What should I check before buying a cat café?

A cat café is two businesses under one roof: a place that serves coffee and food, and a place where visitors spend time with animals. The usual café checks still apply, but the cats add questions an ordinary café never faces. Most of them are about relationships and responsibility, so start by finding out who the cats depend on.

The rescue partnership

Many cat cafés work with a rescue group that supplies the cats and handles adoptions. Ask to read any written arrangement and find out whether it belongs to the business or to the current owner personally. Speak with the rescue yourself, with the seller’s permission. If the partnership ends at the sale, you may need new cats, a new partner and a new reputation.

Who owns and cares for the cats

Find out which cats belong to the business, which belong to the rescue and which belong to the owner or staff. Ask who pays for veterinary care, food and supplies, and who looks after the cats outside opening hours. Ask for health and adoption records. Have your lawyer say how ownership is dealt with in the sale agreement.

Two revenue streams

Admission or bookings pay for the cat experience, while food and drink pay for the café. Ask the seller to separate them in the records and to explain which drives the other. Check how reservations work, how far ahead they fill and whether a change of owner affects advance bookings. Read the financial statements with your accountant.

Insurance, staff and the health unit

• Ask the insurer what the policy covers when visitors are scratched or bitten, and whether it carries over to you.
• Ask whether staff are trained in cat handling, cleaning and noticing a stressed animal.
• Ask the local public health unit what it expects of a café where animals are present, and keep its answer in writing.
• Compare the food-service checks in our café due diligence guide.