Goldie, the Golden Queen
Like many, I've been watching the Royal Wedding today. Such ceremonies tend to fascinate Americans because we don't have royalty here.
Betty, the Midnight Queen, enjoying a Pootie Pad
Or do we?
Dusty, the Queen of Pounce
Female cats are properly known as "queens". I remember in the play, Lettice and Lovage, Lettice refers to her cat as "Felina, Queen of Sorrows". This prompted me to refer to my two kitties as Queens. Bete Noire, a classic Basement Cat, was Queen of Shadows, and Belle, who looked a lot like Sweet Baby Kitty, pictured below, was Queen of Soft.
Sweet Baby Kitty with her Pootie Pad
Queens like to be pampered -- and nothing is more pleasing than a goodly dose of organic catnip (certified by Oregon Tilth) in a cushy, personal-sized quilt, a Pootie Pad.
Brissy enjoys her Pootie Pad
Pootie Pads are a cat toy, yes -- but they are also a small business idea for two sisters who are trying to create worthwhile work, first for themselves and later for others. We are not alone! Many people are making start-up businesses right now because our job situation is so dire -- and our politicians have not been forthcoming with help.
Grendel shows how to get the most out of a Pootie Pad
So far, signs for Pootie Pads are encouraging! We have received advice from SCORE, a great resource for small business entrepreneurs. SCORE provides free counseling from retired business people and is a valuable resource for anyone with a business idea. We have been matched up with a gentleman who has experience in the toy business -- and he has made the first introduction for us to a possible retail client, a local, independent pet store. He has helped with ideas for wholesale pricing -- very timely, as we have had a couple referrals to a couple of pet businesses through one of our Kossack customers. Our SCORE counselor will also help us find resources for help manufacturing as our customer base grows. SCORE also steered us to a local law school's small business clinic for low-cost legal advice -- we are now in a queue for that as soon as our business plan is complete (and another Kossack who has done oodles of business plans is so kind as to help us with that!).
Lizzie loves her new Pootie Pad!
In the meantime, I have been calculating the amount of time it takes to make a Pootie Pad and how much we are spending on materials. This is a handmade, well-constructed product (we have had no reports of any damage done to a Pootie Pad, no matter how rough the pootie play) -- and we take the time to wash all our fabrics so that kitties are not exposed to the chemicals used to preserve fabrics in shipment. With that in mind, our current, introductory price of $25 (including shipping) will be going up on May 1 to $34.95 plus $5 shipping. So if you were thinking of ordering a Pootie Pad, you might want to do so in the next couple days! The store is open -- or use this PayPal link and we'll choose a Pootie Pad for you (we have other fabrics than those listed in the store).
Oliver and Ramona enjoy their new Pootie Pad
Celebrate your household royalty with the comfort of a Pootie Pad -- and please share your pictures and stories below!