FUNDRAISERS are hoping to open up a new cafe with cat-titude as they bid to bring a coffee shop with a difference to Southampton.

Emma Blyth, who looks after rescue cat Bree, has been a feline lover for years and after witnessing first hand the fun a cat cafe can give to people, she is aiming to raise £25,000 to set up the city’s first pussy pad.

‘Paws For Thought Cat Cafe’ would home around 10 rescue cats who would be able to roam and mingle with customers downstairs while having their own home to live in upstairs.

Once she has raised the money she will decide on a specific location for the cafe, which is likely to be on the outskirts of Southampton or Romsey.

The money raised will go towards kitting out the cat’s floor with individual bedrooms for the pets, so they can have a space to live if they don’t want to hang out with people using the cafe.

“I’ve visited quite a few of the different cat cafes up and down the country,” Emma said.

“And I thought why can’t we have one in Southampton? It’s a great way to support rescue cats and let them have a space to feel loved and wanted.

“People who love cats enjoy stroking them so what better way to have a cup of coffee.”

The closest cat cafe to people in Southampton at the moment is Pause in Bournemouth which opened up last year.

Once open, the cafe will host fundraisers for local cat rescue centres to generate money for the organisations.

The space will also act as a place where locals can reminisce about their pets which have passed away. They will be encouraged to bring in snaps of their cats to share.

It will be a booking-only cafe to ensure control of the number of people coming in and out of the space in order to protect the safety of the cats.

“We really want to help the centres and people who maybe have lost their cats,” Emma said.

“Cats are such great creatures to have around and they will be really looked after when they come to our cafe.”

She added: “It will be a place where you can come to relax, catch up with friends or just take an hour away from your busy day to enjoy a drink while being in the company of our beautiful rescue cats.”

To back the fundraising push visit indiegogo.com/projects/cat-cafe-southampton#/.