A few weeks ago, I was doing a google search to see which UK cat cafés I still needed to visit. I discovered one in Tonbridge, a town I’d never heard of before – I had to google where that was! It turns out that it’s in Kent, just outside of London. So, as I was staying in London overnight after a gig, I thought I’d check out the Tonbridge cat café before heading back to the Midlands.

Paws Cat Café, Tonbridge

Paws Cat Cafe is in the market town of Tonbridge in Kent. Famous for its Motte and Bailey castle, it’s situated 29 miles south east of London. Paws is one of two cat cafés in Kent, the other being in Herne Bay. Children are allowed in this cat café however if you do want to take a child, you will have to call up and book. Bookings for adults and teens can be made online or over the phone.

How to get there

Tonbridge is just over 30 minutes away from London by train. Trains run regularly from London Bridge, Charing Cross and Waterloo East stations and it costs £15.10 for a return ticket. You can get on any train heading towards Dover Priory, Ramsgate, Tunbridge Wells or Hastings. I got the train from London Bridge station and then back into Charing Cross.

Once you arrive at Tonbridge station, it’s just a 4 minute walk to the cat café which is located in Angel Walk opposite Superdrug. This is just off the high street and really easy to find.

The cost

There is a £5 entry charge for adults and this entitles you to an hour in the café. As with all cat cafés, this is a welfare charge and helps towards feeding, looking after the cats and vet bills. If you are a student or a senior, it costs £4. Teens (age 13-19) only pay £3.50 and children are charged at £2.50.

The cats

There are 17 cats at Paws, however you won’t see all of them when you are there. They are all rescues, from all different backgrounds. Some of them used to be feral and are very slowly getting used to being around humans. If they are feeling too shy, then they can escape upstairs to their private cat area. When I was there, I saw around 8 cats who had come downstairs. You can read all about each cat while you are there. They have folders with each cat’s story in.

While I was there, I interacted with Frank, the white cat who is deaf. He was such a sweet boy, wandering around and checking everyone out. I also had a fuss of Jasper, the ginger Tom, three black and white cats, Ginny a calico and a couple of tabbies. The owner gave us all a Webbox Lick-e-Lix each to feed to the cats. These are like frubes but meat flavoured and obviously for cats. At this point the cats all got really excited. I gave most of mine to a couple of tabbies.

The menu

There is a small menu at Paws cat café with a selection of teas and coffees, cold drinks and cakes. I went for a plain scone with clotted cream and a rose lemonade. This came to £6.30 which is more than reasonable as the scone was huge! There is a board in the café listing any specials that they have at the moment. They also do a great selection of gluten free, vegetarian and vegan options. 

I really enjoyed the hour that I spent at the Tonbridge cat café and I loved the town too. I thought that the cats were really well cared for and it’s great that they are all rescues.