There's nothing we love more than the 'purrks' of the job: an inbox full of cat pics and networking with fellow cat lovers. It doesn't get better than meeting up with Gareth and Kelly, CoFounders of Cool Cat Collars, in a cat cafe (of course!)
Tell us a little about how it all began? What was the thinking behind Cool Cat Collars and what was your inspiration?
We actually founded Cool Cat Collars way back in 2008 as a secondary site to our main pet accessories online store, I’ve always been a pet lover and have owned cats and dogs all my life. On the cat collars side we realised that it was difficult to actually shop online for a good range of cat collars and accessories, back then Pets at Home didn’t even have a website! The idea to start an online store actually came about overnight and within just a few short weeks of hard work we were live!
Who should look at getting a Cool Cat Collar? And what important things should they consider?
Unlike with dogs it’s not a legal requirement at the moment for a cat to wear one but a collar with an ID tag containing the owners contact details are really important for a cat, in the same way they are for a dog. First of all it’s a very visual way to indicate the cat has an owner which will discourage neighbours from feeding. Secondly, if anything bad was to happen an ID tag means you can be contacted instantly. Obviously lots of cats a chipped these days, which is great, but that still requires a trip to the vets meaning delays in making contact with you as the owner, or it might put people off altogether.
In which countries can you find Cool Cat Collars?
We’re so lucky to ship our collars to almost every corner of the world! We have many customers in America, throughout Europe and as far away as Australia. In the past week we’ve shipped to France, Spain, Germany, California, Texas and of course the UK! Of course all of the UK orders are currently being shipped complete with a ProtectaPet leaflet with an exclusive discount code.
You have hundreds of designs which all look amazing, but which is you absolute favourite, and why?
Wow, what a question!
Because I source all the material for every single design they are all pretty special to me, it’s really difficult to pick just one! Our most recent designs however has been a real labour of love, the new luxury leather range. We are working with an extremely talented leather craftsman in Greece to perfect the designs, beautiful lambskin leather in lovely vibrant colours. They really are amazing!
What can we expect from Cool Cat Collars in 2020 and beyond?
We’ve just become a limited company which is very exciting, so there will be lots of changes behind the scenes but very little change for customers. We’re always looking to add to the range, both in terms of collar designs but also completely new products so watch this space!