Purr-fect launch for Kitty Cafe after £500,000 refurb of former Yorkshire Bank building

Kitty Café has opened its doors to cat lovers following a £500,000 refurb of Leeds’ Yorkshire Bank.

The opening follows the success of its original premises in Nottingham.

CPMG Architects has designed the cat-friendly interior which includes a cat snug, bespoke runs and the UK’s largest cat scratching post.

Cristina Riley, senior interior designer at CPMG, said: “The Kitty Café was a really interesting project with a very specific brief. It was integral that the cats could easily run from the front to the back of the café. There are bespoke shelves, bridges and posts to ensure that the cats can play and be as active as possible. The bespoke rope scratching post stands over two metres tall.

“The back of house area is designed specifically for cat naps and we even designed a private luxury cat snug, which the cats can access through holes in the wall.”

The café is full of natural, outdoor elements and materials, including birch posts, tree logs and faux greenery.

Kate Charles-Richards, Kitty Café’s owner, said: “CPMG completed the brief beyond our expectations. Its team got fully on board with the concept of the Kitty Café and were very flexible with the changes we needed to make. They brought fantastic ideas to the table which made the new café even better than we had imagined. We’d love to work with the team again when we expand in 2018.”

While the café element of the business is important, the heart of the company is its cat rescue and adoption service.

Charles-Richards and her husband Oliver find cats from local rescue centres, train them for four weeks and then welcome them into the Kitty Café where they can be adopted.

A six figure loan from HSBC helped support fit-out costs.

Dave Welch, HSBC area director, said: “Cat cafes have become hugely popular in recent years and we are delighted to have helped Kitty Café open a second shop. Our business banking specialists are dedicated to supporting British businesses in realising their growth ambitions, and we are certainly delighted to be helping support the rehoming of rescue cats.”

HSBC’s relationship manager Anthony Greenfield led the funding support for Kitty Café and continues to provide guidance as the company progresses its business strategy.