FOLLOWING months of hard work, a 14-year-old from Andover has finally found premises suitable for the town's first cat café. 

After previously being a finalist at the Youth in Test Valley Awards last year, Jack Waue received mentorship from New Street Dental Care in Andover to open his own Cat-Fe. 

Jack's inspiration to open a Cat-Fe in Andover started when he visited Romsey's Paws for Thought in 2019, alongside being a big cat lover - having three of his own. 

After past struggles with finding premises, Jack and his father Stuart Waue confirmed that if everything goes as planned their Cat-Fe will be opening at 2 Winchester Street, which was last used as the Andover Tap. 

However, Stuart expressed that "things are inevitably progressing slower on the Andover Cat-Fe than in most startups". 

Stuart said: "We've not only struggled to find the right sized and affordable premises, where the landlord has no issues with cats staying, but we're also trying to juggle everything around existing employment and family commitments, whilst following a very steep learning curve in setting up a business as we go."

While going through contractual agreements, they are hoping to get the keys in the near future. 

Once the contracts are signed, Jack and Stuart potentially have another eight weeks to wait to see if their change of use application has been granted by Test Valley Borough Council (TVBC). 

Stuart added: "I'm also having major headaches just trying to open a business bank account because they're looking for evidence of business activity that we don't have yet.

"As soon as you try to do something, you find a list of four or five things that you need to do beforehand."

Despite these struggles, Jack has remained determined to do all he can to ensure his dream will become a reality to benefit both homeless cats and the community. 

As soon as the business has any further updates they will be posting these to their Facebook page. 

To stay updated, go to facebook.com/people/The-Andover-Catfe.