James' to check if he was OK - i was bawling like a kid. It was very, very moving.

But it isn't all about Bob, James talks about the systems in place to help people get off addiction, life on the streets, the valuable services of the Blue Cross and RSPCA, how the Big Issue works and more without being preachy. It has certainly opened my eyes to a few things and its definitely worth a read.

And if you are interested in finding out about James and Bob after the close of the book like i was, then you'll be happy to know that they are both quite social with their own blog (Around The World In 80 Bobs) to capture all their fan mail, Facebook page and Twitter account @StreetCatBob. And if that isn't enough, there is a sequel, The World According to Bob which you can pre-order on Amazon.

Oh, did i mention that there are also rumours about it being turned into a movie? The Guardian has it straight from James lips here.


- Vanishing Point

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