London, Aug 2 (IANS): Britain's feline lovers must have heaved a collective purr of contentment, now that they have finally got the country's first cat cafe, where they can savour cat-themed drinks while watching or playing with the in-house moggies.

'Mog on the Tyne', has opened to the public in the heart of Newcastle, around 400 km from here, and the potential patrons have opened their hearts to the new watering hole.

The cafe took more than 1,000 bookings within two days of launching their website.

And, not only the customers are excited but also the entrepreneur behind the cafe, chroniclelive.co.uk reported on Saturday.

The main attraction for patrons at the cafe are - who else, but - the cats, which can be simply watched or played with. Patrons pay a cover fee, generally hourly. Thus, the cat cafe can be seen as a form of supervised indoor pet rental.

"It has been fantastic - nerve-wracking and exciting but brilliant to finally open after all this time," cafe founder Katie Jane Glazier was quoted as saying.

"We might have been nervous but the cats are really calming and soothing - "some of them even like to climb all over you when you are trying to work. They have settled in just brilliantly. Nothing seems to faze them and they are a proper little family now," she added.

Mog on the Tyne's menu - no prizes for guessing - has a kitty theme, with catte lattes, catacinos and pawninis as well as cakes made by Grainger Market-based Pet Lamb Patisserie to enjoy.

Cat cafes first appeared in Japan where they are massively popular, mainly because city dwellers do not have space to keep pets of their own.