Visiting Bedford Cat Cafe

Earlier this month we went to Bedford Cat Cafe as a birthday treat for Little Man. He absolutely loves cats and we spent ages researching cat cafes to find one that had lots of cats to see, was affordable and somewhere we could easily get to in a day trip. Bedford Cat Cafe ticked all the boxes.

What is Bedford Cat Cafe?

Bedford Cat Cafe is just what it says – a cafe with cats, situated on Bedford High Street. Bedford Cat Cafe is home to ten cats and is also a lovely cafe with a nice menu of food and drink options.

Bedford Cat Cafe operate on an appointment booking system, where you book a 75 minute slot for your group. This helps the cafe to limit numbers so that the cats don’t get overwhelmed and also make it safe for the cats, with people being let in and out before and after their appointments.

At Bedford Cat Cafe you pay a £6 per person booking fee, which is basically the ticket price to see the cats. You are then free to buy any food or drink you like during your visit.

Bedford Cat Cafe Parking

Although Bedford Cat Cafe doesn’t have its own car park, there is plenty of car parking available across Bedford. We parked in the Allhallows car park which has four hours free parking. You can see all the Bedford car parking options here.

The Bedford Cat Cafe cats

Bedford Cat Cafe works in partnership with Peterborough Cat Rescue, giving a loving, social home to cats that may not otherwise be adopted. Many of the cats have disabilities and we loved meeting all the cats and getting to know their quirks.

When you arrive you’re given a booklet that tells you about the cats, what they like, what they don’t like and their personality traits. We found out that Virgil loves head rubs but Steve can be grump. That Mouse’s tongue always hangs out as she doesn’t have teeth on one side and Utange only has three legs.

The only real rules at the cafe is that children under twelve need to move around the cafe with an adult, and you’re not allowed to pick cats up. But, apart from that, you’re free to wander around the cafe, chat to the cats and simply enjoy their company however you like.

We loved spending time with the cats, stroking them as they lay in the window, playing with them and just being around them. There’s nothing quite like spending time with cats to bring you instant joy!

The Bedford Cat Cafe food and drink

Whilst at the cafe we had lunch. They have a great variety of sandwiches, the option to toast them, and plenty of hot and cold drinks too. We all had sandwiches which came beautifully presented with crisps, salad, coleslaw and pickles plus drinks. It was lovely!

Lunch is served with a plate cover in case the cats decided to climb on your table! Bedford Cat Cafe have thought of everything. Lunch is served with a plate cover in case the cats decided to climb on your table! Bedford Cat Cafe have thought of everything. The menu is lovely and they also serve afternoon tea too. You can see the Bedford Cat Cafe menu here.

Bedford Cat Cafe is a really lovely place to spend time. There are plenty of seats and the cats have a lot of space to explore so it only really felt crowded at change over times, and even then the cafe was probably at about half capacity. The number of people in the cafe was just right for the space available.

The cats all have such different personalities. Some like to just sleep and be left alone but most wander around, steal your seat or lay on the floor begging for strokes. They are such gorgeous animals, and are clearly well looked after.

Bedford Cat Cafe is really well thought out, with litter trays in a separate room that only the cats can access, toilets on site and plenty of places for the cats to relax – include cat trees attached to the walls with beds up high out of customer reach for those times when they just want to be left alone!

We had a great time at Bedford Cat Cafe and just wish it was closer to home – we would be there all the time! Although they operate on an appointment system, they do sometimes have walk in availability too – check their Instagram account for details.

You can find out more about Bedford Cat Cafe and the Bedford Cat Cafe booking information over on their website along with Bedford Cat Cafe opening times. For reference the address is: 87 High St, Bedford MK40 1NE