News / Animals
Bristol’s cat cafe could have no cats
Bristol’s much-talked about cat cafe looks set to be in trouble before it has even opened, with the animal sanctuary due to be providing its cats now refusing to give their animals to You & Meow.
In a statement, Holly Hedge Animal Sanctuary in Barrow Gurney said: “For anyone that may have read in recent news articles that we will be partnering with a proposed Bristol Cat Cafe we would like to state that this is incorrect information.
“Although we have had discussions with the proposed cafe there was no formal agreement made and after visiting the proposed site we can confirm that the cafe will NOT be fostering any of our cats; the location was not suitable along with other factors not meeting our requirements.
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“The welfare of our animals will always remain our number one priority.”
Hannah Wozniak from Holly Hedge told Bristol24/7 that they are “not completely opposed to the idea of involvement with a cat cafe” but this cannot be to the detriment of their animals.
She said: “Before making any decisions we would need to be confident that the location was suitable with suitable ‘quiet’ areas that the cats can retreat to for example.
“We would also need to make sure that there were sufficient staff in place to make sure that cats were not being handled in an inappropriate way, to make sure they were not being fed by the public which could interfere with their diet and to make sure that the premises was secure and hygiene levels were kept to a tip top standard.”
You & Meow owner Ewa Rukat said: “After discussions with Holly Hedge about collaborating together, unfortunately this won’t be going ahead.
“We have taken on board a lot of their concerns, in particular that the fostering and rotation of cats in the current space would cause too much stress.
“Considering this we will now be following the existing model of UK cat cafes, using rescue cats but ones that have grown up together from an early stage. And our cats will no longer be available for adoption.
“Currently we are looking for a new rescue centre to adopt cats whilst working with the animal welfare department to ensure all safety and welfare regulations are met before we open.
“We still can’t wait to open in 2017 and bring Bristol its first ever cat cafe. It’s been a long journey but we’re almost there.”
Photo courtesy of Holly Hedge
Read more: Bristol cat cafe to open in January