The café, which has been open since March 2014, is operating under strict hygiene standards – it serves a selection of cakes, salads and bagels as no hot food is allowed to be cooked on site – with a number of precautions in place to keep the environment safe for both the cats and customers.
“We must ensure that the customer food preparation area is free from anything from the cat section of our cafe. To accommodate this there are at least two doors staff and customers have to pass through in order to enter the café,” said Graham-Murray.
“To further keep these two areas separated, different members of the team on shift have different roles throughout the day. Those handling food mustn't handle anything to do with the cats and vice versa. We ask customers to wash their hands before entering the cafe; we want to make sure that our environment is safe for our cats and our customers.”
The biggest challenge the café faces, Graham-Murray said, comes from the cats themselves with every business decision influenced by the health and safety of its inhabitants.
“As we were a start-up business that was crowdfunded, we continually try to develop the cafe, in terms of food, interior and decor. Making sure that the cafe is customer-friendly along with cat-friendly is an extra step most businesses don't need to consider; we need to ensure each change is safe and considerate of the cats' well-being.”
It depends how they’re feline
Guests at the café are allocated a 90-minute slot to play with and dine with the cats, but there is no guarantee that the cats will mirror the customer’s affection.
“For us the welfare of the cats is paramount so it's important for us to allow their behaviour to be totally natural and not shaped to please guests. To us this is allowing them to eat, sleep and groom undisturbed, and to be free to roam around without being crowded or held,” Graham-Murray said.
“You could come for a visit and be greeted by our residents lounging around snoozing or you may get in some playtime with Alice or some attention from Lizzie; the cats charmingly do as they please. It's on their terms and that's the way we like it.”
Handling expectations
Running a cat café in the capital comes with high expectations but success soon came to Lady Dinah’s leaving its staff feeling humbled.
“The reaction was totally unexpected; we knew there were lots of fellow cat lovers out there but the volume of people responding to the crowdfunding campaign and visiting the cafe was really overwhelming and humbling,” she said.
“Being based in London has also helped, where a vast amount of property is rented and a landlord that accepts feline housemates is hard to come by. We like to think we can provide that tranquil environment where cat company is celebrated, which you may not be able to enjoy at home. We've also built a great team whom make our guests feel welcome and happy to return. “
Never work with animals
The café runs a yoga class every Wednesday where customers can enjoy a class in the company of cats, but one unfortunate instructor learned why you should never work with animals.
“On one occasion one of our cats, Wookie, a big brown tabby, decided to stroll to the front of the class and proceed to fart in the yoga instructor’s face. That moment describes Wookie completely, laid-back and without a care in the world.”