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Love is in the air as couple get engaged at Woodrock Cat Café in Kyalami

The newly opened Woodrock Cat Cafe is not only a place where you can help vulnerable animals by supporting the initiative, it has also become the venue of the second most important day in this couple’s life, with only a wedding day able to take the number one spot.

2 hours ago

Emily Wellman Bain 2 minutes read

Limahl Rennie and his bride-to-be Khadeejah Khan enjoy the moment following their engagement.

Anyone who has ever been to a cat café knows they are places of joy and hope.

There is simply nothing better than enjoying some delicious eats and refreshments while interacting with a room filled with cats and, at times, kittens. When the café is in aid of an animal rescue it is ‘puurfection’.

Read more: Will you marry me, my love

Khadeejah Khan and her fiance Limahl Rennie cuddle a cat at the Woodrock Cat Cafe following their engagement.

Well, perhaps there is one thing better… An engagement, with each important kitty there to witness the promise of forever between two lovebirds.

The newly opened Woodrock Cat Café at Kyalami Corner was momentarily transformed into a romantic oasis with beautiful flowers, white candles, balloons, rose petals, and more laid out for the once-in-a-lifetime event that was about to unfold.

Limahl Rennie asks Khadeejah Khan to marry him.

Khadeejah Khan was expecting to have fun at the café with her friends and brother on August 27. “My friends and I decided to get ready together and dress up a bit more than usual to have some fun. Little did I know they were in on the plans of my now fiancé Limahl Rennie.”

Rennie had planned it ‘puurfectly’. Khadeejah didn’t suspect a thing; her friends kept the secret, and the café was eager to ensure the momentous occasion went off without a hitch.

The space is informal and plush making it easy to be comfortable interacting with the friendly cats when you visit the cafe.

Also read: Your 5-step guide to picking the perfect engagement ring

“I saw my brother taking photos of me and felt so shy and overdressed. I then turned around and saw Limahl down on one knee with flowers and the room decorated for us. I didn’t hesitate for a second, of course, I said yes.”

“Love is in the air… and so was the ‘purrfect’ surprise,” says Stella Meldau, co-founder of Woodrock Animal Rescue.

“Our hearts are melting. We witnessed our very first proposal at the Woodrock Cat Café! The love, the joy, the purrs – everything was just too beautiful for words. We’re beyond thrilled for the newly engaged couple, and we can’t wait to see what the future holds for them!”

Khan says it was a ‘grand gesture’ and not normally something her fiancé would do.

“We were both shaking afterwards – it was just amazing for us both. I would have said yes in any setting – but this was perfect for me.”

The café is the fun and fundraising arm of the well-established Woodrock Animal Rescue. The non-profit is a leading pro-life rescue group focusing on rehabilitation and re-homing through their shelters across South Africa. Currently, they have over 500 animals in their care at any given time, including donkeys, pigs, chickens, rabbits, geese, goats, dogs, and cats.

Details: catcafe@woodrockanimalrescue.co.za or 064 008 3066.