Scarborough's cat cafe Steampuss thanks community for their 'amazing' support following Facebook appeal

The owners of Scarborough's cat cafe have thanked the community for their 'amazing' support after a Facebook post in which they revealed they were struggling to attract customers was shared thousands of times.

After a very busy summer, business at Steampuss eased off. Worried about the impact this could have on the future of their cafe, owners Matthew Davenport and Chloe Cotton decided to appeal to local residents to ask them for support.

The Facebook post read: "We don't like having to post negative things like this but we feel that we need to reach out to the locals and let you all know that without your continued support over winter we will close."

However, within just two days, the post was shared thousands of times and the cafe has been really busy, if not full, since.

Matthew said: "We could see other cafes being busy so we knew that custom was there and we were just getting worried so we decided to let people know. Good thing we did because it went so far, it was shared by so many people and there were so many comments, it was amazing.

"Some people didn't know that we were here, Bar Street can be a bit quiet sometimes and many people don't actually come this way unless they need to while others were confused about the pricing. You do pay £5 when you get in but you get a drink as well."

The entry fee, Matthew explained, is necessary not only to keep the cafe going but also to look after its 11 furry residents.

"Having 11 cats is really expensive, one bag of food which lasts for about a week is about £50 then we've got other things like insurance, veterinary bills, litter trays, replacement of toys when things break... it's not like running a normal cafe."

A few days after posting their appeal, the couple took once again to social media to thank the local community for helping them spread their message and ultimately, visiting their cafe.

They're now encouraging other independent businesses in the town that might be struggling with trade to reach out.

"I think a lot of times businesses are afraid to let people know that they're not doing so well because they see it as a weakness but we just wanted to be honest and it paid off.

"People might not know where you are or there might be things that you need to change but unless you reach out you won't know so I 100% recommend it."