A KILWINNING nurse and her business partner are behind 'purr-fect' plans to open Ayrshire's first ever cat café.

Laura Harvey and Ayr woman Amy Anderson are set to open the doors to Kitty Cat Cafe in Ayr's South Harbour Street later this year.

The cat-daft community nurses decided to open the business after regularly visiting cat cafes around the UK with their friends.

Amy said: "Laura and I work together in the NHS and we are both cat daft. Ourselves and a couple of colleagues regularly visit two cat cafes in Glasgow and others as well.

"We said one day we wished we could open our own, and from hypotheticals it just grew arms and legs.

"We went to Business Gateway and found the perfect property in Ayr, and that's when our dream started to become a reality."

The pair have ben hard at work renovating the site on Ayr waterfront, and hope to be open towards the end of November.

(Image: Contributed) Amy said: "We believe it is Ayrshire's first ever cat café but probably not for long, as they are popping up all over the place.

"We went with Ayr because it has such a big population, so much footfall in the town centre and the most to offer.

"It was originally a tavern and more recently a café, so we have been giving it a modern look and improving it to make a nice home for the cats.

"People can book a session, have food or drink, interact with the cats and generally have a lovely time."

Amy admits the pair have been blown away by the response to their plans, and can't wait to open the doors.

She added: "The feedback has been amazing and everyone seems really excited by the idea of the café.

"This is relatively new for both of us as business owners so there will be challenges along the way we are sure.

"We plan to have between four and six staff at first, and we're hoping to open on November 23 but that can all change.

"Laura and I are keeping on our jobs for now but our dream would be that this can become a living for us both."

Keep up to date on the Kitty Cat Cafe page on Facebook.