Who We Are
Paws was born after Elaine struggled with her mental health and decided enough was enough. After deciding it was time to do what she loved, Elaine set about working out a way to incorporate cats and her family into a job. She joked about a Cat Cafe idea being the ideal location to come and feel calm and relaxed away from all the usual hustle and bustle of life. She soon realised that was exactly what she wanted. After making the decision, Lauren her daughter, joined the team as Paws Manager and after 18 months of planning and finding a suitable location - Paws opened it's doors.
Meet the Team
On your visit you are likely to meet some of our core team members, here are their stories!
Lauren Young
Lauren is Elaine’s eldest daughter and newly appointed director at Paws, she has always been an avid animal lover. Her first pet being a rabbit and as a child looking after many family pets, including hamsters, guinea pigs, rabbits, cats and their family dog Comet.
As soon as the Cat Cafe started to become a reality it seemed like a dream job and the position was quite literally made for her. She joined the team as Manager and has also now taken over the business fully since Elaine's retirement.
Megan J
Megan joined the Paws family in 2019 as a Volunteer. She had some previous experience in food and catering and had a keen love for Cats – obviously! Her own cat Kiara is 8 years old now and is an adorable ball of energy. Megan joined part time in February 2020, just before we entered the first of the Covid Lockdowns. This ended up being really helpful as it allowed Megan to continue working with us and the Cats while we had to close. As of March 2022 Megan has joined the team full time – she will always deny she has a favorite cat – but if you know her like we do – we all know it’s Blossom and Ally!
Sophie Young
Sophie is Elaine’s youngest daughter. While she no longer works here full time she has been involved with Paws since the start.
She has often assisted with rescues that we have been called out to – one of which resulted in her adopting her own fur-baby Sebastian, who we rescued off the streets during lockdown. Sebastian was checked over at the vets and was not chipped or neutered and after speaking to locals it turns out he has been living in the area for a while all alone. He is now a loving lap cat and loving have 100% of the love and attention Sophie gives him.
Sophie has since moved up North!
Elaine Lucas
Elaine the founder and owner of Paws Cat Cafe has now retired.
As previously mentioned Elaine struggled with mental health which led her to this amazing journey. She experienced anxiety at her previous job in insurance and after 10 years began to find it boring, repetitive and draining. Elaine had always been a Cat lover, growing up with cats since she was a child and having her own in adulthood. She always described her cats as her personal therapy, calming and non judgemental and loving.
Elaine no longer works at the cafe and is enjoying early retirement.