Please check our FAQs, and ensure you have read our House Rules before placing your booking. Our age requirement is 8+. 

Agreement to our House Rules is required for booking.

Any booking parties arriving with underage guests will not be able to enter the café (we may be able to welcome part of the group, age dependent). The booking would be considered a no-show and would be non-refundable. See our full Refund Policy here.

More information on our age requirement can be found in our House Rules and FAQs. 

Set the quantity of guests you are booking for using the selector, then click "Schedule Your Time". This will allow you to choose your visit date & time from our bookings calendar.

Complete our pre-booking questions, please leave blank if not applicable. Please note these are not looked at until the day of your visit - for answers to questions please check our FAQs or contact us.

Entry will then be added to your cart.
You are able to then go back and add other products (eg carer entry) or additional session times if you would like a longer time at the café, space permitting. Your bookings will be grouped, if checked out under the same details for the same date and time - our system will recognise the group booking. Please note: Our sessions are an hour long, but entry is staggered every half hour - eg to book a 2 hour session starting at 1pm, book for 1pm and 2pm, skipping the 1.30pm session start time.

To redeem your voucher, enter your full 16 digit code into the box "discounts and gift cards" on the checkout page.

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If you have a gift voucher for bank holiday entry purchased before April 2025, please email us & include the last 4 digits of your voucher code.

Thank mew! 🐾

Multiple hour sessions are always an option -space permitting!

To book multiple sessions - book for a timeslot of your choosing as you usually would, and please leave a note in the "anything else" booking question that you are booking multiple sessions.

Once that first session is added to your cart, simply come back to the booking page and book another timeslot for the same date (space permitting).
When you have all your desired session in your cart, simply check out all together and our system will recognise the group booking.

Please note: Our sessions are an hour long, but entry is staggered every half hour - eg therefore to book a 2 hour session starting at 1pm, book for 1pm and 2pm, skipping the 1.30pm session start time.

Bookings are able to be re-scheduled up to 24 hours in advance, and cancellations with refund made up to 48 hours in advance.

We offer flexible booking protection at £3 for up to £60 of entrance fees, which covers last minute changes up to 1 hour before a booking timeslot. See the Product Page and Terms & Conditions for further information.

You can access and make changes to bookings by logging into your customer account, if you create one at checkout, or via links included in your booking confirmation email, sent after checkout. Please remember to check your junk folder if not in your inbox.

No-shows and cancellations made within 48 hours of a booked session are non-refundable, as due to our limited capacity have a large impact on our daily running. Thank you for your understanding.

See our full Refund Policy here.

Plans can change unexpectedly. Add Flexible Booking Protection to your order for £3 and reschedule your visit or receive a refund* up to 1 hour in advance of your booking - great for if you need to cancel at short notice.

Without Flexible Booking Protection, our standard cancellation policy applies:
- Refunds require at least 48 hours’ notice.
- Rescheduling requires at least 24 hours’ notice.

*Each Flexible Booking Protection purchased covers up to £60 of café entry fees. You are welcome to purchase additional protection for larger bookings. Your maximum refund will be based on the number of Flexible Booking Protection products purchased. For example, purchasing two protections provides a maximum refund of £120.

What you get:
Up to 1 hour before your session begins you may reschedule or cancel and receive a refund of eligible café entry fees, up to your purchased cover limit.
The protection fee itself is non-refundable.

To use your protection:
Email us at meow@canterburytails.co.uk before the 1 hour cut-off with your booking name & order number, and whether you would like to reschedule for a later date, or receive a refund. 

Flexible Booking Protection must be purchased at the same time as your booking. Please make sure you purchase enough protection to cover the value of the café entry tickets you would like protected.

Terms and conditions apply. See below. 

Flexible Booking Protection Terms and Conditions

These terms apply when Flexible Booking Protection is purchased alongside a Canterbury Tails café booking.

1. What Flexible Booking Protection provides

Flexible Booking Protection gives the purchaser enhanced cancellation rights in addition to Canterbury Tails’ standard cancellation and rescheduling policy.

When valid protection has been purchased, the purchaser may cancel the protected booking up to 1 hour before the advertised start time and request a refund of eligible café entry fees.

Each Flexible Booking Protection product costs £3 and provides a maximum refund of £60.

Customers with bookings worth more than £60 may purchase additional protection. Each additional Flexible Booking Protection product increases the maximum available refund by a further £60.

For example:

• One protection provides a maximum refund of £60
• Two protections provide a maximum refund of £120
• Three protections provide a maximum refund of £180

Where eligible entry fees total £36 and one protection has been purchased, the maximum refund available will be £36.

Where eligible entry fees total £70 and one protection has been purchased, the maximum refund available will be £60.

Where eligible entry fees total £120 and two protections have been purchased, the maximum refund available will be £120.

The maximum refund is determined by the number of Flexible Booking Protection products purchased at the time of booking. Customers will not receive more than the eligible café entry fees they actually paid.

2. Purchasing protection

Flexible Booking Protection:

• Costs £3 for each £60 of refund protection
• Must be purchased at the same time as the café booking
• Cannot be added after the original order has been completed
• Only applies to eligible café entry tickets contained within the same order
• Cannot be transferred to another booking, order or customer

Customers may purchase more than one Flexible Booking Protection product where the total value of their eligible café entry tickets exceeds £60.

The customer is responsible for checking the total value of their entry tickets and purchasing enough protection to cover the amount they would like protected.

Where insufficient protection has been purchased, any refund will be limited to the maximum cover provided by the number of protection products purchased.

For example, if a booking contains £120 of eligible entry tickets but only one £3 protection has been purchased, the maximum refund available will be £60.

3. Eligible refunds

Flexible Booking Protection covers eligible café entry fees included within the protected booking, subject to the purchased refund limit.

It does not cover:

• The Flexible Booking Protection fee
• Food, drinks or refreshments
• Merchandise or retail products
• Gift cards or vouchers
• Delivery or postage charges
• Processing, booking or administrative charges
• Separate bookings placed within another order
• Any other costs incurred by the customer, including travel or accommodation

Flexible Booking Protection fees remain non-refundable after purchase, including where the booking is cancelled under Canterbury Tails’ standard cancellation policy.

4. How to cancel

The customer must email meow@canterburytails.co.uk before the 1 hour cancellation deadline and provide:

• The name used to place the booking
• The order number
• Confirmation that they wish to cancel  for a refund, or reschedule the booking using Flexible Booking Protection

The cancellation request must be received by Canterbury Tails at least 1 hour before the session’s advertised start time.

The time at which the email is received by Canterbury Tails will determine whether the request was submitted before the deadline.

Customers should contact us as soon as they know they will be unable to attend.

5. Late cancellations and non-attendance

Flexible Booking Protection does not provide a refund where:

• The cancellation request is received less than 1 hour before the session
• The request is received after the session has started
• The customer does not attend and has not contacted Canterbury Tails before the deadline
• The customer contacts Canterbury Tails through a method other than the stated email address and the request is not received in time
• The customer arrives late and is unable to use all or part of the booked session

Bookings that do not meet the protection requirements remain subject to Canterbury Tails’ usual cancellation, rescheduling and no-show policies.

6. Rescheduling

Flexible Booking Protection primarily provides the right to request a refund, but also includes the ability to reschedule the booking last-minute up to one time.  It does not guarantee that a booking can be moved to another date or time - this depends on availability.

Customers wishing to reschedule with at least 24 hours’ notice should use the rescheduling option provided with their booking, subject to availability and any applicable price difference.

Where less than 24 hours’ notice is given, customers using Flexible Booking protection can request a reschedule up to 1 hour before the booking. Canterbury Tails may offer a reschedule instead of a refund at its discretion.

7. Partial attendance

Where only some members of the booked party can no longer attend, the customer may request a refund for the unused eligible entry tickets, provided the request is received before the 1 hour deadline.

Any refund remains subject to the overall cover limit purchased for the booking.

Tickets that have already been used, transferred or admitted cannot be refunded.

8. Refund processing

Approved refunds will be returned to the original payment method only.

Refund processing times can vary depending on the customer’s bank or payment provider.

The amount refunded will not exceed:

• The eligible café entry fees actually paid
• The value of the unused eligible entry tickets
• The total protection purchased, calculated at £60 for each Flexible Booking Protection product

The refund will be limited to whichever of these amounts is lowest.

Discounts, promotional codes and gift card payments will be reflected when calculating the amount actually paid and eligible for refund.

Unused protection has no cash value. For example, if two protections have been purchased but eligible entry fees total £90, the maximum refund will be £90 rather than £120.

9. Changes made by Canterbury Tails

If Canterbury Tails cancels a session, customers will be offered the remedies available under our standard booking terms. Customers will not need to use Flexible Booking Protection to receive any refund or alternative offered due to a cancellation made by Canterbury Tails.

All Flexible Booking Protection fees relating to the affected booking will also be refunded where Canterbury Tails cancels the booking and cannot provide the booked service.

10. Misuse

Flexible Booking Protection is intended to provide reasonable flexibility where plans unexpectedly change.

Canterbury Tails reserves the right to refuse a request where there is evidence of fraud, dishonesty, duplicate claims, chargeback abuse or deliberate misuse of the service.

We may also prevent a customer from purchasing Flexible Booking Protection in the future where there is a repeated pattern of misuse.

This does not affect the customer’s statutory rights.

11. Nature of the product

Flexible Booking Protection is an enhanced booking option provided directly by Canterbury Tails. It is not an insurance policy and does not provide insurance cover for losses or expenses beyond the eligible refund described in these terms.

By purchasing Flexible Booking Protection, the customer confirms that they have read and accepted these terms.

To add another person (or more) to an existing booking, simply complete checkout again for the desired quantity of additional guests for the same date/time, using the same name as the original booking at checkout. Our system will automatically recognise the matching details and group your bookings together. 

To cancel part of a group booking, follow the cancellation link included in your booking email or login your customer account. Select the quantity of guests you wish to cancel, and click done. Cancellation terms apply.

If you have made a mistake in your booking, please do not cancel and rebook. Just contact us with your issue and we will help you out!

After completing checkout you will be shown on-screen confirmation.
You will also receive an auto-generated booking confirmation email shortly after checkout. Please remember to check your contact email is correct at checkout, and check your junk folder if not in your inbox. 
The email is not required for admission as we will have your booking on our system. 

Bookings can be made online up to 45 minutes in advance.

We may accept walk-ins at the door, space permitting. We advise booking in advance to avoid disappointment. 

Drinks and food can be purchased on-site during your booked session. See our menu here. We also have a gift shop on-site with a wide selection of cat-tastic goodies & gifts. 

Late arrivals are unable to have additional time added to the end of their session as this will interfere with guests in the next booking slot. We appreciate your understanding.

We offer discounted entry for working carers in a professional support role accompanying the person they care for (their ward).

Working carers - please book your entry alongside standard entry for your ward before visiting. As a small independent with a strict capacity limit, advance booking helps us maintain a safe, calm environment for everyone, including our cat crew.

To book, please add the carer entry to your cart first, then return to the booking page and add the relevant standard entry for the person you are supporting, making sure to select the same date and time.
Please complete checkout with both entries in the same order, as this ensures our system registers you together as one group.

To ensure our carer discount is used fairly, we kindly ask carers to bring proof of their carer status when visiting our café. This can be shown with an app, card, or any relevant document. Thank you for helping us keep this offer accessible to those who need it!

We are located at 8 Mercery Lane, Canterbury, Kent. CT1 2JJ United Kingdom.

Our closest car parks are Whitefriars, Watling Street, St Radigunds and Northgate.

Click here for a list of all Canterbury Car Parks

There is also a Park and Ride service

We have a wheelchair accessible sloped entrance, but please note our street is historic and has uneven paving slabs. Orange Street car park is the closest blue badge holders car park.

After selecting your booking slot you will be prompted to answer a few quick booking requirement questions, one of which is if any member of your booking party is celebrating a birthday. If applicable, please enter the birthday-person's name and age they are turning, so we can prep any pre-arranged table decorations and a complimentary card for their special occasion.

In the future we plan to offer speciality birthday booking slots with more tailored fun, but right now aren't able to expand our session offerings.

If you would like to enquire about private hire of the café for your own event, please contact us.

Make sure to follow our socials and join our mailing list to be fur-st in the know for future speciality session availability.

After selecting your booking slot you will be prompted to answer a few quick booking requirement questions, one of which is if your booking party has any dietary requirements eg. allergies.

After selecting your booking slot you will be prompted to answer a few quick booking requirement questions, one of which is if your booking party requires downstairs seating. This lets us know beforehand and enables us to allocate appropriate seating.

Please note Canterbury Tails uses security cameras in the interest of safety and security of the cat crew, and all customers and staff. By placing a booking you acknowledge and agree that you may be recorded on video. Please be assured the footage is only used for security purposes and is stored securely. We value your privacy and will only disclose the footage as required by law or to investigate any incidents that may occur on our premises. We are ICO registered. If you have any concerns or questions regarding our use of security cameras, please do not hesitate to contact us.