KITTchEN is a craft beer bar & shop, specialising in awesome Cumbrian beer. We are home to seven rescue cats, who you can support by drinking our house-beer, CatPissed IPA. We are also Dog-Free & Child-Free!!

Simply come and enjoy craft-beer & comfort-food in the company of cats! (Or outside if you have kids and dogs). More info can be found on our ABOUT page.

We have a range of excellent nibbles to accompany your beer, and serve food during EVENTS.

Customers can only consume items purrchased at KITTchEN on our premises. Unless you bring some for our team!

If you love cats, craft-beer and a chilled out atmosphere free from canines and kids, then KITTchEN is the purrfect place for you!

We imagine that people with allergies know their own situation well enough to make an informed decision as to whether or not they should visit. However we do ask that you do not bring friends or family who have allergies as a 'surprise' without first informing them about our cats so they can make their own informed decision.

Our bar is the home of our cat family and their happiness and wellbeing are our number one priority. Therefore we ask that you do not visit if you have a cat phobia, or bring someone else who does. This could cause distress for our cats & other customers, as well as putting our staff in an uncomfortable position when we inevitably have to ask you to leave.

That’s ok. But we strongly recommend that you don’t visit KITTchEN.

Then you are clearly a psychopath and not to be trusted.

We do not have an entry fee or ‘cat-tax’. Instead we give our customers the freedom to choose for themselves how much they would like to contribute to our cats’ welfare. However, this does not mean that visiting our cats is ‘free’: We are just a pub and therefore expect every customer to purchase a drink when visiting, as is expected in any establishment. A minimum order of 1 item per person is required to secure your table and you will be asked to leave if you do not make a purchase.

In order to provide a home, food, litter, beds, toys & other comforts, heating etc. and to cover insurance & medical costs for our cats, we have to make an income. If you do not want to support our cause by making a purchase then we are happy to give your table and our time to someone who does.

Please refer to our VISIT page for opening days & times.

Our maximum group size is 6 people. Big groups tend to be louder and the noise can create a negative experience for both our cats and for other guests. Seating is allocated based on group size, so please do not switch tables without consulting a member of staff. And moving furniture can disturb the cats so please do not rearrange our seating.

We have always been committed to ensuring our environment is meticulously clean and fresh, for both our guests and for our resident cats. Our kitchen & food storage areas can not be accessed by the cats, and all food and drinks are prepared in the enclosed kitchen and then sent to your table via a serving hatch. We have a 5* food hygiene rating awarded by Environmental Health. Our cats are on a healthy diet that provides everything they need, so they should not be attracted to your food. Our litter trays (9 between 7 cats) are in a private area which can only be accessed by our cats & staff. That means our seating area remains free from litter, and ensures privacy for our cats. Litter trays are cleaned throughout the day and replaced every morning and night.

We are located in a wonderful old Lakeland village and our building is old and unique. This does have disadvantages, such as limiting disabled access. Our ground floor and outdoor seating area are both fully accessible. Our customer toilets & venue space upstairs are modelled to an accessible standard, however they are not currently accessible themselves due to the stairs that access them. Plans to improve our access and provide a wheel-chair-platform-lift unfortunately have gone on temporary hold due to Covid-19. We want everyone to enjoy a pleasant experience at KITTchEN and will seek to make reasonable adjustments where possible in order to accommodate any visitor. If you have any further queries regarding access, please contact our team at Info@KITTCHEN.co.uk to discuss your requirements.

Our short list of house-rules is as follows: Do not: pick up, overcrowd, feed, wake or otherwise piss off our cats. Photography is welcome without flash, and all devices should be silenced. Adults only inside. No mithering: good vibes only. While we appreciate that this may seem strict to some people, all of our rules are clearly created with the wellbeing of our cats in mind, and to provide a relaxed, mature and comfortable atmosphere for our customers. We expect all customers to behave appropriately whilst visiting.

KITTchEN is not a child-friendly venue. KITTchEN is a bar, and as such is an adult orientated place to relax with a few craft beers. We understand that many children will know how to behave appropriately in a pub or bar environment, however not every child does and therefore our age limit is implemented to maintain the relaxed experience our customers enjoy, and to protect the welfare of our cats. If you are looking for a very child-friendly or family-friendly experience in Hawkshead, we highly recommend visiting the Chocolate Factory.

We have 7 resident cats who call our bar their home. Say hello here.

All of our cats are all rescue animals. We work closely with our local rescue centres to ensure that the cats we adopt will be happy in, and suited to our environment. We specifically adopt cats who like the company of humans and other cats, and who have always lived indoors. Most of our residents are aged 10+; older cats sometimes struggle to find a loving home. When adopting a pet, please consider older animals.

No. Our cats are all rescue animals, but we do not rehome them to customers. They are our family and this is their purrmanent home. If you are interested in adopting a cat, you should get in touch with your local animal rescue shelter.

No, our cats have always lived indoors so this is an environment that they are comfortable and content in. As a safety precaution, we operate an air-lock entry system to ensure no customer accidently lets the cats out.

This is their forever home so they simply stay here and roam or snooze as they wish. Our cats are never caged or locked in one area, with the exception of caring for medical needs such as giving them medication, or popping them in a carrier for vet appointments.

Our cats are continually monitored by our team who ensure they are happy & healthy, and ensure they are treated with respect by all customers. All of our cats are fully vaccinated, neutered, insured and receive frequent check ups. Our team are trained in Cat-Welfare, Animal First-Aid & Feline Behaviour & Psychology. We provide a large area (80+ sq foot) for our cats to call home. We will never take on more cats then we can reasonably care or provide for.

You can support our cat family in 3 ways: Tip them: cat-tips help us buy treat and toys. Buy them dinner: for £3 you can provide a complete meal for our whole cat family. Have a pint: all profits from CatPissed IPA go to our cat-welfare fund, from which litter, medical bills, medicines, insurance etc. are paid. This means that you are supporting our cats by simply visiting us for few pints!

We gratefully accept donations towards cat-welfare. We appreciate the support of our customers to help us provide our cats with the best life possible. You can make a donation during your visit or via our webshop. If you would like to donate a toy or treat to the cats, this is received with thanks. However, we may not be able to give your gift to the cats during your visit, as they may have already had their treat allocation for the day or be asleep. We ask that you do not donate pre-loved cat-toys or bedding in case of infection.

Our cats are fed a healthy diet consisting of both wet & dry food. They are fed twice daily, in private, away from customers. Customers are not permitted to feed the cats. This allows us to fully monitor their health and know exactly what they have eaten should any illness occur. Customers giving out treats can also result in over feeding, unfair distribution of treats, or encourage bad habits such as stealing food.

Our cats are provided with lots of high areas where they can be seen but not reached by customers (this includes lots of comfy beds on ledges, and cat-walks), as well as a completely private room which they can access at all times via cat-flaps if they aren’t in the mood to socialise. Our cats are never forced to be in public or contained to public areas; when you see them in the bar area they have chosen to be there. The cats also enjoy every Tuesday & Friday off. You can still visit our beer-shop and bar on these days and watch our cats through the windows, but you can't say hi to them.

Cats are independent creatures and there is no guarantee that they will choose to interact with you. During your visit they may all be chilling in their cat-only area. This is fine by us; it means they are living life on their terms. Generally though, our cats are very social creatures and spend most of their time relaxing with our visitors Remember, our cats are not performing animals. They can be entertaining to watch but are not here for your entertainment; they are here to be awesome and help us relax.

No. We do not allow any other animals, except those who already live here, inside the premises. This is due to territorial issues and risk of infection, as well as general cat welfare. Dogs are of course welcome in our outdoor seating area.