Written by Anneke Malan – Chairperson National Cat Action Taskforce (NCat), Spokesperson Cats of South Africa (CoSA)
Professional photography by Strike a Pose Photography
Frankie’s life didn't begin well. A seal-point Ragdoll cat, he lived with a very large family – so large that he had trouble coping with all the noise and activity that constantly surrounded him. And to make matters worse, one of the dogs had begun showing aggression towards him.
There came a day when he could no longer bear it. He left home and fled to a nearby park. There he was all alone, and it became a struggle to survive. But his plight didn’t go unnoticed. Kind strangers began feeding him, and eventually one of them offered him a new home. But once again, he ran away, back to the familiarity of the park.
Then another calamity befell him; he developed a huge abscess on his neck – so big that he might have lost an ear. One of his kind caregivers took him to a vet to have the abscess seen to, and the vet managed to contact his original owners. “We don’t want him back,” they said.
Welcome to the café life
So, the kind vet did the best thing she could think of: she contacted Woodrock Animal Rescue. And that was how Frankie came to be taken to that remarkable and delightful place, the Woodrock Cat Café at Kyalami Corner. This was the best day of Frankie’s life, but he didn’t realise it yet. He’d lived alone for so long that he’d become very much like a feral cat.
The Woodrock Cat Café had begun with 12 cats that were on the euthanasia lists at a number of different shelters. When Frankie was taken to the Café, it was home to 18 cats. It was a welcoming space for anyone looking to meet friends, enjoy some of the great food provided by the next-door eatery, or simply sit and read a book – while being surrounded by cats. Children who wanted to play with the cats were also welcomed.
Now in this new, unfamiliar place, Frankie was nervous of the other cats, who all seemed to be more confident than him. And he was especially nervous of the well-meaning cat lovers who flocked to the Café.
Choose to snooze
But all he needed was time, and one special human – Jax, the Café manager. She believes that all animals need is love, safety and care, and that this enables them also to give their humans the best of themselves.
Slowly, gently, she helped Frankie become accustomed to his new surroundings. And slowly he began to realise that the human visitors wished him well, and that the other cats weren’t too bad either. He began to feel safe at the Cat Café, and to enjoy the human interaction. The Café is structured to provide cats with the most ideal environment, and offers Frankie a choice of where he wants to spend his time – in one of the quiet spaces in the play area, or in the more restful dining area.
Today, six months later, he feels completely at home. He gets along with the other cats, but mostly he just does his own thing – curling up on a comfy chair and snoozing the hours away.
Frankie is now one of the permanent, and very fulfilled, residents of the Cat Café
