Shoreditch cat café vandalised

‘Free the cats’ was found scrawled on the front of Lady Dinah’s Cat Emporium last Friday.

London’s only cat café, Lady Dinah’s Cat Emporium – located on the Bethnal Green Road – opened in March last year, after a successful crowdfunding campaign.

However late last week, customers were greeted to the words “Free The Cats, Free the $” written across the shop’s shutters.

‘Free the cats’ – from attention and cuddles?

Immediate responses from Lady Dinah’s social media accounts were upbeat, and Lauren Pears – the driving force behind the establishment – stated by email, “tbh, we’re not that fussed – realistically speaking, it’s quite everyday for east London cafes, especially in our area, to get spraypainted.”

The official Facebook page managed to stay positive

Lady Dinah’s Cat Emporium – and the business of cat cafés in general – are no strangers to concerns about the welfare of the cats, but it’s unlikely that the graffiti was inspired by anything more than boredom.

Boasting a number of cat “graduates” being adopted through the café, Lady Dinah’s is doing a lot of good for the cats in its care.

In fact, the most common complaint in reviews is that customers aren’t allowed to pick up the cats or bother them while they are sleeping!

Since opening, Lady Dinah’s has been flooded with afternoon tea bookings

Instead of cleaning up the graffiti and moving on, the café has announced that they will be holding a competition to design a mural to cover the shutters instead.

The official website promotes a cash reward, promises to cover the cost of materials and also offers such prizes as a year of VIP access.

Regardless of what’s on those shutters, Lady Dinah’s Cat Emporium is booked solid and operating as usual.