Tea time accompanied by cats in London
The faces of the passersby who pass in front of the café Lady Dinah's they are mostly in awe. They don't expect to see Petra, a very stylish cat lying on her sofa , tailor-made, tail wagging or Donni, running around looking for a new toy to scratch, while waiters with teapots and coffee cups dodge them.
It is the first cat-themed café to open in London in 2014, after sweeping the crowdfunding project with 7,000 reservations in the first 24 hours. These cat cafes are quite popular in countries like Japan, Thailand and Taiwan from where Lauren Pears , the owner of the establishment, was inspired to bring this concept to the British capital.
Lady Dinah's King
As soon as you walk into Lady Dinah's, there a shelf with souvenirs for sale such as sweaters, necklaces and mugs with drawings of cats. It is clear, we entered feline territory and here "the cat is always right" , comments one of the waitresses wearing a headband of earmuffs as a uniform.
There are a number of important rules to follow: cats may not be picked up, woken up or petted while they are sleeping and they may not be given food or drink . The idea is not that you have a cat on your knees to rub for an hour and a half, the maximum reservation time, but to enjoy a different plan having a coffee or, if you dare, the traditional afternoon tea ( 45 euros ), which is made up of a turret of plates with sandwiches and sweets, such as scones that will satisfy the sweet tooth.
A cat causing infinite 'OOOOOHHH'
One of the best ways to take advantage of this experience is to talk and ask the caretakers and waitresses who know the 'tenants' of this cafe inside out. They will help you in your first contact to know who is more open to play , who seeks his space and does not want to be disturbed or what kind of pampering they like. “Biscuit, for example, loves to be patted on the rear,” says the keeper.
To the criticism that these types of establishments can sometimes provoke, the manager of Lady Dinah's replies that she invites all skeptics and critics to visit to see that no abuse is tolerated , “we check four times a day how they are, if they have eaten, if they have relieved themselves and if they rest enough. If we see that they are unhappy for a couple of days, we follow up with them to see if they no longer want to stay with us, and if so, We are looking for a family to adopt him. The process is exhaustive with interviews and visits to check that the cat is happy in his new home."
A traveling cat
** Lady Dinah's ** offers a calm atmosphere, both for cats and customers with relaxing music in the background, which has been the place chosen for several proposals and Tinder first dates. It is a fairly popular cafe in the neighborhood, having to book at least a week in advance. An entrance fee of 7.70 euros is charged for the care and welfare of the animals, all of them brought from shelters and which quickly become part of the great family of Lady Dinah's coffee.