Speaker 1: This is pet Life Radio. Let's talk pets.
Speaker 2: Hello, be lying friends, Welcome to Catitude. I'm your show host,
Michelle Byrne, and what a great show I have for
you today. We're going to talk about how to make
your home cat friendly and human friendly. You know, our
cats rule our home, but hey, we got to live
there too, And we have some great tips for adoption,
for pet advocacy and what you can do to maybe
get into TNR things like that. So stay tuned, we'll
be right back.
Speaker 3: You know the expression cats have nine lives, Well, what
if you can give them one more? But give them ten?
Movement is on a mission to help give cats an
extra life. How with spee and neoter, spain or nootering
your cat helps them live a longer, healthier life and
it helps control free roaming cat populations too. Learn more
about the benefits of spee and neoter and meet Scooter,
the neutered cat at Give them ten dot Org. That's
give them ten dot Org.
Speaker 4: Let's talk pets on Cutlife Radio dot com.
Speaker 2: Welcome back everyone. I'd like to welcome Ashley O'Brien. She
is the founder and CEO of Fluffin' Boots. Welcome, Ashley, Hi,
thanks for having me, Michelle.
Speaker 5: Always excited to talk about cats.
Speaker 2: Excited to have you on. Tell us what is Fluff
and Boots.
Speaker 5: Fluff and Boots is a cat centric lifestyle brand and
it's actually named after two of my cats, Fluff and
Boots respectively. And really the brand was born directly out
of my own personal need to find better products for
my cats. So I was looking for products that delivered
on things like quality, safety, positive impact, and esthetics, and
before I launched Fluff and Boots that was really hard
for me to find. So yeah, really proud to have
the first purpose driven cat centric lifestyle brand filling those
gaps in the marketplace.
Speaker 2: Well, very glad to have you on. As were all
about cats, So let's talk about a cat friendly home.
What do you think most people get wrong? Yeah?
Speaker 5: I would say most people think cat friendly means adding
more things, so adding more toys, more scratching posts, more gadgets.
But in reality, cats don't need clutter. They need predictable,
consistent routines, time for calming, virtuals, cozy retreat spaces, as
well as those thoughtful, well made essentials that really last
and they aren't constantly replaced. So I think a great
way to start with building a cat friendly home is
really focusing on fewer, better things and keeping in mind
that their space shouldn't be cluttered, but instead intentionally layered
for things like comfort, play and companionship.
Speaker 2: Okay, thanks, When did you see this shift? Maybe for
you personally as well as in other people, as far
as seeing pet products as part of your home design,
not just as you said earlier, adding extra things for
your cats.
Speaker 5: Yeah, So for me, it was becoming more of a
conscious consumer across all aspects of my life. So that
really shifted how I think about home design in general,
choosing those fewer, better pieces that are ethically made and
built to last. And the turning point for pet products
came when I was looking at what I was buying
for my own cats and realized they didn't meet the
same standards as what I was buying for myself in
terms of anti fast fashion and better quality pieces for
my home, and most pet products in the marketplace, unfortunately,
are poor quality, they're disposable, they're usually made with toxic dyes,
and really disconnected from the home. So seeing these pieces
as part of my overall consumption habits completely reframed how
I approached buying pet products. I think they deserve, in
my opinion, the same attention to design, quality, and care
as much as anything else that we bring into our homes.
Speaker 2: So historically cat products have been very functional, not as
design friendly. I've noticed, you know, in doing Cat Tute
and my other show Best Bets for Pets, which is
product focused, that there's been a focus maybe in the
last few years, especially after you know, COVID, when we
were all stuck at home, maybe people adopted more pets
and had ideas in mind, that there's been a shift
toward better design, not just functionality. So not just any
old cat tree or litter box, but a litter box
may be disguised as you know, a coffee table. So
why do you think we have that trend? And do
you see that trend going further?
Speaker 5: I do, yeah, and that's a great observation. I think
a lot of that comes down to how cats themselves
have been perceived historically. I think cats have been seen
as independent, low maintenance pets, and the assumption that their
needs could be met with purely functional or basic solutions
kind of took away from the focus of design or aesthetics.
So I think, just as you mentioned, people are kind
of shifting more towards these more beautifully crafted pieces and
getting away from mass market pet products that are focused
more on costs and convenience not so much longevity, sustainability,
and that integration within our homes. So I definitely see
that as a trend, and I think that will continue
in the future, particularly with cat owners seeing their cats
as part of the family and wanting their pieces to
live beautifully within our own homes and spaces.
Speaker 2: So what tips can you give our listeners on ways
that they can integrate the essentials, you know, like litter
boxes and scratching posts and feeding stations, possibly water bowls,
water fountains into their home without compromising their esthetic.
Speaker 5: I would say start with quality. If you can invest
in high quality, long lasting essentials, I think something that's
well made and thoughtfully designed is automatically easier to integrate
into your home. The materials are going to be better,
proportions are going to be cleaner, and then you're not
going to try to disguise it or feel like you
have to kind of hide it away when you have,
you know, visitors over. They should be pieces that you're
proud to have in your home and starting with quality
across anything you purchase for your cats is a great
place to start. And that quality over quantity reduces that
visual chaos and clutter and really helps to harmonize a home,
making that integration more effortless and easier.
Speaker 2: You know, you hit on a great point. Quality is
important and quality is not always more expensive. But if
you think about it whether you should invest, you know,
maybe I don't know. Fancy letterbox can run what three
four or five hundred dollars and you think, hmm, should
I Well, what would you invest in a piece of
furniture and that litter box because basically it's just the
tray that goes in and out. It's the actual say,
it's like a copy table litter box. Look, coffee table
litter box will last quite a while, so when you
think about how long you're going to have it, the
value of it, it just kind of makes sense.
Speaker 5: It does. Yeah, And I'm you know, we could get
into like things like the Boots theory of economics in
terms of if you can invest well and something upfront,
it saves you time and cost having to repurchase something
over and over again in the long run. And I
think that applies to things anywhere from you know, a
pet bed to the litter box to anything you're purchasing
for even yourself. If you can invest in that quality
up front, it will pay off in the long run.
Speaker 2: Absolutely. And there's something that this is so my background's
in business but marketing and so not finance, but I
always remembered, and hopefully I'm remembering this correctly, something called
the cost benefit analysis, and it's how many times you'll
use something. So even though I had a guest on
a show recently and they're making pet products now, but
they make people products. Their people products are a little
bit more expensive, so instead of maybe fifteen dollars, they're
twenty five. But you can send them back and they'll
you know, resharpen and so forth. So if you think
about the cost of use of that that you know, product,
it comes down to like fractions of cents. And that's
what I think you were referring to. So if you
think about what it costs over time, and you could
apply it to anything clothing, you want to buy those
shoes that cost twelve hundred dollars, I mean not me,
but if you want to buy them, if you're going
to wear them for six years, and it makes sense.
It costs ends up costing you two dollars a pair.
That's a better value than say a pair of shoes
for eighty dollars that you'll wear one time.
Speaker 5: Yeah, not to mention just the benefit for the environment
as well. That's a massive problem right now with fast
fashion and fast fashion production principles translate over to pet
goods as well, to where you're buying a blanket that
you know you might use for two or three months
and then you think, oh it's cheap, I'm just gonna
get rid of that and buy a new one, and
that cycle does long lasting harm to the environment. And
it's a great way if you can invest in those
quality pieces that are going to be durable and lasts
longer and not only eventually helps your wallet in consumer pockets,
but it helps the environment as well.
Speaker 2: Yes, absolutely, What do you think is one of the
main products that people should focus on that make a
difference in their home? You know that it has to
be perfect and it fit into my home, and that's
going to make all the difference. I'm going to give
you my answer before you tell our audience what you
think it is. I think it's your cat tree because
like mine right now looks like a Seuz cat treeks.
It has this fluffy thing at the top that none
of the cats go on top of. And I don't know.
My significant other liked them, so we bought them. But
they're useless, you know. Not only do they look like
Doctor Seuss things, which is cool, but I don't know
for a living room, but it's not usable. So I
think if you have a great cat trade, that makes
all the difference in you know, how it could fit
in your decor and your esthetic and not make it
look like this is a cat house, you know, especially
when you have at least three like I do. What
do you think?
Speaker 5: Yeah, so I actually think investing in multiple comfort zones
for your cats. That could be something like, you know,
a lounge mat that you can move from room to room,
a kneating pad that you can move and always be
able to accommodate your cat's needing, which is great for
their well being. So looking at like lifestyle essentials and
how they can accommodate cat's instinctive behavior to kind of
rotate through different space throughout the home depending on things
like light, temperature, mood, activity. I think when we can
give them soft, intentional places throughout the home, not just
in one dedicated corner, we're supporting their natural territorial and
comfort seeking instincts. And that's something unique at least my
approach to my own cats. I have a multi cat household.
I have four right now. At one point I was
caring for seven, So I think having multiple places throughout
the house for them was really important, and not just
having one designated cat bed or not having one just
designated cat tree area, because they instinctively like to roam,
and having those multiple comfort zones helps to reduce stress
because they feel like they have options in control and
for cats, that choice kind of equates with safety. When
they fill in control of their environment, their stress levels
drop and everything can really improve from there. So I
guess the answer is maybe not one particular item, or
just even if it is one item, something that you
can kind of move and accommodate those multiple comfort zones
throughout the home.
Speaker 2: You know what, I absolutely agree with you, because as
I was listening to I thought, do I have that
for my cats? And I was thinking about where they
hang out, you know, the three of them, different places,
and I thought, yes, I do, but one one took
over a human chair like a big like for those
big chair and a halfs. I could see bad ears
because Molly is a little blackie or she's a tuxedo,
so we see it's hers. Then there's another spot that's
where Dennis likes to hang out. Charlotte's all over the
place and she's a little misunderstood. So but yeah, but
I think that's a great idea, and it's also very
doable for if you're in a small space or if
you rent because you're just you just have a little
cozy place for them.
Speaker 1: Yeah.
Speaker 5: Absolutely.
Speaker 2: Okay, we're going to be right back, and we're going
to talk in our second half about purposeful pet ownership
and advocacy beyond adoption. We'll be right back.
Speaker 6: Take a bite out of your competition, advertise your business
with an ad In pet Life Radio podcasts and radio shows,
there is no other pet related media that is as
large and reaches more pet parents and pet lovers than
pet Life Radio with over seven million monthly listeners. Pet
Life Radio podcasts are available on all major podcast platforms,
and our live radio stream goes out to over two
hundred and fifty million subscribers on iHeartRadio, Odyssey, tune In,
and other streaming apps. For more information on how you
can advertise on the number one pet podcast and radio network,
visit petlife Radio dot com slash advertise today.
Speaker 4: Let's talk past, Let's done petco at Life.
Speaker 7: Radio, Petlife Radio, Petlfradio dot com.
Speaker 2: Welcome back everyone. We're talking to Ashley O'Brien. She is
the founder and CEO of Fluff and Boots. We talked
about how to make your home cat friendly, but also
human friendly too, and in our second half we're going
to talk about purposeful pet ownership and advocacy beyond adoption. So, Ashley,
everybody thinks that what can I do for my part?
You know, unfortunately cats, we've come a long way, but
there's so many cats are still unfortunately euthanized. And so
we'll adopt a cat, but you know most people maybe
adopt one two. What can we do after that?
Speaker 5: Yeah, So I would say adoption is just the beginning.
Advocacy can really start once your cat is home, and
that's about taking responsibility for their well being and thinking
intentionally about how your choices and even purchase as a
pet parent impact them, impacts your community and even the environment,
so that responsibility can be practical everyday actions like making
sure your cat is of course spade or neutered. It
can be supporting local T and R programs, choosing more
high quality, non toxic, ethically made products for your pets,
and then modeling responsible care for friends and family. And
I think it's important for listeners to know, or just
a good reminder for all of us that advocacy doesn't
have to be grand gestures. It's about small, consistent choices
that really add up over time. So I like to
think with every intentional decision, from what you buy to
the conversations you have with other pet parents, it really
becomes a way to support the larger cat community. And
if you can share your experience with your cat, I mean,
I know, not declining is so important, and a lot
of people don't realize the extreme consequences and how invasive
of a procedure decline is. So if you can just
share a little bit about that with another cat parent
or someone interested in adopting a cat who might not
know how awful of a procedure it is, then those
small things can really make a big difference.
Speaker 2: By the way, did you watch hopefully. I'm saying this
remembering this quickly. American Cat, The Good, the Bad, the Cuddy.
Speaker 5: I did it. No, No, I did not. I miss that.
But it's a documentary, right.
Speaker 2: Yes, it's so good. I actually had the director and
she was also in it. The protagonist was an english
woman who's like nine lines pregnant, and it was very
tongue in cheek and it's so good and it really
goes to show how people are, you know, there's just
so many people that are unaware. There's Yeah, in one
part and this is a spoiler alert. In one part
of the show, she is calling a vet and she
said she's mocking this, right. She goes, oh, you know
have a cat and I just you know, I just
adopted a cat, but I have a brand new couch
and I don't want it to get clawed up, so
you know, can I just get the nails taken off,
you know claw? And they go, yeah, sure you can
do that. You guys, well, is there like a discount?
Does it buy one pod, get one free? Oh we
could make something work. I'm not doing a verbatim, of course,
but you know, oh, we could make something work. She goes, yeah,
because my couch is so nice. I don't want it
to get messed up. And their the vet office is
just going a lot. You know, yeah, we could do
that one do you want to command? And it's just like,
you know.
Speaker 5: Yeah, I know. And one of my friends, her interior designer,
was like, oh, you should get your cat decloud before
it gets older, and you know, things like that. It
doesn't make a difference if you de quad cat when
it's a kitten or when it's an adult. It's long lasting,
lifelong damage that you're doing. They can't properly need, they
can't stretch, and we actually include an info sheet with
every need at pad we sell that just highlights, you know,
some facts about decline, like the myths, but we also
include tips to care for an already declawed cat, because
what happens is if a de cloud cat is adopted
out of a shelter. Unfortunately, the surrender rate is very
high for deep cloud cats because it causes behavioral issues
because they're in pain and they can't you know, engage
in those natural soothing behaviors. So we try to actually
integrate that type of awareness and advocacy even into our
customer experience and within the products we sell, because I
truly believe if people know, then they would make the
decision to not declaw their cat. And genuinely, people just
don't realize how bad it is. So that's something small
that we do to help educate, you know, maybe even
first time cat owners about be line well being.
Speaker 2: I'm so glad you do that. Just to talk briefly
a little bit more. There was a point in an
interview and for folks that are interested, just look on
Petlife radio, dot com, Catitude and just do research. It
was American Cat, The Good, Bad, the Cudley. I remember
one point during the interview when I said, well, if
you have cats, just get you know, furniture that's friendly.
And she said, I have you know, clients in because
she's a veterinarian that was one of the spokespeople for
the movie that I had on the show, and she said,
I have clients in Beverly Hills with gorgeous, you know furniture.
There's other alternatives if you can, you know. And there's
the fake nails for your cats. There's scratching posts, but
I have a scratching post right next to my couch.
And Dennis prefers the couch couch. And also keep in
mind a lot of people misunderstand that decline. It's cutting
a joint off.
Speaker 5: Yep, it's more like amputation than Yes.
Speaker 2: Absolutely, all right, we went off on that, but you know,
well that's again educate people. And you know, my next
question to you is kind of what we talked about.
What does purposeful pet ownership mean to you?
Speaker 5: Oh gosh, I would say, purposefu pet ownership means making
everyday decisions that consider not only my cat's own well being,
but also the broader community and the environmental and societal
impact of my purchases as a pet parrot. So on
a daily level, that means creating an environment that supports
my cat's instincts and comfort, but it also extends well
beyond the home. So that means being mindful of where
I spend my money and the brands I support, choosing
products that are made responsibly. And I think as pet
owners we have tremendous collective influence. The brands we support,
the materials we bring into our homes, and the conversations
we normalize. All of that has ripple effects. So purposeful
ownership is really about recognizing that loving your own cat
and being able to contribute positively to the larger ecosystem.
Aren't separate things that they're really connected in terms of
showing love for your own cat and the larger feeline
well being community.
Speaker 2: How can our listeners find out more about these types
of businesses.
Speaker 5: Well for fluff and boots like my business, what we
do is, you know, we try to really integrate that
advocacy and awareness directly into our marketing. How we really
share our mission and not just from a PR or
marketing campaign perspective. But I think if people you know,
can kind of ask questions when they're evaluating which brands
to support and purchase, it's really if their mission is
visible past the marketing and PR copy. So asking themselves,
is the mission backed into how they run their business?
Are their product sourced responsibly? Things like are they actually
tackling the root causes of issues like shelter overpopulation or
are they just writing occasional checks to kind of highlight
their give back efforts. So I think brands that integrate
giving into their operations rather than treating it as marketing
or as a campaign, demonstrate that true commitment. And as consumers,
we have the power to kind of vote with our
wallets and support companies that approach pet welfare thoughtfully and consistently.
And I always have to say support small businesses and
small independent brands when you can. There's research that shows
just how much more generous small businesses are compared to
the larger pet brands or larger corporations in terms of
give back as a percentage, and small businesses tend to
be more engaged within their local communities on the ground,
supporting their local shelters and the T and R. It
kind of goes back to the importance of T and
R spay and neuter. If you can support brands that
recognize the importance of that, then that's a great place
to start in terms of making your purchase count towards
helping not only your own cat, but that larger community
for feline welfare.
Speaker 2: Thank you. Is there a place or something you can
suggest where our listeners can find more small businesses that
support animal welfare, especially cats.
Speaker 5: You know, that's a great question. I'm not aware of
a database or a website. I know sometimes there are
apps for things like you know, for healthy food for
us as right nance, but I'm not sure. Yeah, that
would be a great idea to create one if someone
hasn't already curated a list of small brands that have,
you know, very high quality, ethically made pet products.
Speaker 2: You can generally find these kind of products in privately
owned small pet stores. Yeah, for sure, because a lot
of the smaller pet stores will support smaller businesses because
they don't have to jump through a bunch of hoops
and spend a lot of money to get into you know,
mass or even specialized but chain pet stores.
Speaker 5: Yeah, that's true, and that definitely goes back to supporting
local businesses within your community. I found that a lot
of my local pet stores give back to local shelters
and rescue organizations, So it's a really nice circle. Everything
comes three sixty when you can shop small and support
those local retailers that in turn are supporting small brands,
you know, like Fluff and Boots and the others out
there trying to make high quality, ethically made products.
Speaker 2: Absolutely, let's bring it in with cats, because we're almost done.
What is one misconception you think people have about cat
lovers that you would like to change besides the crazy
cat lady business where that one's been done.
Speaker 5: Yeah, I think this extends to all cat owners, but
there is definitely a misconception that cat owners are kind
of introverted or even lazy. But as I'm sure we
and your listeners know, caring for a cat requires very
active presence, consistent and deeply intentional care. So I think
maybe for you know, people who've never owned a cat,
or people who know say that they're more dog person
risk cat person, it might look passive or lazy from
the outside, but actually, you know, being a cat owner
is incredibly engaging, and we are no less outgoing or
active or happy than dog owners. It's just a quieter
and perhaps more beautifully complex kind of love instead of
being a bit more loud in terms of being able
to go to dog parks, and I think cats are
left out of the conversation a lot in terms of
even seeing them in media and different nonprofit events. So
I think we have a more quieter kind of love.
But the misconception that being a cat owner cat person
is the lazy or you know, easier option in terms
of pet ownership is definitely a misconception I would change
and challenge.
Speaker 2: I agree with you. I think it's because it's rare
that you can see cats that walk although you can
train them to walk, but you always have to walk
your dogs. I think one misconception I would think, I
think is that cats all have the same personality. And
I've had dogs. I started my you know, when I
was a child, we always had dogs, not cats, and
then got into cats when Dennis found me. And my
cats are so different they have very distinct personalities. I
think that's such a misconception when people say, well, dogs,
you know they're did this, did this. But cats know
they're and they're bright. They're a lot smarter than people
give them credit work.
Speaker 5: That's so true. I love that because I all of
my cats have been so different and complex and their
personalities and I feel like I'm living in a cartoon
show with.
Speaker 2: Yes, yes, and they're just They do such funny things
like right before I don't know how they know when
the time changes, they still know the right time for dinner.
And Dennis does this weird thing so right when I
go to bed, because I watch a TV in the
living room to chill and then you know TV's off, Okay,
time to go. He could be dozing. As soon as
that TV's off, he gets up because he knows I'm
gonna grab water. It's Dan and he gets his snack
every single time. And if I fake him out and
go to bed a little earlier, a little later, he's
right there. Where's my treat? Yeah, it's hysterical. Okay, last question,
and thank you so much for all of your input
and insight. It's been wonderful. If you could change one
thing about the pet industry, what would it be.
Speaker 5: I would say more accountability for the bigger pet brands
and the big box pet retailers. You know, we kind
of touch briefly on adoption and T and R and
I think the give back of small businesses is so wonderful.
And if the larger players in the pet industry could
step up and use those billion dollar profits and resources
to collectively end or help phase out things like the
horrific cat and dog meat trade and countries where they're
making their products, you know, they could certainly help solve
the overpopulation crisis that so many rescuers are struggling with
right now by redirecting funds into things like T and
R and spay and neuter programs versus simply writing checks
to over crowded shelters, which actually, you know, we could
probably do a whole segment just on this. Yes, over
crowded shelters actually serve as huge money makers for these
larger big pet and big vet industries, So you know,
I think some that I want to do as a
small business owner is to challenge that status quo and
you know, eventually have productive conversations with the larger pet
industry players to be able to actually help solve things
like shelter overcrowding and tackling problems from the start with
T and R initiatives. I think T and R shouldn't
be grassroots right now. It's very much kind of like
grassroots effort, and if there's more resources to make that
you know, a bit more structured and organized and well funded.
The impact that organized, well funded T and R programs
could have has in a tremendous ripple effect, and that
could do so much to help shelters and the rescuers
who are struggling and relying on donations every day. So
I think just shifting the pet industry to have just
a little bit more focus on purpose instead of just
profit profit profit could do so much. The feline welfare space.
Speaker 2: Okay, thank you, I want to thank you so much
for coming on Catitude. Thank you Ashley. Where can people
find out more about Fluff and Boots.
Speaker 5: So we are on socials at Fluff and Boots on
Instagram and Facebook and then our website is Fluffanboots dot com.
Speaker 2: Well, thank you very much and I'm so glad you
were able to come on the show.
Speaker 5: Yeah, thank you, Michelle. I appreciate it.
Speaker 2: So I hope you enjoyed this episode. I want to
thank Ashley O'Brien, the CEO and founder of Fluff and
Boots for coming on Cataitude. Thank you my cat listeners
for listening to Cataitude. We have over three hundred episodes
of Catitude to you to listen to, so if you've
just become a fan, thank you so much and check
out the earlier episodes. Thanks to my cat crew Dennis,
Charlotte and Mollie. Love you guys. Thanks of course to
my amazing producer Mark Winter for all you do. The
show would not be the same at all without the
magic of Mark Winter. And hey remember lose to Attitude,
have Catitude.
Speaker 4: Let's Talk Pets every week on demand only on Petlight
Radio dot com.