In the northern part of Johannesburg, a small haven of cosiness and comfort has become home to 19 cats and an array of visitors who love their feline charms.
Woodrock Cat Café, on the upper level of Kyalami Corner Shopping Centre, opened its doors in July 2024 with 12 rescue cats who snuggle and entertain patrons with their feline antics.
Inevitably the creatures now run the spot, enticing the customers to shower them with love and to pay an entrance fee that supports 500 shelter animals. These animals are being cared for at Woodrock Animal Rescue, a pro-life organisation in Hennops, Centurion, that also helps animals and communities in surrounding areas through feeding schemes, sterilisation programmes and medical care.
Since it was founded by Nicholas and Stella Meldau in 1992, Woodrock has been expanding the boundaries of what it means to be a rescue organisation
The emergence of Woodrock Cat Café came after Woodrock launched Paws At Work, a mental wellness initiative that introduced therapy dogs to corporate spaces to help employees deal with the stresses and pressures that come with the daily grind.
“We launched Paws At Work during the Covid-19 pandemic,” says Jax Martheze, the manager of the programme and Woodrock Cat Café, “We did a pilot with Discovery South Africa and it was audaciously successful and we are now lifestyle partners with them. We saw the positive impact that the programme had on employees and we wanted to have a ‘paws-at-work’ kind of programme involving cats.”
To find the felines that would create the ultimate cat utopia, Woodrock contacted rescue shelters in Bloemfontein, Free State, with whom they had previously partnered to share food, blankets and other necessities. More specifically, the organisation asked for cats who were scheduled to be euthanased.
“We said to them, ‘We are launching a cat café. Do you have any animals on your put-to-sleep list that we could have?’” Martheze says. “Those were our first famous cat cafés, the original 12, as we call them.”
Peanut, a majestic fluffy black Maine Coon; Tiger Lily, a Bengal-mix with features as striking as her namesake; and Kit Kat, a chunky tuxedo cat with a lustrous coat, are among the 12. They represent a fraction of the countless abandoned animals who face uncertainty while housed in overcrowded shelters with limited resources.
According to The State of Pet Homelessness Project, a study by various animal welfare experts about pet homelessness around the world, 4.05 million cats and dogs are homeless in South Africa, with 3.4 million strays and 650 000 housed in shelters. To offset the influx of animals in their under-resourced shelters, rescue centres face euthanising animals. According to estimates from the same study, 2 800 animals are euthanised a day. In South Africa, cats and dogs are being bred and abandoned at a rate that far exceeds what rescue organisations can handle.
Patrons at Woodrock Cat Café play with the cats and learn of the trials they’ve faced.
Scenes at the cat café demonstrate the beauty of what a loving home can provide for a traumatised animal. The people who visit the cat café do more than donate to animals in need; there is a mutual exchange of kindness and healing.
Martheze suggests that cats can play a vital role in people’s mental and physical wellness: “The frequencies of a cat’s purr are so powerful that it can help promote a healing, calming effect to humans.”
In a study titled The Felid Purr: A Healing Mechanism, researchers found that cats can generate purrs between the frequencies of 25 hertz and 150hz, as well as within 2hz to 100hz, corresponding with frequencies used for treatment of muscle strain, pain and bone fractures.
Although more research is needed to confirm these findings, established scientific findings certainly support that cats, similar to dogs and other animals, help us release happy hormones such as oxytocin, serotonin and dopamine.
“I was there the day Woodrock Cat Café opened and have been a regular ever since, enjoying the relaxed environment and cats,” says Jane Illing-Pike, who has lived in Johannesburg for 34 years and works in equine-assisted psychotherapy.
“My favourite part is seeing the kitties develop into their personalities and how each one is accommodated for their personality. Frankie, who was initially virtually unapproachable, is now so at ease and loving that he has his own fan club,” she says, referencing a seal-point ragdoll who lived feral in a park in Kyalami for six years before moving to the cat café.
Kelly Schmidt, a 25-year-old artist and graphic designer with sensory and anxiety problems, has found a safe haven in the cat afé. She has grown so close to the cat family there that she produces weekly comics which are published on their social media page, showcasing her talent and the cats’ unique personalities.
“I’ve fallen in love with many of the kitties, and having drawn them all, I’ve got to know their personalities and quirks. I have a special connection with Kit Kat, Frankie and Lyla,” she says, referring to a calico van cat who regularly sits on Kelly’s laptop when she feels work time is over.
Although the stereotype of the “cat lady” persists, Woodrock Cat Café has shown that no type of person is immune to being a felophile. From gym-goers looking to kick back after strenuous lifting and parents eager to bond with their children over purrs to professionals who talk about work ideas and friends celebrating a birthday at an Insta-worthy spot, Woodrock Cat Café has become the place to be.
The cat café is a structured environment with a designated workspace area that merges with a dining space and a zen zone where the cats unleash their zoomies and lull guests into a state of bliss.
For a fee of R125 a person and R110 for children under 12, visitors can enter the café and enjoy food and beverages from Jackson’s eatery, a partner supplying the food. The café also hosts special days, including a pensioners’ day on Wednesdays for seniors to visit at a discounted rate and a movement class where guests stretch, unwind and find their inner zen every Tuesday.
For reservations and inquiries, WhatsApp 064 008 3066.