SHOPPERS in Bournemouth were made to 'paws for thought' on Saturday when a cat-themed flash mob took over the Square.

Members of the Bournemouth University and Arts University Bournemouth Performing Arts Society dressed up as their favourite furry felines and performed to a number of cat-themed songs.

Opening with Memory, from Cats the Musical, the dancers also delighted crowds with dance numbers to the Pussy Cat Dolls, the Postman Pat theme tune and What's New Pussycat by Tom Jones.

And while this performance had absolutely nothing to do with the other Christmas events happening around the town over the weekend it was all for a good cause.

The students had been asked to perform to help bring the first ever cat cafe to Bournemouth.

Feline fanatic Jaya Da Costa launched a £25,000 crowdfunding campaign last month to open Pause Cat Café where people will be able to cuddle rescue cats over a coffee.

The cafe, at Old Christchurch Road, near Horseshoe Common, will have 12 resident rescue cats roaming its two floors and will promote rescuing felines.

People who cannot have pets will be able to book an hour’s slot for £5 to interact with the cats to fund their care and community projects.

So far £13,000 has been raised through the crowdfunding page but there is still a long way to go before the fundraising ends on Friday.

The money is needed to transform the former estate agents into a cat-friendly space which will include microchip activated areas where cats can be alone, exercise equipment, an isolated health care unit as well as fund vet and animal behaviourist advice and a CCTV system to monitor the cats.

Jaya said: “Please help to make Pause Cat Cafe a safe haven for our rescue cats, with everything they could wish for.

"We need one last push to make sure we get the money we need so this dream can become a reality.

“Your contribution will enable us to support our local community and promote the therapeutic interaction between humans and animals.”

Throughout the fundraising campaign Jaya has been supported by PR company Lineup Media - which also helped to organise the flash mob on Saturday.

For more information search Pause Cat Café on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

To donate to the crowdfunding site, go to https://igg.me/at/pausecatcafe.