I'm about to enter a place, I've never been before. I'm not sure what to expect if I'm honest, but I'm curious and excited all the same.
It's a cafe where you can get a nice cup of tea and cake, but you'll also be surrounded by some "little people in fur jackets".
I'm talking cats.
Ten to be exact.
The cat cafe is managed by two lovely ladies, Emma and Denise.
The two met whilst working as cabin crew some twenty years ago.
The airline they worked for went into administration and both had the misfortune in 2020, just before the nation went into lockdown, of losing the careers that they had spent years building.
"It was a wonder job. We hated and loved it equally for lots of different reasons" Emma tells me.
The result was both ladies then ended up stacking shelves at a supermarket soon after.
But don't feel sorry for them just yet! From chatting with these two, you know that this would never last, and in the not-so-distant future something spectacular would be in the making. But that doesn't mean it will come easy. But then again, life's most life-changing, worthwhile things tend not to.
Emma takes me back to that time.
"I remember thinking, is this it for the rest of my life. It wasn't enough for me. I was absolutely frustrated and bored!"
They're both in agreement in telling me that Denise was the one who came up with the idea of a cat cafe. A concept I had never heard of before.
After a bit of researching on the internet, I discover that cat cafes originate from Taiwan and have started to make their way to different areas of the globe. And now one has arrived in the town of Solihull.
"We both love animals, and we've always had cats. People kept saying, just have a cafe. But we said no. If we can't have the cats, then we can't have the cafe. We would never have a cafe just on its own, we wouldn't have a cafe if it wasn't for the cats" says Denise.
"Ten is manageable".
After a lot of planning and red tape, things gradually started to progress.
Fast forward 18 months and 'A slice of puurfection' was up and running.
But what strikes me most is that there's a lot more going on here than meets the eye.
Before you get too carried away, and I hate to disappoint you... I'm not about to reveal a secret gambling den hidden behind a curtain out back or some rather suspicious-looking plants budding under UV lights. What I'm about to tell you will make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside.
What I've been told is, wait for it...
the customers that come here...
steady on...
Talk to each other!
You know the thing we used to do before we had a mini-computer acting like a desperate child, grabbing our attention every second of the day. People that come here feel safe enough and relaxed enough, to open themselves up. How magic is that?
"We're a bit like councillors some of the time".
"You can be talking to people and they tell you all their stories". Emma tells me how once a female customer had her sobbing.
"Some of it's heart-wrenching. I'm too emotional for that" Denise tells me.
She also informs me that some customers swap telephone numbers and friendships are formed.
"The cats open the conversation and everything flows from that. We are a bit like counsellors some of the time" says Emma.
"When you've had people come in we know that we haven't helped them, but the cats have helped them, you see something different in them, that's something, isn't it? It's very rewarding, you feel like you've given a little something back" says Denise.
As well as serving tea and cake, and lending an ear, the cafe also helps other local businesses by introducing them to the loyal customer base they have developed.
There's a lady who crochets lookey likey's of the cats and the cafe sells them to customers on her behalf. They also are involved in recruiting volunteers through the charity 'Mencap', a fantastic charity that helps support people with learning disabilities. And have also provided holistic days tying into the therapeutic, calming environment of the cafe.
"They're like little people in fur jackets"
Emma
I ask what it's like to work with all these cats, and from having experience in the past of having my own I know they're bound to have a few tales to tell.
"Ronnie is the thug". Denise warns me. "From behind he looks like he's got a pair of frilly knickers on. The old-fashioned bloomers!"
She's right, I feel less intimidated now!
"We like to think we try and educate people as well about how to hold them and care for them".
Some customers that come here have never owned a cat themselves, and some are restricted by housing arrangements so get to enjoy time with these much-loved felines.
Bear is the laziest I'm informed and is the alpha male.
Dash has worked her way up from the bottom of the bunch, starting off in the gang as the runt, and now holds the crown as alpha female.
Thor is the gentleman and is the softest soul.
And Jiggy is the loving one.
Before arriving for their shift at the cafe, the cats are fed and carefully transported by Emma, who also takes all ten home with her when the cafe closes.
As this is being said, Dash is attempting to manoeuvre herself into my handbag on the chair next to me. No success today I'm afraid, but the determination from her gets my respect all the same.
"We're always learning. Always".
Denise
When asked to summarise their first year, I get the impression of some understandably mixed emotions.
And after a short pause, Emma's the first to speak.
"It is challenging and it is hard but it's also very rewarding. We've had a lot of really lovely positives and it can be physically hard work. It's not what we expected, but we didn't know what we were expecting. But it's more than we could have imagined".
My impression of both women is that the two are very much in tune together. As well as finishing each other's sentences, you can feel that they are very much singing from the same hymn sheet when it comes to running the business. Something fundamental when running an independent business together. There's an unspoken trust between the two, a deep friendship that you sometimes only see on tv.
They immediately make you feel relaxed and give the cafe a warm, personal atmosphere that only an independent business can, which is vital for society to connect people.
I leave the cafe knowing what a difference both ladies, not just the cats, make to people's lives without them really realising it.
As I rummage for my notepad in my handbag when I return home I find the inside of my bag has become fur-lined.
A surprise gift from Dash.
I'll remember to get a round of milk in for her next time I visit.
If you enjoyed reading this blog post, drop a comment below and share with a fellow cat-loving foodie
I'd like to thank both Emma and Denise for taking the time for a fantastic chat with me and for their honesty, humour and kindness. And I look forward to coming to the cafe again in the future.
You can find 'A Slice of Purrfection' at 38 Poplar Road, Solihull, B92 3AB
Booking is essential through the website.
If you would are a business that would like to help support volunteers through 'Mencap' the charity, please contact the website linked below for more information.
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