Cape Town · Opening 2027
Life is better —
With Cats
Cape Town's First Cat Adoption Café, Co-Working Space & Community Hub.
What we are
Three things in one beautiful space.
Cat Adoption Hub
Every cat at With Cats is a rescue looking for a forever home. We partner with Cape Town's leading rescue organisations to give cats a loving foster environment with the visibility to find their perfect human match.
Community Venue
Morning wellness, afternoon co-working, and evening events, designed to bring people together through meaningful experiences. A space for connection, creativity, community, and, of course, cats.
Impact Engine
Every coffee, membership, and event ticket helps support rescue efforts through sterilisation initiatives, welfare funding, and community education.
The problem
Why Adoption Matters.
South Africa is home to an estimated 4 million homeless cats and dogs. In Cape Town alone, the SPCA processes more than 23,000 stray and unwanted animals every year, while adoption rates remain critically low. Open-admission shelters are forced to make difficult euthanasia decisions daily, not because people don't care, but because adoptable cats simply don't have the visibility they need to find the right home. With Cats exists to change that.
4M+
homeless cats & dogs in South Africa
19%
of cats entering South African shelters are adopted
0
cat adoption cafés in South Africa, until now
How it works
The Cat Foster Model.
With Cats operates as an enhanced foster home model rather than a traditional shelter. Rescue partners provide their more socialised cats, cover all vet costs (vaccines, sterilisation, treatment), and collect their respective adoption fees. With Cats provides housing, food, litter, enrichment, daily care, and regular health checks. The result is a model that benefits rescues, cats, and the community equally, while simultaneously acting as a high-visibility adoption pathway that addresses South Africa's critical animal welfare problem through a self-sustaining commercial model.
A day at With Cats
Day to night.
Morning Wellness
Yoga, meditation and breathwork with a resident cat or two as your co-instructor.
Café & Co-work
Specialty coffee, cat latte art and the very real possibility of a cat walking across your keyboard.
Evening Events
Community nights, workshops, pop-up events and private celebrations.
What's on
Example Events.
TUE
—
07:30
Morning Yin Yoga — With Cats
Start your morning with slow, restorative yoga in the company of our resident cats.
FRI
—
20:00
Comedy With Cats
A proper Friday night out: live stand-up, great coffee, and cats who make surprisingly excellent company.
THU
—
18:30
Board Games With Cats
Come with friends or come alone, for a relaxed community evening of board games, good company, and cats.
SUN
—
11:00
Learn to Crochet With Cats
A slow Sunday morning with yarn, hooks, and cats who are deeply invested in both.
SAT
—
19:00
Speed Dating with Cats
Meet someone new, or just spend the evening with cats who have no interest in your dating history.
WED
—
18:30
Learn Xhosa with Cats
Pick up one of Cape Town's most beautiful languages in a relaxed setting, with cats who are excellent listeners.
The campaign
Help Us Open the Door.
We're raising R200,000 to secure the lease: five months of rent plus a deposit. We're looking for a space on Cape Town's Atlantic Seaboard or in the City Bowl: a central, accessible location with natural foot traffic, where the community can easily find us and the cats can find their people. That's the key that unlocks everything else. Back the campaign on ThundaFund and become part of the Founding Colony.
Back Our Crowdfunding Campaign on ThundaFundR250
Coffee & cats
“Your first hour is on us.”
- ✓1 free hour at the cat café, redeemable at launch
- ✓Early access before public opening
R500
Events with cats
“You're one of us.”
- ✓1 free café hour + early access
- ✓50% off one event at With Cats
- ✓Invite to the launch event
R1,000
Wear your love for cats
“Everything above, plus a piece of With Cats to keep.”
- ✓1 free café hour + early access
- ✓50% off one event + launch invite
- ✓With Cats merch: tote bag or hat, your choice (SA residents only)
R2,000
The Cat Companion
“Because everything's better with a friend.”
- ✓1 free café hour + early access
- ✓50% off one event + launch invite
- ✓With Cats merch — tote bag or hat, your choice
- ✓One full event ticket for yourself
- ✓A guest pass for a friend: one free café hour or event entry, their choice
What happens next
The Road to Opening.
Here's how your support turns into something real.
Launch Campaign & Build Community
Crowdfunding campaign live. Growing our mailing list and proving demand.
Finalise Rescue Partnerships
Signing MOUs with Cape Town rescue organisations who will provide our resident cats.
Secure the Lease
Finding our space on the Atlantic Seaboard or in the City Bowl.
Secure Build-out Funding
Larger loans from community lenders to fund the full interior fit-out.
Licenses & Permits
All regulatory requirements in place before building begins.
Build & Fit Out
Transforming the space into a home for cats and community.
Intake First Resident Cats
Our rescue partners bring in the first carefully selected cats.
Soft Launch & Launch Week
Doors open to our Founding Colony before the public.
Open to the Public
With Cats is officially open. Cape Town, meet your cats.
Launch Campaign & Build Community
Crowdfunding campaign live. Growing our mailing list and proving demand.
Finalise Rescue Partnerships
Signing MOUs with Cape Town rescue organisations who will provide our resident cats.
Secure the Lease
Finding our space on the Atlantic Seaboard or in the City Bowl.
Secure Build-out Funding
Larger loans from community lenders to fund the full interior fit-out.
Licenses & Permits
All regulatory requirements in place before building begins.
Build & Fit Out
Transforming the space into a home for cats and community.
Intake First Resident Cats
Our rescue partners bring in the first carefully selected cats.
Soft Launch & Launch Week
Doors open to our Founding Colony before the public.
Open to the Public
With Cats is officially open. Cape Town, meet your cats.
Stay connected
Sign Up. Even If You Can't Donate.
Every sign-up is proof that South Africa wants this, and that proof is what helps secure the larger investment to build it.
What you get:
- ✓20% off your first visit when we open
- ✓Early access before we go public
- ✓First to know about events, memberships and launches
Follow us on Instagram @withcats_cpt
The founder
Who Is Behind This.
My name is Danielle Woolf. I'm a South African-born, US-trained veterinarian who has called Cape Town home for the past six years. I have a deep love for cats, along with professional expertise in feline health, behaviour, enrichment, and safe human-animal interaction.
Over the years, I've seen firsthand how many incredible cats are passed over simply because they've never had the chance to be seen in a calm, comfortable environment where their personalities can truly shine.
With Cats was created to change that, by building a calm, beautiful space where rescue cats can thrive, connect with people, and ultimately find homes.
A Note on Our Structure.
With Cats is a registered for-profit social enterprise, not an NPO. We made this choice deliberately.
Our goal is to build a sustainable business that can support rescue cats for years to come, without depending on ongoing donations to operate. Every visit, membership, event, and coffee purchased helps fund cat care, adoption efforts, community programming, and spay and neuter initiatives across Cape Town.
We believe the strongest impact comes from a model that can sustain itself and grow responsibly. The more successful With Cats becomes, the more cats find homes.