Do you have an important birthday coming up for your four-legged family member? Pupcakes and Pawties are here to craft the yummiest and cutest cakes!
Celebrating special occasions with your furry family members can be especially emotional. You can see their excitement in their wagging tails and their inability to sit still. They wait impatiently for the go-ahead to have their treats, and blow out their candles. Pupcakes and Pawties is a small business based in Durban North run by a team who are passionate about making every occasion exceptional for furry companions.
The pupcakes they make now began as a search for ideas on what to feed their sick fur baby, Cesar. It had to be healthy and delicious so that it could also hide the medication he had to take. Seeing how much he enjoyed it, his parents shared similar treats with friends and family. During lockdown, these were a welcome indulgence for pets and their humans. With those furry friends hooked, Pupcakes and Pawties was born to bring treats to more fur babies in KZN.
Transitioning from a corporate background into a creative role was a big adjustment for the team, but they now thrive on the colourful freedom of making these treats for clients for their celebrations. Their first cake was for Cesar, who sat quietly during his photoshoot and, once he was given the go-ahead, he devoured every piece! Even though he is no longer with them, having crossed over the rainbow bridge, his presence and memory continue to inspire them.
Making these cakes cute, safe and delicious takes meticulous planning and research. They had to use ingredients and portions tailored to their clients’ requirements and restrictions. Taking into consideration allergies, special diets, portion control and just the pets’ preferences, you can’t give them chicken when beef is a favourite! Once they got the mix right, they also sent it to a vet to confirm if their products could be given the green light. Sugar and preservative-free, their products are also safe for humans to eat too!
Once the content was perfected, they got to work on decorating options. They developed techniques to match party themes, favourite colours and toys. The cake is the centrepiece of any party, tying everything together, and each one is made with love, patience and attention to detail. Of course, these cakes don’t always come out perfectly on the first try! In their early days, they received an order for a cake shaped like Thor’s hammer (Mjölnir), and it started off looking like a certain part of the male anatomy no matter what angle you looked at it. It took some reshaping but they got it right and have since perfected the cake, with it being one of their popular requests!
Every order and fur baby is special and memorable in their own way. Pupcakes and Pawties cherish every photo, video, post and review. They strive to match the enthusiasm clients have, coordinating the cakes with costumes and décor. Thanks to the sup-pawt of their community, they’ve been able to keep doing what they love—and are even exploring exciting new offerings! The team is excited to keep spreading tail wags, tasty bites, and paw-sitive vibes across KZN—one celebration at a time.
Words: Cristina Govender