Adopting a Cat in Durban: How It Actually Works

Adopting a rescue cat is not complicated, but it is deliberate. Here is the whole process at MeanKat Cafe in Durban, start to finish, with nothing hidden.

The short version

Meet the cats in person
Have a chat with us about your home
Home check
Adoption application
Match confirmation
Adoption fee
Take your cat home

It usually takes days rather than weeks, and the slow parts are slow on purpose.

Step 1: Come and meet them

Everything starts in person. Book a visit and spend an hour in the room. You will get a far better sense of which cat suits you from sitting quietly with twelve of them than from any photograph.

You can browse who is currently looking for a home on the cats page.

Step 2: An honest conversation

We will ask about your home. Do you rent or own? Is there a balcony, and is it enclosed? Do you have other animals? Are you away often? Who looks after the cat when you travel?

None of this is a test you can fail by being honest. It exists so the cat does not come back.

Step 3: The home check

We check that the space is safe — mainly windows, balconies and escape routes, which are the things that actually hurt cats in flats. It is not an inspection of your housekeeping.

Step 4 and 5: Application and match

You fill in an application, and we confirm the match. Sometimes we will suggest a different cat than the one you arrived set on, because we know their temperaments and how they handle noise, children, dogs and being alone during the day. You are free to disagree with us.

Step 6: The adoption fee

The fee covers a portion of what has already been spent on that cat — rescue, sterilisation, vaccination and medical care. It never covers the full amount; the rest is funded by the cafe, the shop and donations.

Current fees are R600 for a single cat, or R500 per cat for a bonded pair.

Why we often ask you to take two

If you do not already have a cat at home, we will ask you to adopt two.

This surprises people, so here is the reasoning: a single young cat alone in an empty flat all day is a bored, under-stimulated and frequently destructive animal. Two cats entertain each other, settle faster, and are markedly easier to live with. It is not an upsell — the pair rate is lower per cat for exactly this reason.

Bonded pairs, who have already lived together, are also never separated.

What we ask of you afterwards

Cats are not gifts. Adopted cats may not be given away, sold or transferred to someone else without talking to us first. If it does not work out — and occasionally it does not — the cat comes back to us. That is not a failure, and we would far rather have that call than not.

If you cannot adopt

Not everyone can, and there are other ways in:

Foster a cat through the recovery stage
Volunteer at the cafe
Donate towards food and vet bills
Shop — proceeds go straight to the cats

All of them are on the how to help page.

Ready?

Start by coming to meet them. Book a visit, sit on the floor, and see who walks over.