How a cat rescue story inspired a premium pet toy business
How a Cat Rescue Story Inspired a Premium Pet Toy Business: Bury St Edmunds couple Matt and Aime Anderson are on a mission to challenge throw-away culture and raise £10,000 for Norfolk cat rescue charity Feline Care with The Catnip Queen – their sustainable cat toy brand offering kitty-approved, durable pet toys filled with organic catnip.
Matt and Aime’s VIP (Very Important Pet) cat toy journey was born out of their desire to give their own rescue cats, Princess and Tiger, a life of luxury after they were found abandoned as tiny kittens in a cardboard box.
Realising that most cat toys were poorly made and quickly consigned to the bin, they lent into their careers in PR, digital media and most recently an Amazon marketing agency working with pet brands including Mars Petcare, pet supplements maker Lintbells and Dorwest, to launch The Catnip Queen.
Says Matt: “We know there are approximately 10.2 million cats in the UK with almost one household in four home to a cat***. And the cat toy market is huge – worth almost £600m today and forecast to hit more than £1billion by 2033****. However, it’s dominated by a throwaway culture very similar to fast fashion; driven by cheap materials, rapid trend cycles, impulse buying, and poor product longevity. This has real welfare and environmental implications that most owners never see.
“We thought there had to be a better and more sustainable way, so we spent months working with discerning cats of all ages and breeds at Feline Care and those already living in the lap of luxury with their owners, or should we say servants, to test, modify and perfect every product.”
More potent, more pawsome
The Catnip Queen’s first signature Royal Collection isacurated range of luxuriously soft cat toys that include The Count’s Moustache, Royal Catch and Royal Clutch. All combine purple and gold – the colours that have symbolised Royalty for millennia*, plus tassels and bells to keep Royal paws occupied. And to ensure every toy remains fresh and exciting, there’s The Catnip Queen’s exclusive, organic Royal Elixir spray made with an ultimate feline fix blend of organic Catnip and Silvervine fruit extract.
Adds Aime: “Our toys are designed to be kept and refreshed, not replaced. Aside from the fact they are created from quality, durable materials, our Royal Elixir spray helps to make us a purrfectly greener choice; reducing your pets’ carbon ‘pawprint’ by replacing their flimsy, short-lived toys with beautifully crafted, made to last ones they’d choose for themselves.”
Helping more kittys in crisis
Of course, Matt and Aime also want other down-at-paw kittens to experience the same meow-ments of joy, so they’re donating 1% of all sales to Feline Care. Says Matt: “We regularly donate toys and the cats in their care are the first to sample new strains of catnip. Plus, we’re already working with them to help to raise their profile via our marketing and PR for The Catnip Queen: As we grow our business over the next 12 to 18 months, we’d hope to hit a target donation of £10,000.”
Molly Farrar at Feline Care reports that post Covid there are even more cats in desperate need of forever homes: “We’ve seen huge changes to the vet industry, which has had a devastating impact on cats as less people have prioritised or can afford neutering. That combined with the biggest cat rescue organisation in the UK reducing support for neutering has prompted a sharp increase in unowned and unwanted cats.”
The charity usually has between 20 and 30 cats for adoption at any one time out of a typical 100 cats at the centre at any one time, and Molly says both Catnip and Silvervine are a distraction and help them to relax: “Moving into a cattery environment is always stressful, but comfort and engagement helps to reduce stress.”
Why are Catnip and Silvervine so irresistible to cats?
Nepeta Cataria is a member of the mint family and contains a compound called nepetalactone that triggers an intense, albeit temporary, bliss response in most cats**. While sensitivity is genetic, around 70% of cats love catnip so much they will roll in it, lick it, and rub their faces in it.
Silvervine fruit extract comes from the fruit of a vine native to East Asia and is related to kiwifruit. It contains multiple cat-happy compounds, including actinidine that mimics feline pheromones, and dihydroactinidiolide, a kitty calming agent that like Catnip, triggers your cat’s sensory receptors. In fact, cats are even more likely to respond to Silvervine than they are Catnip** – around 80% reach a state of bliss because of those multiple compounds.
The Catnip Queen’s sustainable cat toys for eco-conscious owners are now available to buy at thecatnipqueen.com, Amazon and eBay.
