Target reached!
If we do go over our target, it would help pay for another month of rent arrears, on...
Save our community cat cafe!
London, Greater London, United Kingdom
Aim
We have been fighting an unnecessary third entrance door and need to cover the costs incurred while waiting for this problem to be resolved
Hello dear animal lovers of Pimlico and beyond,
my name is Florence and I run a small, innovative cat cafe in Pimlico, London, United Kingdom. Our key focus is to provide our local community with a peaceful haven where they can easily access some purrfect cat therapy, whilst simultaneously helping rehome cats in need.
Unfortunately, due to some weighty bureaucratic processes, we have had to close for the last two months. For the time being, we are cat-less, and whilst that matter is happily being resolved, we have had no income in the meantime to cover our fixed costs.
Our landlord is now chasing, and we will soon be due to pay our equipment lease fee, on top of which we have to find funds to pay for our new animal license application.
Unfortunately, we have absolutely no rainy day reserves left as we used them all up during our first year of operation to counter the protracted effects of the pandemic, during which time we weren't eligible for any of the grants, business loans or furlough due to being a new business.
We are therefore asking for your help and support in order to survive and cover these costs, so we can continue to be here and share the love of our furry friends with all of you for years to come!
Here are some photos of some of the rewards available for our supporters, but also of some of the things we do for our amazing, diverse and supportive local community :)
- We run free coffee mornings for the elderly every Monday morning from 10-11
- We hold Mother&baby sessions on Tuesday mornings from 10-11:15 am where we make the Cat Lounge baby friendly, and help introduce small babies to cats in those formative early weeks and months; whilst providing some brief respite in a welcoming and calm space for exhausted new mothers
- During lockdown 2021, we ran almost daily support groups for young parents, and were able to provide some rare respite for single parents in particular; we were also able to assist in two cases of domestic violence by providing guidance on where to find support, whilst providing a few safe and loving hours away from the horrors of home
- We support our local artists by exhibiting some of their art in the cafe and also have our very own Artist in Residence who will be providing art classes once we reopen
- We choose to remain accessible to all, not implementing a booking policy to come and meet the cats, but trying to encourage repeat visits for those who can most benefit from pet therapy. We are also proudly child-friendly as we believe children of all ages can and should be taught how to act around, and respect, animals. This is particularly important in our highly urbanised setting where cats in particular are few and far between in public spaces.
- We are the proud employers of a primarily-local, small but committed workforce
- We provide volunteering opportunities for local residents of all backgrounds to come and help with the cats and our charity's work, and include some of our younger residents in this programme as well as Duke of Edinburgh volunteers.
- We are home to our small rescue charity, Furry Ears Rescue, through which we rehome our animals responsibly but also compassionately, staying away from age-ism and other such arbitrary measures when assessing new homes.
If you feel like these are actions and values that you support, or if you have visited our cafe and enjoyed your time with us, please do consider donating today to give our small, community-focused, independent business a chance to survive and finally settle into providing some much-needed purr-fect therapy to many more visitors.
- We try to be sustainable in our day-to-day, focusing on saving pre loved items from landfill by re-using and sometimes upcycling objects ranging from palettes to teapots as well as chairs and even paints!
If you feel like these are actions and values that you support, or if you have visited our cafe and enjoyed your time with us, please do consider donating today to give our small, community-focused, independent business a chance to survive and finally settle into providing some much-needed purr-fect therapy to many more visitors.
- Our base target covers 1 month of rent arrears (£2200), 1 month of equipment lease (£1180) and the cost of the new animal license (£893)
- The stretch target includes another month of rent arrears (£2200), and the construction of a downstairs loo (approx £2500) to enable us to host more people on site, particularly in our function room.
- Anything above these will help us fund the transport of a new batch of cats!
This project successfully funded on 16th May 2022