East London cat café will go ahead after meeting crowdfunding target

Lady Dinah's Cat Emporium raises over £109k

A cat café will open in East London after meeting its crowdfunding campaign target.

Lauren Pears, who is behind Lady Dinah's Cat Emporium, managed to raise £109,510 on crowdfunding website IndieGoGo, smashing her target of £108,000.

People who donated were able to purchase 'perks'. including tea and cake vouchers, VIP membership and tickets to the opening night.

Cat cafés are big news in Tokyo, where people work long hours and live in small flats so can't keep their own pets.

And now petless Londoners will be able to alleviate stress by petting one of the café's resident cats. It's scientifically proved that a 15 minute cuddle session with one of the cute animals can help reduce stress levels. Sounds perfect!

Pears is currently negotiating with a local council and looking for the perfect property for the business, which looks set to open later this year.

She is also working with the Mayhew Animal Home in North West London to make sure the right kind of cats will be chosen to live in the café and that they are cared for in the best possible way.

Writing on the campaign's Facebook page, she said: 'With only 1.5 hours remaining and over 109k on the campaign page, it's safe to say that this has been an unmitigated success. We've got the funding we need and we're going to do it!

'A million thanks to all of you for being part of this. It literally could NOT have happened without you.'

Now, let's see if the proposed sausage dog café will follow the success of Pears's initiative. We really hope so!

Will you be visiting the cat café? Did you donate money to help it open? Let us know in the comments below.

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