Meowster - a cat cafe for central Londoners

Aim

Cats have healing powers - it's proven by study! Help us make Meowster happen - a cat cafe for central Londoners.

Who are we

We are Jingshu and Qian. We came to London 5 years ago, fell in love with this city and made it our home. We love animals and now have a cat and a dog of our own. We want to open a cat cafe (Meowster is the name) in central London Bloomsbury. 

Jingshu, having studied at London School of Economics and Qian, at City University London, have a special connection to Bloomsbury, as it is home to so much culture and surrounded by universities. It has a vibrant culture that to us, represents an important part of London. Qian has previously worked at a cat cafe in Shanghai that hosted 10 cats.

What we want to do

Cat cafe is what the name suggests - it is a cafe, with the addition of cats as your furry hosts. We’ve all heard the saying, “An apple a day keeps the doctor away!” But have you ever considered interacting with cats as another way to prevent doctor visits? 

Cats help us

According to study researcher Allen McConnell:“Pet owners had greater self-esteem, were more physically fit, tended to be less lonely, were more conscientious, were more extroverted, tended to be less fearful and tended to be less preoccupied than nonowners.” For many of us in London, the stress of work and study, tight budgets and small flats means it may not be feasible to have pets. 

(a cat cafe in Shanghai)

With mounting stress from work and study, an increasing number of people are developing physical and psychological problems such as anxiety and depression.  Cats are not cure to our life problems - but we hope Meowster's cats can be part of the solution.

Apart from the happiness and healing you gain from staying with cats. We also hope to work with university students and young artists to build a community to support creativity. New start up artists or graduates always seek places to spread their work and Meowster will be a free and easy access platform to help promote artefacts and paintings. We looking for artists and students to co-operate and their creations will be displayed and for sale in Meowster.

(small cat arts Meowster is working on)

We help cats

Recently, we are seeing more young students buying cats as pets, but not being able to provide the best care for them. Having a pet comes with a lot of responsibilities. We hope that for those who are not ready, Meowster will be an 'all the joy, none the fuss' alternative to buying cats. It is heartbreaking to see these furry kitties not living a happy life and Meowster can help amend that.  

(a cat cafe in Shanghai)

We want to also help people to get to know cats - unlike dogs, they have their quirks. Our aim is for Meowster to be a place where cats and human can enjoy each others' company with respect.

(a draft house rule to protect the welfare of cats)

How will the money be used 

Opening up a physical shop in central London is costly - and our savings can only cover a portion of that. 

Your contribution will go towards rent, council tax and business rates for the first 6 months. It will also cover staffing and proper trainings they need to care for the cats, including cat behavioural trainings. Additionally, together with our personal savings, your help will go towards fitting the seating area. 

Thanks for your support and hope to see you at Meowster soon!

This project closed unsuccessfully on 18th October 2019