Pet Paint

ABC's Shark Tank is a show where entrepreneurs pitch their latest and greatest ideas. Just recently someone pitched Pet Paint where you can decorate your pet.

 

When Abe Geary pitched Pet Paint on Shark Tank he was ready for some choppy waters. Selling pet-safe, non-permanent, colored hair spray for dogs meant creating a brand new market. But Abe believed in his vision, the product was gaining traction with groomers and Pet Smart had agreed to start carrying PetPaint. Still, one of the Sharks threw him a curve ball that had a major impact on his time in the tank.

When Mark Cuban asked what Pet Paint was doing online, Abe admitted he was focusing primarily on retail. This didn’t sit well with Cuban, who liked the product but decided to pass on the investment. “Where I have a huge, huge problem is that you weren’t able to see that online was your best solution,” he said. “To me that’s so obvious.”

“The biggest challenge, and the greatest asset, that we have is that it’s a new and exciting product,” Abe replied. “All the more reason why the web would have worked great for you,” Cuban countered.

That is when Barbara Corcoran stepped in. The self-made real estate mogul offered Abe $200,000 for a 60 percent majority stake in his business. Acknowledging Cuban’s earlier advice, she emphasized the online opportunity for Pet Paint. “Your most obvious play here is the website,” said Corcoran. “That’s where your gold is.”

Ultimately Abe walked away from the deal, but he did take the Sharks’ advice. When the episode aired, PetPaint.com saw a huge spike in traffic and sales through their Bigcommerce store.

The Perfect Cat Bed

Here is a good way to keep your kitty close but give her some independence. It is the purrfect cat bed... and not a bad idea for some small dogs:

 

 

Unicorn Dog Mask

This adorable mask or hat for dogs will turn your pet into a unicorn... that is if unicorns are crocheted. It looks like a great dog hat for Halloween.

Tokyo-based crochet artist Hiroko Fukatsu created the mask for Chinese New Year - ‘The Year of the Horse’. She used the photos of her dog Shiba Unicorn as New Year’s Day greeting cards.

Mossy Turtles

MossyTortoise is an Etsy shop offering custom crocheted cozies for your pet tortoise. No, truly. Katie Bradley is behind the concept, which began with an ‘accidental hobby’ of rescuing tortoises.These adorable crocheted accessories will make it very obvious when your tortoise wanders by.

The Cat Carpenter

David Murphy is the Cat Carpenter who creates sturdy and imaginative cat crawling and climbing furniture. His philosophy is simple:

Cat trees available in stores are often flimsy and start looking shabby pretty quickly.  So I designed a cat tree that would be sturdy, durable, and easy to clean.  This design has worked well at the sanctuary, and I’ve made a few improvements so that both you and your cats will really love it.

I’ve also developed a system of wall shelves and tunnels that expand the space available to cats in a room as well as giving them something fun and interesting to do.  This system can easily be customized to the unique size and features of just about any room.

 I love his designs and am always seeking new and sturdy trees for my cat. This site may interest you as well.

 

Leksvik Becomes Kitty Potty

Here is a great idea for creating a hidden kitty potty using Ikea materials.

Materials: Leksvik Media Cabinet

Description: Ikea Hackers has some great ideas for hiding a litter box, and that is where I got the idea to create our own stealth kitty potty. 

I used a Leksvik media cabinet that I no longer needed.

It’s a large cabinet which is what I needed since we use an XL litter box with a cover. The cabinet in fact is big enough to hold the litter box, a box of Swheat Scoop litter, a scooper, and a box with plastic bags. I also added a mat to catch any litter tracking.

I started by removing the two shelves, added two coats of black paint, and I added a hook for the scoop on the inside wall.

I didn’t want to buy new doors, but the glass doors had to be covered. Since my son loves graphic novels and anime art, I used Mod Podge that I bought from Michaels, pictures from a book on graphic art from the Barnes and Noble clearance section.

I removed the glass doors. With Mod Podge, it’s easier to work with small pieces of paper since it dries quickly. I cut out the pictures and brushed a thin layer of Mod Podge directly on the glass. I placed the picture on top and smoothes it out with my hands to remove any air bubbles. I arranged the pictures to completely cover the glass on the doors and one the doors were covered, added two coats of Mod Podge to seal it completely waiting for each coat to dry completely before adding the next coat.

I cut a hold the size of a pet door on the side of the cabinet. I tried to install a pet door, but found that the walls of the cabinet are too thin to support the door properly. So I ended up buying some strong tape from Home Depot and wrapping the edges of my very bad sawing job.

I attached a CatMouse Electronic Litter Box Odor Eliminator that I bought at Petsmart to the inside of the cabinet and the smell is literally nonexistent.

I already had the cabinet and Mod Podge, the cost was: litter box $15, the Catmouse $25, the tape and hand-saw about $10, mat $4, and scoop $3. Super easy, no smell, and the cats love it!

See more of the hidden kitty litter.

Read more at http://www.ikeahackers.net/2011/06/leksvik-becomes-kitty-potty.html#HoyUQgiu4zDGTZkq.99

 

Kate's Cats

Kate Benjamin had a great idea while she was working for a baby products company. "We were pioneering this idea of, just because you have kids, you don’t have to have ugly stuff in your living room," says Kate. "I loved the concept, but I kept saying, ‘Well, my kids have fur.’ And nobody’s doing this in the pet product business." Kate actually has 11 ‘kids’ – cats — who live with her in a 1,100 square-foot condo.

Kate started blogging about her favorite cat accouterments in 2007, which attracted visitors and advertisers to a point where she quit her job at Boon "and opened a design studio where she and her employees could create cat toys and accessories to sell on her website, originally called Moderncat but now re-branded as Hauspanther. The site gets about 150,000 page views per month. Kate thinks the popularity of online cat videos help build demand, and that the trend toward "waiting longer to have children" helps too. "Their pets become their children," she says.

However, Kate says her cause transcends mere pampering. "I would like to see every cat in a happy, loving, forever home, and I want to keep them there through design," she says. "Because if somebody doesn’t want to buy a scratcher because the scratchers are so ugly, and then the cat scratches on the sofa, the cat’s booted onto the street or taken to the shelter. If a product design can help change that, that’s where I want to see this go." Some balk at the prices — $400 cat beds, for instance. But Kate says people can always build for themselves what they find on her site. "I’m not saying you have to buy it," says Kate. "Just please be inspired by it."

Lambs Sing Jingle Bells - By Brooks Brothers

I have to admit that even though this is a n ad for Brooks Brothers, it is adorable and worth sharing.

The first video is the pre-show which shows us how easy (ha ha) it is to get a group of lambs to sing Jingle Bells.

 

 

The second video is the finished product. Well done and absolutely adorable!

 

Carli Davidson Dog Face Shake Book

This great collection of photos by Carli Davidson catches dogs in mid-shake. And the rich collection of photos in this series is called Shake . Adorable and fascinating all at the same time. And a great idea for a unique holiday gift!

Raised on a secret volcano island by cheetahs, Carli is adept at communicating with wildlife. This allows her to capture impressive images of animals in any kind of scenario you or your client can think of.

In 2011 her series Shake became a worldwide success, garnering her millions of website hits and putting her firmly on the map as a top animal photographer. She currently lives in Portland OR with her husband Tim and her pets Norbert and Yushi as well as a rotating cast of foster dogs.

Ikea Cat Lovers Scratching Post

Materials: Stolmen

Description: Inspired by earlier hacks (such as this) we decided to hack IKEA for our cat, Billy.

We live in a rather small apartment and wanted him to use the height of the apartment as well, so that his living space is optimize (especially since cats love high viewing points). We bought the Stolmen Post and Mounting Fixtures at IKEA, went to a DIY shop and bought: plywood, paint, glue, doormats and rope. Additionally we uses extra bolts and such, I think the photos say enough.

 

 

1. Design a shape and size for the boards/shelves.
2. Saw the plywood accordingly.
3. Drill or saw a hole in the shelves (the pole must fit through it later on).
4. Sand the plywood shelves.
5. Paint them.
6. Design and cut the doormats (or some other material).
7. Glue them onto the shelves. It's softer for the cat plus it prevents them from slipping off the boards.
8. Mount the shelves onto the pole (which you already installed). A bit hard for me to explain, just take a good look at the photos I'd say?
9. Wrap rope around the pole (we used 8 mm on the lowest part (took 10 meters) and both upper parts are 8 mm (took 2x 20 m!).

Billy absolutely loves his tower. he reaches the top in no time (he jumps and climbs as well), loves scratching the rope and when he's not sleeping on our laps on the coach, he's asleep on the top shelf.

 

See more of the Stolmen cat tower.

~ Kelly, The Netherlands

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