Pets/Companion animals

[Osborn F Enready]

Thanks for the information Patrick, nice rundown.

You too Sevendogs.

[Compugasm]

@ Osborn, Isherwood,

So far, the only expensive tool that I've needed was a jigsaw and wire cutters. If I started a factory, it will be in San Marcos where all the carpet is.

You guys are right. I will do your suggestions and move forward on this idea. I'll take the next couple days to make a demonstration website. I'll be back.

[Osborn F Enready]

Great idea Compugasm.

I have a friend who started a business out of nothing, except garage sale items and some of his grandpas old attic goods, and e-bay.

Now it is actually providing regular income and a neat hobby.

Check out his site:
GRANDPA'S CLOSET eBay Store About My Store

[arielmessenger]

I too have have many types of animals. Was a snake boy in my youth and always have loved animals. I like dogs, have had a few but for home life I prefer cats. I seem to have inadvertently followed the pattern of wizards, witches, and warlocks with their "familiars" in that I always end up with a black cat companion.

My one before Filo, so named for his file box destructive nature, was Nina, and she was one special cat. I know the lore is that cats don't know anything about "love" or "goodness", they just be themselves and look out for the food dish but Nina, I swear, was one cat in many I've had that actually went out of her way to be "good". She always was a food fussy cat and eventually she died of fatty-acid liver syndrome where a cat stops eating altogether and withers away. But she would try to eat things I would give her just to please me knowing that I wanted her to live. Nina probably had the best hospice care that even royals don't receive and I missed her more than either the passing of my mom or dad believe it or not. Nina was a constant 24/7 companion for 10 years and as good a friend as one can have.

I swore I'd never have another cat after Nina but Filo showed up homeless one day last year and he's my new familiar.. Filo is the world's clumsiest cat. He falls off his favorite perch at least two or three times a week..funniest thing 'cause he's otherwise your typical well-coordinated housecat hunter. Then there's Boris outside, my genetically altered 75 lb. wolf spider that sleeps in the dog house in the yard and eats small children and mailmen..

[Compugasm]

Add to my list of expensive tools a digital camera.

This is a size comparison of the old cat climber thing on the right, and the carpeted tubes I made on the left. The old unit is almost 6ft high.

Side View

Laying down the tubes in interesting angles. Notice the "S" shape placed under one tube, which forms a little hiding place.

A slightly different arrangement: The bottom 10inch tubes placed in a "V" shape, with a 12inch tube laying between them. This time, the "S" shape is used to prevent the bottom tube from rolling.

Side view of above, this configuration is 3ft high.

10inch tubes in "L" shape in corner of room.

12in tube placed on top, teddy bear used for size of one cat (I couldn't get them to sit still)

Tubes directly on top of each other, aren't very stable, so the chair keeps everything against the wall.

Tubes fit inside each other for storage. A small 1ft tube could be used to join two longer sections together.

Side view.

Keep in mind, I'm not trying for great photography here, and these tubes are not complete glued and cut to exact sizes. I guess, they're "test tubes" just for demonstration purpose.

I tried at least 10 different layouts, and I realize I'll have to bevel the ends of the tubes inward, so that the end of one tube fits better when joined to the middle of another. Or, including an 8ft piece of rope might help to bind tubes together in some cases.

I thought about using a different color for the ends of each tube so it isn't so plain. That strange looking "S" curve, would be done in a second color too.

In Summary:
Nothing to really assemble, very light weight, easy to clean, low maintenance/repair, and most importantly the fun factor for humans and cats.

So, any first impressions?

[Jack]

Very nice. Now you need to devise some sort of connecting system to attach pipes together for folks who lack strategically placed furniture to keep stacked tubes in place.

[Osborn F Enready]

You could easily make some cheap plastic or "hemp" connectors that work like slip joints, using the carpet for binding friction, especially if you standardize the tube sizes. You could offer mixed and single size sets.

I think you have a solid workable product, with a little polishing and refining, as long as the market will bear the production costs and profit requirement including labor.

Its a big market, I think you can do it.

[Compugasm]

Quote by: Isherwood folks who lack strategically placed furniture to keep stacked tubes in place.

Good point. That's where the rope came in handy, but I didn't take a picture of that layout. I used two 8ft lengths.

Quote by: Osborn F Enready You could offer mixed and single size sets.

Hmm, I'll try and make some kind of Flash presentation showing different sets. The standard sizes are 10 and 12 inch diameter. Any smaller width and they can't be crawled through. The tubes come 4ft, but should be trimmed down to 3ft max. The extra foot could be used for the friction connector, or cut in half again to make "C" and "S" curves, using different colors of carpet.

Thanks for the help guys.

[Jack]

Then advertise the hell out of it on all those pet-lover websites out there.

[Compugasm]

I'm trying to poke holes in the idea first, before I embarrass myself on a global marketplace. :) In the research I've done, it seems the value of cat furniture is based on how complex it is, how much it weighs. Exact opposite of what I designed. I'm missing something obvious.

I just figured out how to suspend the tubes from the wall using ratcheting straps... that's freaking cool. I can't be the only person who's thought of this.

[Jack]

Maybe not, but if you're the first to get noticed marketing it, well then, that's all that matters.

Of course, we may start calling you "cattubegasm".

[StrongHeartsWin]

Quote by: Compugasm I can't be the only person who's thought of this.

I don`t think you are, and I think it would be a great side business for your local area. But, I am not sure it could be a national business with distributing.

For starters, it is labor intensive and low tech. If you wanted to supply the nation with these, you`d have to hire enough people to get a good assembly line going, the only thing is, U.S. labor, even at minimum wage, would be pummeled by Asian wages, which would seek to supply the market with virtually the exact same kind of product, once they saw how cheap you were making them for and then realizing they could make it for even cheaper.

At first, I think your proffit margin would be good, but soon it would become razor thin, and these companies that specialize in mass producing labor intensive cheap products have hundreds of lines of different products, each making lazer thin margins -- but because they have so many, the thin margins aren`t a big issue with them. If you have only one product, a thin margin would soon to be seen as not worth it.

I am not trying to be negative, just sayingn that I think your biggest proffit would be in the local area -- or go to one of those large multi-line manufacturers and try and sell your concept to them -- hoping they just don`t rip it off of you.

[StrongHeartsWin]

Just wanted to add, not meaning that a homepage and internet sales would be unprofitable. That, too, is the best way to keep costs down and work at your own speed with as few people as you`d like. I guess best to keep orders waiting, rather than waiting for orders. Great to have something you enjoy creating too. Hard to put a tangible profit on that.

Good luck. btw, have you googled "carpeted cat tubes"?

[Compugasm]

Actually, I'm trying to find the negatives, and hidden gotchas before I really sink serious time into this.

[Jack]

Being hand-made and customizable help your tubes stand out from the mass-produced, complex cat trees found in pet stores. You can offer to work with carpet left over from a remodel, making the tubes blend in with the customer's house. You can do things like using a tartan pattern for people with Scottish Folds, and a Persian carpet pattern for those with Siamese. Being able to make these based on the customer's wishes is of value. Otherwise they can only buy what's offered. The simplicity of your product is also a plus. Fancy cat trees become obvious pieces of furniture, which may not blend in well with people's homes. Your tubes can be used in a more out-of-the-way manner; they can be run behind furniture or even under it.

[Compugasm]

Quote by: StrongHeartsWin Good luck. btw, have you googled "carpeted cat tubes"?

Yeah, I've found one blog where someone used these tubes, but they didn't even bother putting carpet on them. Mostly, they just covered them with old blankets and that's about it. It seems the most popular alternative use for the tubes is making homemade subwoofers.

I mean, most cat furniture looks like this:


And there is some kind of effort involved in making that stuff which most people can't do, and that's why it cost so much. Cutting wood, special sisal ropes... However, I realized that when cats jump on this type of furniture, all their energy, is transfered directly to the bolts securing it to the base. It might be made from solid wood, but suffers from the classic "weak link in the chain" problem. The tubes I made, disapate the energy to floors and walls.

I guess my biggest concern, is that by solving all the design problems of current furniture, I've made it so low tech and simple, anyone can do it. Boy, you guys are coming up with lots of good info and ideas so far.

[Scribbler1]

Why not market them as custom made for YOUR cat, and keep it local. Maybe get to know a few pet shop owners and put them there on a consignment basis.

Check a few big sites, like PETCO, see what they sell and offer some unique feature the others don't have. Like a sliding food tray to fit inside a tube or some such thing. Or a combination cat bed and tube system. Stuff like that.

[Jack]

Anyone may be able to do it. But like changing the oil in your vehicle, it could be done by the owner, or the owner can drop a few bucks and have it done for them. Most people are lazy. If they're both lazy and in possession of a few dollars they don't need, they'll buy your tubes long before they contemplate trying it themselves.

[StrongHeartsWin]

I think what Ishwerwood said above is important. You should also think of yourself more as an artist than a manufacturer here. I think if you market yourself, your work as an art, to finicky cat owners, they will reward you, no matter if it is low-tech, with a nice margin. Cat owners tend to be a little on the "different" side, or at least those who are willing to go an extra mile to make their cats happy.

Stress personal homemade, handmade, artistic style, and care for a market that cares about not only the contentment their cats may have with their lives, but also the fun they can have. Target the guilt many cat owners feel for leaving their house cats alone all day while they work. Have a phrase on your site that reads,

"While you work away, they have fun all day."

Then pics of a person not feeling guilty slaving away at their desks in a drab office, while another picture next to it shows cats playing on the tubes.

Remember, lots of pet owners feel guilty when at work, leaving pets alone, and not spending enough time with them. Appeal to that.

[Jack]

Maybe these folks could tell you more about merchandising them.

Squeak's Catique
(cat specialty shop)
4560 Alvarado Canyon Road #1C
San Diego, CA 92120-4309
619-528-1010
http://www.squeakscatique.com
Email: sqkcat@compuvar.com
Open Monday-Friday 10-6; Saturday 10-5; Sunday 10-4
Owners: Mike and Louise Chamberlain