I went down to Sheffield’s first cat café, Tabby Teas, to hear about how being around animals can be beneficial for our mental health.
With the beautiful cats around us, some even jumping in our laps during filming, we heard the first-hand story of what the business means to the owners.
Co-owner Charlotte Pickering, 38, is a big lover of all animals, especially cats, and dreamed of combining her interests.
“I had worked in a café for 10 years, I was managing in that café and I thought this idea would be a marriage of both my interests.
Open for nearly eight years, the café has been a safe space for many customers, including staff too.
Mads Shaw, a barista at Tabby Teas, said: “I started as a volunteer a few years ago now. I dropped out of university and needed something to fill my time.
“It truly is one of the best places in the world. I can literally say this place saved my life, then I got offered a job here. Coming in and seeing the cats everyday, I love them so much, it’s the best job in the world.
“Coming in in the morning and they are purring and excited to see you, it is honestly one of the biggest joys ever.”
If you are enjoying reading about Tabby Teas, try this story on how social media is impacting animal conservation.
However, the business has faced hardship in the last year, with the cat clan struck with illness.
After speaking with their vet, they chose to start over with a new clan.
Charlotte said: “All of the cats got rehomed, and I’m not going to lie I took a few of them, so I now have six cats in my house.
“They were all snapped up quickly and went to nice places. It wasn’t the end of the world; at the end of the day, we do rehome from here, so it was kind of like a mass-rehoming essentially, and then starting again.”
After thoroughly stripping back and cleaning the café, the team were ready to bring some new beautiful cats in.
With health checks, blood tests, vaccinations, and a few uncomfortable stool samples, the process was long before the new clan could arrive.
“When they finally come in we have to kind of vet them; are they going to be happy here, is this the right environment? You could have a cat that comes in and then walks straight out again essentially.”
Despite the low moments, Charlotte wakes up everyday happy to go to work.
She said: “There is still cat litter to clean up at the end of the day, and the infamous cat vomit, and it is like looking after a kindergarten!
“The cats will be cheeky with one another. If one cat nicks another one’s spot, they will go and tell each other off, and you’re constantly having to be like the teacher saying ‘come on let’s play over here’.
“Most people wake up and think ‘ugh I have to get up to go to work today’, but I get up to work knowing I get to play with the cats all day. The amount of people that come in saying ‘this must be the best job in the world’, and it is!”
