Plans are afoot for quirky cafés, where customers can make feline friends, to open in Manchester and Liverpool.

But sadly a Chester Cat Café is not in the pipeline just yet, although its owners told The Chronicle the idea has been mooted.

Paying for the time they spend there, patrons can become part-time pet owners and play with kitties over unlimited pots of tea or cups of coffee.

The first branch will open its doors in Manchester's Northern Quarter in July and a Liverpool site will hopefully follow suit in the autumn, depending on funding.

Sisters Ellie and Sarah Close are the brains behind Cat Café.

No current plans

When asked whether they have thought about expanding the business to Chester, they said: "We do not currently have plans for this, however it is something we have considered."

Asia is the home of the cat café concept, with the world's first opening in Taiwan in 1998 and 58 in Tokyo alone as of 2015.

'The perfect escape for busy office workers and tired shoppers' in Manchester will have 10 resident cats who have been specifically selected for their individual breeds and personalities.