This Kickstarter is just for the kitties. Meet the Ripple Rug, a new cat toy made from recycled plastic bottles that saves your furniture from cat-astrophe!
Years ago, I bought one of those big honkin’ carpeted cat trees. You know the ones. They’re tube shaped, have those round cubby holes, interesting bobbly bits and sit in the living room corner, long after the cat has decided it’s just not cool. Mine has a palm tree applique around the base for what I’m assuming is aesthetic reasons, has taken on a decidedly funky smell and continues to provide an opportunity for me to stub my toe each time I pass the large square base that apparently will prevent it from pitching forward should my crew ever decide to actually climb it.
Related:How To Prevent Boredom While Your Cat Is Home Alone
Sound familiar? Well, there is a solution out there that meets your desire to reclaim your human-scale design sense while satisfying kitty’s determination to claw and destroy all soft goods in your living space. It’s called a Ripple Rug and it originates from the Catskill Mountains where small business owners (and husband and wife team) Fred and Natasha Ruckel observed their cat, Yoda’s obsession with playing on a small area rug because of a ripple in it.
The days-long fascination by their pet became the catalyst behind the couple’s decision to adapt the rug format to a product with infinitely more play options. Together they funded this DIY project and after stitching up various proto-types, they settled on one with 12 Velcro touch-points that allow the mat to be “re-assembled” into infinite configurations. The upper portion of the Ripple Rug includes holes of varying sizes that provide entrances and exits, with smaller holes to spy through. The lower liner includes a non-skid backing so kitty won’t slide across the floor when she goes in for the kill.
Related:Why Playtime Is So Important For Your Cat
The couple confirm that test subjects love napping inside their Ripple Rug, using the peepholes to spy on the outside world and dragging their toys in through the holes.
Best of all, the 3-ft. x 4-ft. rug folds up nice and neat for storing when company arrives! And with a mold, mildew and stain resistant fabrication, gone are those funky smells!
In spite of a cost almost quadruple that of manufacturing off-shore; the Ripple Rug is made in the U.S. in an effort to control both quality and working conditions for factory staff (Woo hoo! ‘Merica!). Additionally, the couple chose to use environmentally friendly materials so the product is made from 100 percent recycled plastics bottles. That means this rug keeps 24 bottles from floating in the ocean or out of a landfill.
Fred and Natasha confirm they are reaching out to the Kickstarter community to satisfy the minimum order quantity for a first production run, quality testing, packaging and shipping. Pledges will not only make this product affordable and ensure it lands on the floor of every cat parent but also reward pledgers with incentives ranging from a “My Cat Made Me Do It” t-shirt for a donation of just $25 to an actual Ripple Rug first run edition for a donation of $50.
Their 30-day Kickstarter campaign is already underway and runs until the Thursday, June 4. Interested? Go to the Ripple Rug Kickstarter page to secure one for your cat!
Mary Simpson is a writer and communications professional from Port Credit, Ontario. A soft touch for anything stray, she shares her century home with an eclectic collection of rescues that include orange tabby Chico, tuxedo Simon, and jet black Owen. She enjoys running, politics, exploring the wine regions of Niagara and is an avid supporter of the “shop local” movement.
