RSPCA and Cats Protection call for phase-out of cat cafes

The RSPCA and Cats Protection are calling for a phase-out of so-called "cat cafés" after revealing a remarkable 44% increase in licences granted for the cafés during the last financial year.

The two leading pet welfare charities say it's "almost impossible" to meet the welfare needs of cats in this environment and therefore don't believe they should be operating.

Despite serious welfare concerns, a recent Freedom of Information (FOI) request to all councils in England and Wales revealed that there are currently over 30 cat cafés licensed in England (none in Wales) and 44% of those licences were granted in the last financial year alone showing a concerning rise in new businesses opening their doors.

This could just be the "tip of the iceberg" - with many more cat cafés believed to be operating without regulation because of "unclear" legislation.

Alice Potter, a cat welfare expert at the RSPCA, said: "We adore cats, and so we understand the appeal of cat cafés. While cats, cake and coffee might be a happy combination for people, for the cats living in these cafés it's likely to be a very different story. 

"We don't believe these environments can consistently provide cats with a good quality of life and are hugely concerned that many cats will be unhappy as a result. 

"Having descended from solitary, territorial, roaming wildcats, they're likely to find the enforced proximity to other felines as well as unfamiliar visitors wishing to stroke them extremely stressful. Generally, cats are not sociable and many felines often prefer to live without other cats or prefer to form social groups with their relations.

"Sharing an enclosed space and resources with other unrelated cats can lead to a range of negative feelings and emotions resulting in aggression and behavioural issues. It isn't always easy to identify whether a cat's welfare is compromised as the signs can often be very subtle, easily missed or misinterpreted. But we fear this could be widespread in cat cafés, however well-meaning these places may be."

It isn't mandatory to license cat cafés which means some businesses may be completely unregulated. Those that are inspected by local authorities are licensed under the regulations concerned with the keeping or training of animals for exhibition - as there's no cat-specific café license. However, the rising number of new licenses suggests cat cafés - whether regulated or unregulated - may be growing in popularity.

To see a phase-out of cat cafés, in the short term, the RSPCA and Cats Protection urge local authorities not to grant new exhibition licences for these establishments and not to renew existing licences. In the long term, the UK and Welsh Governments, as part of their review of licensing activities, are being urged to create a list which explicitly identifies activities that negatively impact the welfare of animals - and therefore should not be allowed to operate.

Alice added: "Although those that are licensed under exhibition regulations will be subject to some level of inspection, cat welfare experts believe it's simply not possible for cats to experience a good quality of life in cafés - and therefore they should not be rubber-stamped by local councils. Equally, the legislation is quite unclear about whether cafés need to be licensed at all, and therefore we suspect some cat cafés are operating without any form of regulation or local authority oversight at all."

For many cats not being able to exert choice over being handled or stroked by unfamiliar people can cause stress and fear. In cat cafés, they may be handled by strangers, not just occasionally but frequently with limited real opportunity to hide or escape and no outdoor access to roam and express their natural behaviours. 

There is also the risk that competition for resources could lead to some cats not eating as much and not being able to use a litter area as it may be guarded by another animal. Sadly some cafés also operate in a manner which restricts a cat's access to important resources including litter trays or leave them overnight in incredibly small pens which restricts their natural behaviours. As some cat cafés are inside shopping centres, the cats living there may never see daylight or breathe fresh air which is very likely to harm their mental wellbeing.

Daniel Warren-Cummings, Central Behaviour Officer for Cats Protection added: "Cats are simply not built to share space with a high number of other cats and it only happens because humans force the matter. Although many cat café owners start their enterprise out of a desire to help unwanted cats, they will ultimately commit themselves to having high numbers of cats to meet consumer demand, which makes it difficult to run these businesses in a way that truly protects cat welfare.

"Stress severely impacts a cat's physical and emotional well-being but unfortunately cats are very stoic when they're stressed and hide the signs. For example, some cats adopt a strategy of feigning sleep when they're stressed, leading consumers to mistakenly assume they're simply resting."

Proximity to other cats can also leave them prone to diseases such as cat flu or feline enteritis and the high number of cats in one area could mean any diseases or illnesses can be difficult to contain.

Alice from the RSPCA added: "We want to see a world where every kind of animal is treated with respect and kindness and foster an understanding that animals are sentient beings with their feelings and needs. We know people love cats, but we are concerned about the way animals can sometimes be viewed as commodities for our entertainment or profit. Cats in cat cafés are essentially being used for entertainment - and are often licensed as such - so we're concerned that they're paying the price for this by having a poor quality of life."