I visited Brighton's cat co-working space Purrfect Space

Some days must be sacrificed to the gods of the mundane. 

Having worked a weekend, I found myself with a Tuesday off. A novelty indeed, but nothing to get excited about - this Tuesday was destined for life admin. 

Despite being resigned to this quotidian fate, I didn’t want to spend my day off stuck at home. 

Purrfect Space has opened in the Imperial Arcade (Image: The Argus)

If I was going to have to handle the office administration of my existence, I at least wanted to go somewhere nice to do it. 

I considered the Jubilee Library, but I didn’t want to disturb the vaping youths and rambling lunatics with my quiet typing.

Hybrid and remote employment have heralded the age of the co-working space, an office away from the office for the consummate 21st century professional. 

Courtney, who runs Purrfect Space with his partner Ash, pictured with a cat (Image: The Argus)

There are now thousands all over the country. But, for whatever reason, no one had thought to populate them with cats. 

Until now... 

The latest addition to the ever-improving Imperial Arcade is Purrfect Space, where co-working meets cats - the first of its kind in the UK.

It’s been opened by Ash Kazmaz and her partner Courtney Wilson, who must be amongst the busiest couples in Brighton at the moment, also running the Munchies Cat Cafe and a new restaurant, Istanbul Katz.

Aslan is the Turkish word for lion (Image: The Argus)

Perhaps some furry new colleagues could help inspire me to write some tedious emails.

Entering around lunch time, I was instantly impressed by the space. They've really done a fantastic job with the interior.

My concern beforehand was that it might feel a little dark and cave-like, but that's absolutely not the case. It's bright, clean, and airy.

The décor is stylish and professional, but also comfy, and it’s bigger than it looks from the outside. And, for those wondering, it smells lovely.

I loved the interior (Image: The Argus)

There were six local rescue cats in residence when I visited, but four were soon to be flown over on Ash and Courtney’s laps from Istanbul.

I helped myself to a free coffee from the kitchen area and found a spot to settle down by the window. 

“It was soon noticed that whenever there was work to be done, the cat could never be found”, George Orwell wrote in Animal Farm.

Blue wakes briefly from his catnap (Image: The Argus)

That couldn’t be further from the truth at Purrfect Space. Opening my laptop, I was immediately welcomed by the aptly-named Aslan, perhaps the biggest cat I have ever seen, who jumped up on the desk to say hello. 

A tiny little fluffball called Olive then claimed the seat next to mine. 

A number of the occupants took an interest in my pen. Wavey the ragdoll decided it would be better used as a plaything, and pushed it onto the floor accordingly.

Bilbo watched with awe and rapture as Courtney fired up the printer. "He's obsessed with it", Courtney said. "It's his favourite part of the day."

Bilbo's favourite part of the day (Image: The Argus)

There really was a lovely atmosphere in the place. Acoustic guitar music strummed gently, people typed and scribbled peacefully.

The cats walked around liked they owned the place, which they pretty much do, drawing amusement and entertainment from the various servants at their service.

The author Rita Mae Brown quipped that "dogs have owners, cats have staff". That rings broadly true, but here, it is literally the case.

Sushi makes sure that everything is in order (Image: The Argus)

The cats have their own private room they can choose to retire to if they wish, where no humans are allowed, but they all preferred to be amongst the action and see what whimsical thing the strange fleshy bipeds would do next.

It seems a good place to be a cat.

And it was also a very pleasant place to spend a few hours working. More interesting than being at home, more fun than a library, and more purposeful than a café.

'Excuse me sir, this pen needs to go' (Image: The Argus)

In terms of prices, it's £8 for two hours, £15 for half a day, or £24 for a full day. Nobody wants to pay to work, but when you throw in unlimited free teas and coffees, and unlimited feline interactions, it's not a bad price.

Everyone in there was clearly pretty happy with the choice they'd made that day, and I'd definitely go again.

Next time though, I'll bring a spare pen.

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