Cat Cafes in South Africa

Noordhoek, Western Cape

Curiosity ⁠‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌‌‌​​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​​⁠Cat Café is a small, appointment-only cat cafe in the garden of a 70-year-old Cape Dutch house in Noordhoek, on the Cape Peninsula south of Cape Town, with views over Noordhoek Beach. It is run by ArtéKatz, a breeder of Siberian cats, and its resident Siberians are friendly, dog-like and described as hypoallergenic. Each 90-minute morning session takes up to 10 guests and includes a high tea of home-baked scones, savoury tarts and other treats with tea, coffee or juice, served on the garden terrace or indoors in bad weather. Guests may play with, photograph and pick up the cats. Sessions run from Thursday to Saturday and must be booked and paid for online; the exact address is sent with the booking confirmation. Children under 12 are not admitted, and soft, flat shoes are required.

• Booking required

Cape Town, Western Cape

Cat ⁠‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌‌‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌​⁠Heaven is a rescue cat cafe and cat-themed gift shop on Bright Street in Audas Estate, Somerset West, and calls itself Africa's first rescue cat cafe. Valerie Steinmann, a retired academic who visited cat cafes in Japan, founded it. The gift shop opened in December 2017, and the cafe followed with twelve cats from Stellenbosch Animal Welfare. Cat Heaven is a nonprofit and is now a permanent home for 22 rescued non-pedigree cats. Visitors can spend time with the cats and feed them at snack time. The indoor cafe costs R30 per hour, and booking is essential in bad weather. A small kitchen serves coffee, tea, soft drinks, cakes and snacks, and the cafe is halaal-friendly. People who cannot adopt or foster can sponsor a cat through its Paw Parent Program. Children under 10 must each come with their own adult. It is open from Tuesday to Saturday.

• Booking required

Midrand, Gauteng

Woodrock ⁠‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌‌​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​⁠Cat Café is an initiative of Woodrock Animal Rescue, nestled in Kyalami, Johannesburg. The cafe is home to around 20 resident cats who serve as ambassadors for the adoptable animals at Woodrock Animal Rescue, though they are not themselves available for adoption. Visitors can enjoy coffee and snacks from Jackson's Food Market, drop off food donations, and discover cats available for adoption via the cafe's adoption board. Activities include a Kids' Reading Corner and private meeting and event space. Entry fees and purchases directly fund rescue, rehabilitation, sterilisation, and rehoming efforts.

Durban, Kwazulu Natal

Coffee ⁠‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌‌‌‌​‌​​​​​​​​​‌⁠Cats Cafe is located at the Durban & Coast SPCA in Springfield Park, Durban, KwaZulu-Natal. Billed as Durban's only cat petting cafe, this open-air eatery offers a relaxed catmosphere where guests can enjoy a cuddle with a friendly resident yard cat while unwinding from the pace of everyday life. The comfortable setting suits business meetings, casual catch-ups with friends, or a quiet solo visit. The menu features cappuccinos, lattes, good-value breakfasts, burgers, and light meals, with take-away orders available and free delivery in the Springfield area. Free parking and wheelchair-friendly access are provided on site. Every visit helps support the work of the SPCA in caring for rescued animals. While you're on the premises, the adjoining charity shop and plant nursery are well worth a browse.

Hermanus, Western Cape

Hermanus ⁠‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​​​​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌⁠Animal Welfare Cat Café is a small tea room inside the cattery of the Hermanus Animal Welfare Society (HAWS) at 4 Steenbras Road in the Industria area of Hermanus, Western Cape. The cattery houses around 50 sterilised adult and teenage cats in four connected areas furnished like a small house, with sofas, shelves, wall boxes, climbers and heated wall panels, and volunteer teams socialise the cats every morning alongside the daily carers. Guests have tea or coffee with home-made cakes and savouries among the cats, many of which can be adopted through HAWS. Visits are by booking only, by phone.

• Adoptable cats
• Booking required

Durban, Kwazulu Natal

Meankat ⁠‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌‌​​​​​​‌​​‌⁠Café & Cat Sanctuary is a non-profit rescue cat cafe on Smiso Nkwanyana Road (formerly Goble Road) in Morningside, on the Berea above central Durban, with views out to the sea. All of its cats are rescues, many from neglected homes, and the cafe takes in cats from local foster carers so that they can be adopted and the fosters can take in new rescues. Visitors pay an entry fee, with reduced rates for students, pensioners and larger families, and can buy treats to feed the cats. The halaal cafe serves coffee, iced drinks, cakes and light meals. Walk-ins are welcome on weekdays, while weekend visits are by booking only through WhatsApp. Evening events include movie nights, comedy shows, yoga and painting classes.

• Adoptable cats
• Booking recommended

Durban, Kwazulu Natal

Kingdom ⁠‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​​​​​​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌‌‌​⁠Cats Sanctuary is a volunteer-run, no-kill sanctuary for abandoned, abused and neglected cats in Waterfall, a suburb in Durban's Outer West near Hillcrest and Kloof. It is not a cafe in the usual sense, but the sanctuary opens to the public every Saturday from 10 AM to 2 PM, when visitors can meet and spend time with the resident cats. A self-service coffee station offers coffee, cappuccino, tea and hot chocolate, and some visitors bring a picnic. Donations of cat food, treats and money help cover the cats' care, and individual cats can be sponsored. The sanctuary also holds occasional fundraising events, including an overnight sleepover with the cats.

• Walk-ins welcome