Community Rescue Cat Cafe

Funded on
21 Dec 2020

We are opening a community cat cafe in Pimlico, creating a soothing accessible space for local people to enjoy good tea, coffee and food in the company of friendly rescue cats.

£9,703 Raised of £9,692

121 Backers

100%

Costs

New partition events room labour £1,200
Removing basement staircase £1,100
Downstairs WC equipment £1,000
Fridge £880
Flooring in corridor/staircase £800
Industrial dishwasher £750
Opening the doorway labour £610
New kitchen stainless worktops £600
Chest freezer £465
Wallpaper in corridor/staircase £450
Other + £1,170

Flooring in basement (laminate) £400

New back door towards cellar (damp) £360

Fire door in new opening £150

Resincoat concrete paint for garden £150

Raised planter for herbs £110
Target: (inc. fees) £9,692

http://www.lamaisonduchat.co.uk

Our proposal is that our new Cat Café, La Maison Du Chat, has the potential to benefit Pimlico’s community profoundly, connecting parents, pensioners and pet lovers.

We are passionate about the role of pets in promoting mental health and wellbeing, and believe we can help knit together the urban social fabric of Pimlico, particularly in these difficult Covid times. Rescuing animals is also a top priority and we hope to bring both of these principles together to benefit our local community.

Owner Florence Heath has called Pimlico home since 2005; during her time working abroad she came to realise how badly animals were being treated in some countries and has since been very involved in rescuing some of them. She is also invested in preserving Pimlico's strong sense of commuity and beautiful, unique surroundings.

She is very passionate about working with animals to alleviate stress and mental health struggles. The therapeutic effect of contact with animals is increasingly documented in medical circles.

As such we are planning a few Pets as Therapy programmes with the following groups:

SEND children, in association with the Bessborough Family Hub
PTSD support, in association with Resurface UK
register as an option in local Social Prescribing programmes with local GPs/NHS teams

The cats will be in direct contact with humans in the café, and these interactions will be supervised at all times.

One of the key missing services in Pimlico, as experienced by Florence and many other new parents, is the lack of a safe, toddler-friendly space to have coffee or meet friends in.

A key idea for us is to educate children from a young age on how to approach and deal with cats, and pets in general, and avoid for them to be scared of pets when out and about. This might also apply to some parents!

We plan to provide cat husbandry and advice clinics in association with our vet, cat groomer and cat therapist and plan to further education across the ages about the needs and behaviours of cats and dispelling myths around these animals (pregnancy, black cats, etc). We will also be promoting pet microchipping and sterilisation, in a bid to increase responsible pet ownership, as Florence has rescued a number of cats in Pimlico that were unchipped and unclaimed.

Our food on offer will reflect our passion for fresh, high-quality food. We will expand to Afternoon Teas and savoury snacks/soups/salads as we grow, and provide brunches at the weekend too.

Project Owner: La Maison du Chat The Project Owner takes legal responsibility for receiving and spending the funds raised and ensuring the project is delivered.