Cat-Friendly Places in South Africa: 9 Top Picks

Cape Town's flagship cat café, in the Gardens neighbourhood near the Company's Garden. Thirteen rescue cats, several adopted from the SPCA after the café opened in 2017, live in a beautifully converted Victorian house. The café serves South African rooibos tea, koeksisters, and Cape Malay-spiced hot chocolates. Listed in Lonely Planet's Top 10 Cape Town experiences.

The Hoedspruit Endangered Species Centre is the world's leading big cat rehabilitation sanctuary and one of Africa's top-rated wildlife experiences. Cheetahs, leopards, caracals, and servals are all housed here. Conservation ambassador encounters let visitors sit with habituated cheetahs, a profound experience for any cat lover. Adjacent to Kruger National Park.

Just 45 minutes from Cape Town near the Helderberg wine region, Cheetah Outreach is South Africa's leading cheetah ambassador programme. Close-encounter sessions with habituated cheetahs have been running since 1997 and are among the most moving feline experiences available anywhere in the world. An easy day trip combined with Cape Town's cat café scene.

In the brightly painted Cape Malay heritage neighbourhood of Bo-Kaap, Meow Café has nine cats and a menu of Cape Malay cuisine, samosas, bobotie sliders, and homemade vetkoek. The colourful neighbourhood setting makes this the most photogenic of Cape Town's cat cafés, and the café actively advocates for the city's street cat welfare programme.

The V&A Waterfront, Cape Town's most visited attraction, has a well-established community of cats living in the historic Clock Tower precinct and working harbourside. The cats are cared for by the V&A's facilities team and are a well-known part of the waterfront's character. Spotting them at sunset with Table Mountain in the background is quintessential Cape Town.

Johannesburg's premier cat café in Sandton, Africa's wealthiest square mile, is a polished venue with eleven cats and a menu of South African craft beers, fine wines, and small plates. The café has partnered with several Johannesburg animal shelters to facilitate adoptions and is beloved by Johannesburg's professional class as a lunchtime de-stress destination.

Durban's cat café in the trendy Florida Road restaurant strip has seven cats and a menu that embraces Durban's famous curry culture, bunny chow sliders alongside flat whites, watched over by curious feline residents. It's become a social media favourite for Durban's large and vocal cat-loving community.

South Africa's administrative capital has a small cat café in the historic Hatfield student area. Six cats and an extensive South African craft beer list make this a popular Friday afternoon destination for University of Pretoria students. The café's jacaranda-season events in October, when Pretoria's trees turn purple, are particularly popular.

Near Kruger National Park, Khamai houses rescued small wild cats including servals, caracals, and African wildcats alongside its reptile collection. It's one of the few places in Africa where visitors can observe African wildcats, the wild ancestor of all domestic cats, in a responsible sanctuary setting. A profound experience that connects domestic cat lovers to their pet's wild origins.