Pause Cat Cafe sits at 119 Old Christchurch Road, on the stretch running past Horseshoe Common just before the road becomes pedestrianised into the town centre. It describes itself as the South’s first cat café, and the format is straightforward but distinctive: a small, calm indoor space shared with a settled group of resident rescue cats, paired with a food and drink menu, run on a pre-booked, time-slot basis rather than as a walk-in café.
The cats and the concept
The café’s stated mission goes beyond novelty value - it frames itself around animal welfare, ethical eating and community projects, with the resident cats coming from rescue backgrounds rather than being bought in for the concept. Visitors book a slot to sit among the cats, rather than treating it as a conventional coffee stop, which shapes almost everything else about how the place runs, from numbers allowed in at once to how tables are arranged.
The food
Alongside the cats, the kitchen serves what the café describes as locally sourced, sustainable vegetarian and vegan food. There’s no meat option on the menu, which is worth knowing before booking if that’s a dealbreaker for your group. The emphasis reads as being on ethical sourcing as much as on the food being incidental to the cat visit.
Where it is
Old Christchurch Road at this point runs along the edge of Horseshoe Common, a short walk from Bournemouth’s central shopping streets and just before the road narrows into the pedestrianised town centre. There’s no dedicated parking at the café itself, though disabled parking is available outside, and the Glen Fern Multi Storey and Upper Hinton Road car parks are both a short walk away for anyone driving in.
Good to know
Booking ahead is essential rather than a formality - the café limits numbers to keep the space workable for both cats and customers, and reported hours run Wednesday to Friday from midday to 4pm and Saturday and Sunday from 11am to 5pm, with the café closed on Mondays and Tuesdays (worth confirming on the booking site, since hours can shift). Families are welcome but only at two specific tables set aside for parties with children, so it’s not a venue to turn up at without a plan. The ground floor is wheelchair accessible with an accessible toilet on site, but dogs are not permitted, which is unsurprising given the resident cats sharing the room.