Transcripts
Welcome back everybody.
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:Today I am joined by Carin from Hide
and Scratch, a company that's not only
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:creating amazing products for cats, but
also finding meaningful ways to give back.
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:We're gonna be talking about Give
a Cat a Box, program, how it helps
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:cats in need, and the impact that
businesses can have when they make
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:community support part of their
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:mission.
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:Carin,
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:Thank you for coming on to talk about your
give back program and Hide and Scratch.
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:Carin: Absolutely.
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:Dixie: Tell me all about
yourself and how you got started
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:first with Hide and Scratch.
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:Carin: yeah.
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:The Hide and Scratch story actually
i- it's an interesting one, and
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:everybody's "Oh my gosh, how did you
come up with the idea for the product?"
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:And the reality is I actually
didn't come up with it initially.
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:This totally started out
as a side project for me.
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:I was looking for a side business and
had been browsing online for different
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:things that I could, maybe take over and
just play with on the side of things.
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:And so on one of the online marketplaces
where you can actually buy existing
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:businesses, Hide and Scratch was listed.
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:And so it was actually a couple in
Indianapolis that had started it and
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:for a couple of different reasons didn't
wanna continue with it, but I took
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:it over from them in, back in 2020.
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:So it was not my baby as my idea
initially, but I've been the
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:one who's been, yeah, growing
it over the last five years.
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:And honestly, it was perfect for me
because I hadn't been specifically
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:looking for a cat-related business, but
I've always been an absolute cat lover.
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:And so that kind of sealed the deal, or
made it that much more attractive just
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:as something to kinda get involved with.
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:So that's how Hide and
Scratch started out.
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:And then really just over the years…
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:I got involved with Mission Meow
as a charity partner, I wanna
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:say three years ago is when I got
connected with Sally, and I think
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:she's been on your show before.
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:And Mission Meow is doing a whole
bunch of just phenomenal stuff.
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:But it was really through them that I
started to get connected with more rescue
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:organizations and just donating product
to them and hearing just how much the
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:cats in the rescue organizations really
loved the Hide and Scratch product.
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:And ultimately from the very beginning,
especially when I said if I've got this,
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:if I have got a cat-related business, I
do really want this to have some sort of
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:purpose to it to help all of the animals
out there and do something more than
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:just being a product-based business."
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:So over the years, I've been trying-
trying to figure out how can I get
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:more boxes to more cats in care?
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:And Mission Meow was
the first piece of it.
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:But then it was a lot of pieces
that came together into how the
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:Give a Cat a Box program came about.
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:But let me pause there, so I
don't just totally ramble on here.
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:, Dixie: As far as taking over
Hide and Scratch, how much of a
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:cat lover were you before that?
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:Carin: Oh my gosh, I've been
a cat person my whole life.
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:Hide and Scratch didn't even have
a website when I took it over.
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:But my about page on there, I think I
dug up some pictures of myself from when
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:I was like six, seven, eight years old
of me and the kittens from the farm.
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:Like when I was growing up, we had
cats from when I was very little.
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:I still remember the very first cats
that we adopted, and I think I was
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:probably six or seven, and my sister
was three years younger, and so we'd
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:gone and gotten two barn cats from
this farm down the road that my dad
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:was working at because he was a vet.
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:And we'd had cats before that.
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:So I had cats my whole life growing up
and just absolutely, yes, have loved them.
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:Going away to college was the first
time I actually did not have a cat
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:of my own and was very heartbroken
about this because I was like I
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:can't have a cat in a college dorm.
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:And so my mom had told me, she said as
soon as you get your first apartment,
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:we'll go get you, the cat to have
in this next phase of your life."
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:So yeah, I've been a cat person
my absolutely my whole life.
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:Dixie: How many cats do you have now?
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:Carin: So I don't have any right
now, at least not any permanent ones.
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:I live vicariously through
everybody else's cats, and then I
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:foster really as much as possible.
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:I travel too much these days, and
it just wouldn't be fair to have one
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:kind of full-time, although I was
very tempted to keep my last foster.
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:I totally fell in love with him.
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:So I have a rotating cast of cats
'cause I'm involved with the the rescue
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:organization in my city, and they're
just constantly looking for foster homes
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:while we find kitties permanent homes.
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:But oh my gosh, it's so hard.
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:It's so hard just to let them go
because I just wanna keep them all.
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:Dixie: Yeah, but I understand that
with you traveling, and I always
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:try to tell people that too.
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:There's like a lot of people that
actually want cats but aren't
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:in the position to have cats.
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:So I'm always like hey, foster,"
because it's a temporary thing.
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:You can have them for a couple
of weeks, a couple of months,
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:basically however long you want,
and you're still making an impact.
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:You get to enjoy cats or kittens, so
it's like a win-win for everybody.
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:Carin: Exactly.
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:Although it is also still heartbreaking
when you fall in love with them and
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:you've got to say goodbye to them.
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:I have shed tears with absolutely
every single foster cat I've had
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:that has gone off to a new home.
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:Dixie: It is sad.
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:It is.
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:But I guess like for me personally,
like I've been doing it for so long,
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:and I know when I first started
doing it, it was really hard.
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:But then- Yeah … when I was meeting
the people that were taking them and I
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:was like, "Okay, I feel good about these
people taking my cats- And- Yeah, for sure
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:So they go to such good homes, and a lot
of the rescues they really do their work.
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:They make sure that
they go to a good home.
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:And so I take a lot of-
Yeah … comfort in that.
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:Carin: Yeah, for sure.
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:That's what I, told myself
or tell myself each time.
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:It's "Okay, I've had a big part in your
life," and yeah, actually especially if a
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:cat's coming off the street, and that was
the case with this one kitten that I had,
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:where we actually didn't quite realize
how old he was when we had caught him.
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:He was at a construction site, and
just a lot of traffic around, and
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:it was not gonna be a good spot.
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:But he was slightly feral and
slightly older than we, we had
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:realized when he came to stay with me.
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:But I taught this cat how to
cat, and he, yeah, actually
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:turned into a total cuddle bug.
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:Still very wary of people 'cause
you're never gonna get that away.
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:But that's where I was like,
"Oh, but you've gotten cuddly,
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:and you're just so adorable, and
I absolutely wanna keep you."
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:But he did go and is with a fantastic
family, and that's where I had to keep
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:telling myself that, yes, he's gonna
be better off there as opposed to,
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:okay, I could find a cat sitter to
come stay with him and whatnot, but he
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:does deserve a permanent, stable home.
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:So yeah, it's fun.
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:Dixie: How old was this
kitten that you got?
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:Carin: That one specifically, I think
we thought he was a couple of months
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:old when we actually brought him in.
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:They're really easy to tell how old
they are , when they're super young
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:just because they're growing so fast
and then they kinda hit that stage, it's
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:you could be between here and here."
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:So yeah, it was absolutely a kitten and
actually even the first night I was just
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:like, "Ooh this might not work out."
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:But with a lot of patience and a
lot of, yes, a lot of patience , he
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:learned how to enjoy things.
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:Dixie: Yeah, that's what I was
wondering 'cause I know a lot of
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:the times with the feral ones, if
you get 'em at a certain age, it's
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:one week can make such a difference.
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:And you can actually keep 'em for a
couple of months trying to tame 'em up
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:and get 'em lovable, and it's possible,
but it does require like a lot of work.
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:Carin: It's a lot of extra work.
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:But we-- But I put it in.
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:Although, oh my gosh, this cat
I still have, I could s-send
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:you a photo or a video of it.
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:He had the loudest purr I had ever heard
and that first night that he stayed with
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:me he was definitely purring out of fear.
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:But once I heard that I was like, "Oh
my gosh, you have the loudest purr.
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:I have seriously never heard this before
and I was just like, "You know what?"
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:I became determined once
I actually saw it too.
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:I was like we can work with this."
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:A l- a lot of TruMoo Paste and very
cautious yes, what do you call it?
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:But yes, a lot of patience.
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:We made a lot of progress there.
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:But yeah, it's those, it's all these
kitties, they have, it's just they
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:are so scared and that was part of
what-- actually hearing from a lot of
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:the rescue orgs just about how much
comfort the Hide and Scratch boxes
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:bring to them is what motivated me to
put together this whole program here.
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:So there's a fun segue for you,
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:Dixie: sure.
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:Tell me about that.
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:What is it about the boxes that
brings them comfort for people who
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:aren't familiar with Hide and Scratch?
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:Carin: That's what a lot of people look
at things and "Oh it's, cats and boxes.
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:This is something the internet made up."
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:And I still need to work on actually
a bigger article about this for my
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:website, but like cats and boxes is
not something the internet made up.
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:There's actually a lot of
scientific reasons behind why
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:cats are so drawn to them.
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:And a lot of it is just their
their natural instincts.
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:Cats are both predators but
then they're also prey for
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:other animals out in the wild.
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:A lot of people might notice this, that,
cats, they, they'll be hiding for things
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:and they'll jump out and pounce on stuff.
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:That's just what they do.
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:And the beauty of a cardboard box
or a box of any kind is that they
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:can stay hidden, but they can also
see what's happening around them.
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:So it's this best of both worlds of
they feel safe in it because they feel
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:like they can stay hidden and not get
attacked, but they can still jump out
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:and attack things when they decide to.
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:So that's one piece of it.
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:And then the other piece of it that
I don't think I realized until I was
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:doing some more research here on this
was just that cats have much higher
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:body temperatures than humans do.
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:I think an average cat's body
temperature is 101, maybe 102 degrees.
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:So one of the reasons why they're
always sitting in the sunshine or
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:curling up in cozy places is to
help maintain that body temperature.
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:And so that's another reason why
they really like boxes or those
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:kind of tight, cozy locations is
because it helps them stay warm.
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:So you put those two things together, and
then also just the fact that cats need
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:scratching spaces to help just maintain
their claws or help wear them down.
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:And cardboard's really attractive
to them for that reason.
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:And you put all these th- three things
together, and that's what a hide and
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:scratch box is it is that box that they
love with the scratcher inside of it.
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:And then the bonus for the humans is it
doesn't look like a piece of garbage.
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:It is actually a nicely designed
box to fit in your home.
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:Dixie: When you took over Hide and
Scratch, was this the design that
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:was already in place or did you
have any input into the designs?
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:Carin: It was the design itself.
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:And actually when I first saw it, that's
where I was like, "Wait, this is genius."
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:And I think because I was a cat person
and actually one of my cats back--
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:I remember when I went to college or
when we would take like little road
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:trips or we'd have to go to the vet or
something like that, this cat actually
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:loved sitting on a cardboard scratcher.
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:Actually even in the house, they
would just, they would sleep
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:on the cardboard scratcher.
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:So there's other-- They
just, like cardboard.
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:They actually like the smell of it.
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:I think it was , that cat
was also just a little weird.
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:But yeah, the design itself existed.
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:And it was the shape of the
box and the size of the box.
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:I haven't changed anything with that
other than I did introduce a new vertical
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:scratching option just about a year ago.
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:So it's actually still the base
box and then it's got a vertical
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:scratching surface as well.
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:So the design itself was done and the
two people who started things, they
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:were cat lovers and they did a lot of
work in terms of figuring out what are
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:the good dimensions for the box so it's
not too big and it's not too small.
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:How high should the sides be so that
the cat feels covered versus still
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:being able to see outside of it?
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:So they did all of that and one of
the big things I did was actually
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:just changing the colors of it
and just the color palette there.
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:But yeah, the main product itself wa-
was set from the beginning and when I
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:saw the first image of it, I was like,
"Oh yeah, this is genius," because my
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:cat did love the scratcher and cats love
boxes and here this puts it together.
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:I was like, "This is fantastic."
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:Dixie: Yeah, definitely.
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:It is the best of both
worlds for a cat, for sure.
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:Carin: Yeah.
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:Especially, so on the rescue side
of things, I'd mentioned I'd gotten
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:involved with Mission Now a couple
years ago, and Sally was always
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:asking or we had different rescues
getting grants and I think what UFO
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:was actually a grant recipient, right?
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:Dixie: Yes.
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:Carin: At one point?
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:Awesome.
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:There was one organization that
had actually put together a new
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:intake room for all of their, for
all the animals coming in so that
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:they're not just sitting in cages.
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:They actually put together
really nice cubbies and Sally
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:had said, "Hey, wait, actually…
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:I can totally see this, that each
one of these cubbies should have a
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:hide and scratch box in it because
then the cat has their own space."
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:So I think that was one of the first
big donations I did in terms of the
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:product going specifically to a shelter
and then Mission Meow will actually
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:always or usually has boxes for
sale at the events that they go to.
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:But in talking with some other rescues,
I'd actually heard from them or they
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:had told me they're like, "Oh, yes, our
cats love your boxes and we've actually
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:got them on our Amazon wishlist."
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:And I was like, "Oh, this is really cool."
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:And, "Ooh, wait, I wish I could
figure out how to get more boxes
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:to, to rescue organizations."
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:And , I played with a couple of
different things like a couple
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:different organizations I'll
just make a straight donation to.
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:Had been chatting with some different
cat cafes that actually partner with
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:rescues and I was like okay, can I
just-- should I give them boxes to
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:display in or to have in their rooms so
that the cats can benefit from them?"
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:And then, maybe put up a sign
about purchasing hide and scratch
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:boxes as a marketing thing.
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:But as I started to do that, I was like,
"Oof," yeah, I wish I could just give
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:all these boxes away, but that's really
expensive to do and I am a one-person
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:business and not making enough money
to unfortunately do all of that.
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:I wish I could.
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:But just in hearing things from the
rescues and especially when they told
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:me that they were putting them on their
Amazon wishlist, I was like, okay, this is
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:great because it means people wanna help
and that they're donating boxes to people.
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:But as someone who has pretty much
built this entire business on Amazon
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:initially and had to learn all of Amazon
from scratch when I first got involved
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:with this, it blew my mind and I think
a lot of people don't realize like
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:what the actual economics of things
are with Amazon in the background.
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:And just what the fees are 'cause a
lot of people will say, "Oh, wait,
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:you sell boxes for $20 a piece?
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:Like you must be making all this money."
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:And I'm always like, "Ooh, hold up here.
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:H-h-hold up here."
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:There's a lot behind the scenes,
but the biggest being that shipping
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:an individual box costs almost $10.
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:So like of that $20 sale, $10 goes to
Amazon to pay for the shipping of that
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:box and then Amazon actually charges a
commission off of every sale that they do.
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:So that right there is just okay, so
15% of that sale is going to Amazon
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:versus creating benefit or value
to the rescue organization, or even
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:it's not putting money in my pocket.
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:And I was like, "Wait, I c-
could I come up with a way to
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:actually make this work better?"
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:And it was when I started selling
wholesale last year that it started
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:to make sense to me and said
'cause I-- when I sell wholesale,
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:I sell things by the case."
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:And so Hide and Scratch boxes come 15 to
a case, and I can ship a case to somebody.
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:It depends on how far it needs
to go, but, let's just call
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:it $40, $50 to ship that case.
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:So it's really only about $3 a box in
shipping costs to ship them all together
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:versus $10 to ship them individually.
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:And so that's where when I sell wholesale,
I can sell them at a very large discount
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:so that a retailer can resell them and
actually still make money off of it.
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:And I was like wait, I could do the
same thing maybe for the shelters
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:or maybe give people the option to
donate a full case to the shelters."
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:And that's when everything
started to come together.
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:And I said wait a minute.
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:I can actually lay this out in a couple
of different options and just provide
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:lower prices than the retail prices
to pass on the shipping savings when
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:people wanna donate more than one."
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:So that's how this all came about.
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:Dixie: Yeah.
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:I know I received a box, I think
it was last week I got a box,
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:and it was totally unexpected.
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:I guess somebody just went on your
site and just scrolled down and
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:picked my name and then sent us a
box 'cause I had not posted anywhere.
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:I know the rescues, if you
sign up, you give them a link.
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:I signed up, but I had my link,
but I didn't share my link.
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:So it was quite a surprise
to get it in there and the…
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:the cats are loving the boxes.
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:We're actually hoping to take
them and put them in the adoption
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:center that we are using out of
the Petco that we adopt out of.
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:Just because the way that their
cages are set up, they just need
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:a little bit more enrichment.
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:And so I think , as long as they fit
in their kennels, I think that would
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:be a really good thing for them.
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:But it's a really great program
because the cats love it.
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:I was very surprised 'cause
I w- it was very unexpected.
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:Carin: That's amazing.
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:Although now you're making me think
I need to go check something 'cause
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:you're supposed to get an email when
somebody makes a donation to you.
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:So I might need to check on that bit.
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:Oh I did.
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:But that- I got, I did get the email.
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:So
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:Dixie: the
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:Carin: email was exciting.
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:Okay, good.
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:Okay?
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:Okay, good.
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:'Cause that was the other piece that
I left out here just as I was thinking
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:through okay, yeah, the Amazon Wish
List works, and I know a lot of
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:people use it, or, and a lot of rescue
organizations use it to help source
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:supplies and look, it makes things easy
because you can put together a shopping
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:list, and anybody can send you things.
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:But the wish list was, on Amazon,
was not really designed to be
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:a charitable donations vehicle.
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:It's really more for, people to have
a, "Here's my Christmas list, and
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:here's what I want you to buy you."
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:And that was the other piece that I
realized, and this gets back to the
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:email, and this is what made me just
think about this, is that when somebody
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:donates something off of an Amazon
wish list yeah, they can put a gift
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:receipt in there and put a note about
who it comes from, but there's no real
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:way for the organization to directly
thank that donor because you don't
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:get any contact information for them.
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:And the donor actually, if they make
a sizable donation, they might want a
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:tax receipt of some sort to be able to
de- claim the deduction on their taxes,
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:and so there's no two-way loop there.
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:And so that's was the other reason
why I said, "Hey, wait a minute, I
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:can actually build something better."
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:And I've always been pretty tech-savvy
and have built websites and whatnot, and
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:that's where I was like, you know what?
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:I can actually build a website that will
solve all of these things, where it'll
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:give, yes, the rescues like you guys the
ability just to sign up, and I wanted
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:to make it as easy as possible and then
make it as easy as possible for people
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:to, yes, send hide-and-scratch boxes and
toys to the cats who need them and then
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:build in that feedback loop so that you
actually can get that donor's information
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:if they've opted in to give it to you.
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:You can add them to your mailing list
so that you can keep them updated.
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:You can send them a personalized
thank you note if you want to.
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:And then they can also get a, a record
of the donations if they want it.
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:So that was my objective in
putting all of this together.
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:Dixie: Now let me ask you to backtrack
a little bit and tell me how you first
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:became involved with Mission Meow.
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:Carin: Everything with Hide and
Scratch has been and growing the
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:business overall has always been like,
"Ooh, I should do this," and then
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:it turns into something else, and
then it turns into something else.
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:This is actually just how
my life works in general.
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:But I think it was that at one point I
had reached out to a cat-based blog about
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:them maybe writing an article or if I sent
them a product, if they would do a review.
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:And I cannot think about who that is right
now, but I think they actually wrote a
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:really nice article about things, and
I just asked if there's anybody else I
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:should be introduced to, and I think they
were a Mission Meow partner, had been
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:involved with it, and they're like, "Oh,
yeah, we need to introduce you to Sally."
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:And kinda that's how that came about.
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:But it was also right at that time
where I was trying to figure out
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:okay, wait, how could I start doing
some regular donations, both on a
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:monetary and a f- and a product basis?
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:And was trying to figure out how to
set something up, and then the timing
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:was literally perfect because I was
like, "Okay, great, this-- I don't
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:need to build my whole own kind of
donations program or figuring out who
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:do I wanna send money to, et cetera."
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:The fact that I can get on board as
a business partner there, and they're
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:bringing everything together from
all the different business partners
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:and then their own fundraising was
just a fantastic way to, to meet
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:that objective without honestly
creating a whole bunch of work myself.
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:But then, look, I went and
created a whole new website,
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:so I do create work for myself.
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:But they're working in
tandem together now.
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:Dixie: Yeah.
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:It's really great to have businesses
like you supporting small rescues
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:through vehicles like Mission Meow
and in also with what you've designed
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:with the Give a Cat a Box, too.
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:Because y- as you mentioned, I was a
January grant recipient from Mission Meow,
391
:and, it's just so meaningful to a small
rescue to be able to get funds to purchase
392
:what you need to operate your rescue or
to take on a special project like what
393
:we're doing as we were doing the ambulance
conversion into a spay/neuter clinic.
394
:And, it just means so much and
it's so great to know that there's
395
:so many businesses that are out
there supporting cat rescues.
396
:Carin: It's everybody's
doing so much good.
397
:But yeah, I also really love--
it was just a no-brainer to me.
398
:Once I met Sally and got a better
understanding of what they're doing I
399
:love how she's channeling the goodwill
from a lot of different businesses and
400
:people into specific focused things where,
yeah, there's always so many expenses
401
:for rescue organizations, and if you
get $50 here, $20 here, et cetera okay,
402
:it goes to food and all these immediate
needs and it's near impossible to have
403
:that build up to be enough to where you
can actually undertake a sizable project
404
:like the things that the grants fund.
405
:And so the fact that they're now enabling
organizations to do those types of things
406
:is huge because, yeah, food and vet bills
are always the most pressing things.
407
:And I guess that's also where I love
how the Give a Cat a Box program is
408
:fitting in as well, where it the boxes
can really make a difference for cats and
409
:just giving them a safe place and making
them feel a little bit more comfortable,
410
:and you were talking about putting them
in the kennels at your adoption center.
411
:One-- a couple different organizations
have said that they're loving the ability
412
:to let the cats use them, and then when
the cats are adopted, they actually send
413
:them home with that box so that they've
got something familiar with them that then
414
:helps them make that transition because
the- they don't wanna reuse the boxes
415
:for a different cat and there's no way to
fully sterilize it, that type of thing.
416
:But being able to send it home,
it's okay, this cat has something
417
:that they own and it goes with them.
418
:And it's that type of products too
that I think it, it-- They're not the
419
:must-haves in a shelter or rescue,
but they can make a huge difference
420
:in the experience of the cat.
421
:So being able to enable those types
of donations, like it just makes
422
:me warm and fuzzy on the inside.
423
:Dixie: Yeah.
424
:And I love being able to find businesses
that have the same passions that I do.
425
:It makes me really wanna support
like all the Mission Meow businesses.
426
:It makes me wanna support them because
I know they're out there supporting the
427
:same cause that I'm passionate about.
428
:Carin: Yeah, it's an- another
fantastic benefit of things.
429
:It's just kn- knowing that there's all
these other people out there doing similar
430
:things and having similar objectives is…
431
:it helps make those, the
harder days easier too
432
:Dixie: So another thing that I
wanted to mention too in the the
433
:box that I received we have some
434
:silver vine sticks.
435
:I was not familiar with silver vine
as far as what it does with cats.
436
:I was familiar with catnip to
a lesser extent valerian, but
437
:silver vine- … is new to me.
438
:So when I got that, I was really surprised
when I was reading what silver vine was.
439
:So for all the cat owners out there
and cat lovers, cat rescuers that
440
:don't know what silver vine is, can
you tell us a little bit about that?
441
:Carin: You are not alone.
442
:And actually, the first event that I was
at where I was selling them and giving
443
:them away as prizes, a lot of people
were like, "Wait, what's silver vine?"
444
:I said, "Oh, I need to have
something that helps explain this."
445
:It's similar to catnip, so it is a plant.
446
:And yeah, it comes in stick form.
447
:I think I have a picture.
448
:It, it's a plant.
449
:It's a bush.
450
:But just like catnip, which is
an herb, and I think, some people
451
:will have catnip tea on occasion
it's a plant, but it's got…
452
:I don't wanna call them chemicals
in there 'cause they're not quite
453
:chemicals, but it's got things in
it that are attractive to cats.
454
:So just like catnip is an herb and it's
got there's like a scientific name for it.
455
:This is getting a little bit
out of my depth, but it's just,
456
:another type of plant and it
actually has more compounds in it.
457
:I guess that's probably the better word.
458
:More compounds in it that cats
react to than just catnip.
459
:So catnip is a singular thing
and then silver vine actually
460
:has, I wanna say eight different
compounds in it that cats react to.
461
:So I guess just like you think about
catnip kind of being one type of drug,
462
:this one has more types of drugs in it.
463
:I don't wanna make the comparison
to drugs, but I don't know
464
:what else better to use there.
465
:But yeah it's something
that cats react to.
466
:Cats are typically more reactive to
silver vine than they are to catnip.
467
:Like a lot of people are like, "Oh,
my cat doesn't like catnip at all,"
468
:and then they like the silver vine.
469
:And that was actually the case that
kind of helped convince me to start
470
:carrying these products is that
my mom's one cat, he is a chonk.
471
:He is this giant tuxedo chonk that does
not get excited about hardly anything.
472
:And so I had a whole range of like
sample toys that the supplier had
473
:sent me and it was actually the
silver vine ball that Sparky decided
474
:was the best thing in the world.
475
:So you've got the sticks, so they're stick
form and then there's a little powder on
476
:the outside of it that's actually ground
up leaves or it's a ground up part of
477
:the plant that is even a little bit more
potent than just the sticks themselves.
478
:And so cats will typically chew
on these or they'll just smell
479
:them or rub up against them.
480
:But then I've also got silver vine
balls and so the outside part of the
481
:ball is made of the sticks, and then
inside is actually a catnip ball.
482
:So you've got the best of both worlds
there, and Sparky just absolutely
483
:loved this, and I was like, "Oh, okay.
484
:I will be getting some of those."
485
:So your order might have only had
yeah, the one in there, but for the
486
:larger b- buckets of donations, if
it's multiple boxes it's got a mixture
487
:of the both the silver vine sticks
and the silver vine balls in there.
488
:Dixie: They were enjoying them
'cause I did test them out.
489
:Carin: I love it.
490
:Now you've got me thinking.
491
:I saw somebody post a video
about it the other day.
492
:I don't know if that was you or if
that was another rescue organization.
493
:I've been, like, loving all the stuff
that's coming out on social media where
494
:people are posting how much their cats
are loving things and the pictures of
495
:things and just the amount of views
that things are starting to get.
496
:So for a little program here that
launched really only four weeks
497
:ago I'm super thrilled with how
well this has been going so far.
498
:Dixie: Yeah, that's amazing.
499
:It is amazing, especially like I said,
I didn't advertise my link or anything.
500
:So somebody just went to your site and
just randomly picked my name and sent
501
:me something and , it's amazing 'cause
it's like you said it on- for only being
502
:around for four weeks that's pretty good.
503
:Carin: Yeah, it might actually be five
or six at this point, but I think I
504
:launched things informally, announced
them right at the end of April.
505
:I can't believe we're in June already.
506
:And my initial approach here was
that I did reach out to all the
507
:Mission Meow grant recipients to
enroll them as a pre-enrollment
508
:before I actually announced things.
509
:And so I think I went live with 20, 22
or 24 organizations actively enrolled
510
:and what's been super fantastic so far
is actually as I've been posting things
511
:on social media you might have seen I
actually started just a week ago or so,
512
:is actually doing a post whenever somebody
makes a donation just to thank them.
513
:I'm actually going through and doing
welcome posts to all the organizations
514
:that have been enrolled, so that
might have been another way that
515
:somebody saw that you were enrolled
if you didn't post yourself.
516
:I've been going through and doing that.
517
:But just by people seeing things, I've
actually, I've grown to 32 partner
518
:organizations already because I've
got a mechanism that other rescues, if
519
:they're not already enrolled and they're
interested in signing up, there's a
520
:form that they can fill out on the site.
521
:I've organically added
to the list already.
522
:And then my plan is I've actually got
a database or a long list of about
523
:1,000 different rescue organizations
in the US that I'm gonna start
524
:reaching out to myself and just
contacting them and saying, "Hey,
525
:here this i- here, h- this exists.
526
:I'd love to have you on board with it.
527
:There's no cost to you," et cetera
along with just the easy instructions
528
:like you got about how they can
become a part of the program.
529
:Dixie: Thank you so much for doing that.
530
:It's helping so many animals and bringing
so much more enrichment to cats' lives.
531
:Carin: That was the goal.
532
:And it just-- Yeah, I I can't tell you…
533
:Yeah I said already, just watching
Instagram and whatnot and seeing
534
:people post things, and when I do
a little dance every time I see
535
:a donation order come through.
536
:It just, I don't know.
537
:It makes me feel good to be able to
do some good and help out the cats out
538
:there and help support the people who
are doing the good helping the cats.
539
:Dixie: Before we end the call, is there
any final message you would like to add?
540
:Carin: I think people
probably got the gist here.
541
:If people want to Give a Cat a Box,
the website is giveacatabox.com.
542
:If there are organizations out there
that would like to be a part of the
543
:program they can go to giveacatabox.com
544
:and down at the bottom there's
a link to request to be listed.
545
:It's just a super short form to fill out.
546
:And I actually, I've got plans to
add in a form that somebody could
547
:suggest an organization but I
haven't gotten that part done yet.
548
:So if anybody knows an organization that,
that could benefit from this, send them
549
:to the website and have them sign up.
550
:But I guess I would end on just saying
that in the five weeks here that
551
:things have been live, I included
this in my newsletter the other day
552
:but I actually totaled things up and
as of the end of the month, there had
553
:been over 150 boxes donated already.
554
:So I think I had 30 or so
donations, so people, individuals
555
:that had made donations.
556
:Four or five of them had actually
donated a full case which I
557
:was really surprised about.
558
:I didn't know how many people would be
willing to make $150 donation but that
559
:is the level at which I can ship things
by the case and the boxes are really only
560
:$10 apiece at that level because I can
pass on all of that shipping savings.
561
:But yeah, over 150 boxes donated
in just the first five weeks.
562
:So I was like, "This is
absolutely fantastic."
563
:So thank you to everybody who has
participated thus far, and I can't wait
564
:to see just where this goes from here.
565
:And I'm gonna be adding a bit to the
main site that has a running total of
566
:how many boxes have been donated to date.
567
:That's also on my to-do list.
568
:Dixie: That's amazing.
569
:And I loved hearing the Hide and
Scratch story and how you decided to
570
:come up with the Give a Cat a Box,
and thank you again for joining me
571
:today to tell me all about this.
572
:Carin: Thank you for having me.
573
:Can't wait to see what we can do.
574
:And let's get you guys
some more boxes too.
575
:Dixie: Yeah.
576
:The kitties love 'em, so yeah, we
can always use some more boxes.
577
:Carin: Fantastic.
578
:We'll look forward to seeing
what's happening here.
579
:Dixie: And Silver
580
:Carin: Vine.
581
:So thank you again for having me.
582
:Thank you.
583
:Yes and the Silver…
584
:Oh, that's everybody else
can go check those out.
585
:And everything, if people wanna
check out the boxes, I guess
586
:I should do one last plug.
587
:If they wanna check out the boxes
or the Silver Vine toys, those are
588
:all available on hideandscratch.com
589
:for your own purchase.
590
:Dixie: Yeah.
591
:And I'm gonna include your
links in the show notes too,
592
:so people can go check you out.
593
:Carin: Okay.
594
:Dixie: And donate a box.
595
:Carin: Awesome.
596
:Awesome.
597
:Thank you so much.
