A cat café owner said she has been left with no choice but to close after finding herself in a huge amount of debt due to constant demands from a council. Florence Heath, owner of Maison du Chat, said she has been left heartbroken after amounting to £45,000 and a £7,000 bill for a new licence has meant she can't afford to continue trading.
Maison du Chat has grown massively popular in the community, particularly with single parents and those seeking a 'safe space.' But the 40-year-old businesswoman started to hit problems when the café had its animal licence pulled after inspectors found the layout had not been adequately changed to house cats inside.
After months of wrangling with the council and changes to the cafe’s design, the London business was able to reopen in August. But the prolonged closure due to the licensing dispute and Covid lockdowns had taken a devastating toll on the business, MyLondon reports.
Florence said: “We’ve had people from all walks of life come in. From somebody about to go to a job interview who needed a bit of calm before they go and people who are going through a rough time who need some cheering up."
“The number of times people just walk past and smile," she added. "You know, especially in London where life can be fast-paced… The cats will sit on the bar in the morning, especially if they’re waiting for breakfast, and someone kisses the window everyday. We always get kiss marks on the window that we have to wipe off. It’s a funny little tradition we have now."
During lockdown, the cafe became a hub for struggling parents. Florence said: “When council services got shut down, new parents had nothing at all. This was a space for them to vent. For single parents, it was the only place they could breathe. We even had a case of someone suffering domestic abuse come in. It was the only time in the week where they could actually get a bit of a break.”
The business opened in December 2020 and managed to find new homes for 37 abandoned cats last year. But things came to a halt this last year when a council worker told Florence she needed a special licence and couldn't keep animals there without installing a third doorway.
Florence said she struggled to keep the business going in the months where she had no cats because it massively reduced the number of customers. She said the café wouldn't have survived without the help of local people and businesses, who raised £8,000 to help her pay her bills and rent.
She also had to apply for an animal licence twice, costing her £2,000. But Maison - which also trains locals to become baristas - was given the “final nail in the coffin” when Florence received her latest business rates bill of £7,000.
She said: “I literally had spent so much time lining [our funds] up to the last pound and then something like this comes in and I’ve just had enough. I’m tired of fighting. I’ve been fighting for two years.
“I haven’t paid myself and I have a family to look after, I have a home, I’ve got bills to pay which I haven’t been paying at home. I couldn’t keep going. That’s when I realised that maybe I should really give myself some time to close down.”
Florence found herself in £45,000 of debt, which she blamed on a myriad of red tape issues that kept her shut. She added: “I’m down on anything I’ve ever had, and more, but just the closure this year, the six months, cost me £45k. I don’t even have £50 spare at the end of the month, how am I ever going to repay a loan?”
She claimed Westminster Council demanded she fill in an “insane” level of forms to keep open, which she claimed crippled small, independent businesses like hers. The business owner said: “The level of red tape is way too much. You’re just drowning in it. It’s almost a full-time job just to keep up with all the paperwork which you’re supposed to fill out.”
She said Westminster inspectors took weeks to arrange a site visit and had “impenetrable” guidelines around how cafes like hers could accommodate cats and customers at the same time. To make matters worse, the council allegedly refused to expedite Florence’s new licence due to a flooring issue, which she claimed was sorted with the inspector during a visit in June.
She said: “It was a complete mess. It was so disorganised. it is just really hard to run an independent business like this. I’ve learnt that and it’s not just in hospitality.
“I’ve lost eight kilos since August. Physically and mentally, it’s taken a massive toll. I’ve tried to protect my family from it but obviously it’s a big pressure on them. I’ve got a four-year-old little girl and my husband. It’s a very difficult patch for us. I set this business up to make things better for my family and it’s been tough, in many different ways.”
Thankfully, all five cats bar one have found new homes.
A Westminster Council source told My London that the café had opened without being granted a licence and was therefore operating illegally for about nine months. They said: “In 2020 the owner applied for a licence to keep or train animals for exhibition for a cat café at 55 Moreton Street.
"A visit was completed by the council’s animal health inspectors in the October 2020 but the refurbishments to the premises were not complete and the inspectors were therefore unable to carry out a proper inspection. However, at the time, all the relevant changes to the layout/structure of the premises were recommended (including the installation of a further door) to the operator and they were asked to contact the council when they were closer to finishing the works so a further visit could take place and a licence issued.
"The operator did not contact the council and opened as a cat café without a licence. In February 2022, licensing officers visited the premises after learning the café had been operating without a licence for nine months. The owner was told to install a new safer door system and to apply for a licence, and they were told the cats had to be removed.
“At the time of the visit, the premises was not deemed satisfactory to meet the statutory guidance and regulations and so the licence application was refused. We offered support and guidance to the operator when applying for a new licence to ensure that this time a licence could be issued.
“There is strict guidance for operating cat cafes to ensure that animal welfare is a priority and that the operator understands all of the different requirements of them under the legislation and so it is not something that the licensing authority can take lightly when assessing these types of applications.”
They claimed Florence was allowed to install nets to avoid having to put in a new door and was advised to make a new licence application and that it could take up to 10 weeks to process, as per the council’s guidance. They also claimed the council’s animal welfare experts had made numerous attempts to meet with Florence and that there was a delay in issuing an animal welfare report because of “outstanding concerns relating to gaps in the flooring at the premises”.
They continued: “There was a concern that gaps in the floor could lead to cat faeces making its way into the yoga studio downstairs. This would have made the space completely unhygienic. As soon as this concern was resolved, our licensing team issued the licence on the same day."
They added: “We supported the applicant throughout the process to ensure the premises was compliant and to ensure an application for a licence would be approved.”
