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.
