Fat Cat, Inc. is dedicated to the ultimate bliss of cats and dogs. Fat Cat's mission, "To Make People and their Pets Laugh" is achieved everyday in households throughout the world. With innovative products, creative designs, and the pet-passion required to fuel them, Fat Cat, Inc. creates products that go far beyond those boring toys of yesteryear. What delights audiences of pets and people is a brand new form of comedic entertainment. With Fat Cat toys in your house, who needs TV? The company recently joined Bamboo, a division of Munchkin, Inc. Together, our mission remains the same - to design toys that "Make People & Pets Laugh". Fat Cat, Inc's cat and dog toys are making the wildest dreams of pets around the globe come true. Fat Cat's toys can be found in local pet stores, gift stores, animal clinics and select supermarkets with distribution throughout the U.S., Canada, England, Japan and more! We Believe in Equal Opportunity ... Fat Cat, Inc. is an equal opportunity provider of funky cat and dog toys. We do not discriminate based on breed, color, gender, or species for that matter. We take diversity to heart at Fat Cat, Inc., which means that our products are designed to excite, activate, and entertain both whiskered (and non-whiskered) individuals from all spectrums of pet and people worlds.
-1999-
Our company was conceived through a family tradition of exchanging handmade toys for all of the family cats during the holidays. Beginning as a joke, it eventually evolved into an annual cat toy competition. Upon moving to Vermont, Anne and John Lika decided to begin marketing the toys. In the beginning, the first design, Vet the Victim, was hand screen printed, painted, and sewn by Anne and her mother, who lived 700 miles away in Ohio. Production was very slow. As sales increased, sewers were eventually hired and the toys were commercially printed. Sales have doubled each year since the first year. As business and marriage partners, Anne and John's skills complement each other in running this fast-growing company. As past Marketing Director of Ben and Jerry's Homemade, Inc., John's vision is: "Cat toys...ice cream...not much different in my approach; they both make people smile...and we get the added kick of knowing that the kitties of the world are happy!" Drawing from her love of cats and fine arts background, Anne is the main creative force behind the toys, sometimes tapping into the talents of her creative friends for their specialized expertise. Fat Cat, inc. started as a home-based business, filling a studio space attached to Anne and John's house, eventually spilling throughout most of the house, garage (where 700 pounds of fiberfil and hundreds of boxes were stored) and the basement, where up to 30,000 toys were warehoused at one time. Life became much easier for them, as well as the other two staff members, when they moved to their current location, a renovated horse stable at a military base built during the early 1900's - turned business park. The new facility allows the current 14 full and part-time employees adequate room to work and frolick (you just have to frolick every once in awhile when making cat toys). Our company, Fat Cat, inc. now sells toys and stuff throughout the U.S., Europe, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada.
-2000-
Company Info and The Mission That Wags Our Tails... Fat Cat, Inc., is a Vermont-based, family-owned company dedicated to the ultimate bliss of cats and dogs. Fat Cat's mission, "To Make People and their Pets Laugh" is achieved everyday in households throughout the world. With innovative products, creative designs, and the pet-passion required to fuel them, Fat Cat, Inc. creates products that go far beyond those boring toys of yesteryear. What delights audiences of pets and people is a brand new form of comedic entertainment. With Fat Cat toys in your house, who needs TV? The privately held company is located in Williston, VT and supplies toys and entertainment to thousands of pets every day. Currently the producer of 33 cat and dog toys, including such favorites as "Revenge Rover", "Presidential Plaything", "Big Mean Kitty", "Putti Cat", and the newest cat toy line- "Doggy Dress 'n Drag", Fat Cat, Inc. is continuously designing products that can reach the needs of pet owners while catering to the wildest dreams of pets everywhere. Fat Cat's toys can be found in local pet stores, gift stores, animal clinics and select supermarkets with distribution throughout the U.S., Canada, England and Japan. We Believe in Equal Opportunity... Fat Cat, Inc. is an equal opportunity provider of funky cat and dog toys. We do not discriminate based on breed, color, gender, or species for that matter. We take diversity to heart at Fat Cat, Inc., which means that our products are designed to excite, activate, and entertain both whiskered (and non-whiskered) individuals from all spectrums of pet and people worlds. Woof.
-2001-
Anne Lika's family had a tradition of competing to make the best toys for their cats at Christmas. She and her husband eventually turned family fun into marketplace gold by developing a creative line of pet toys. John Lika, formerly the marketing director at Ben & Jerry's Homemade and an ad agency veteran before that, knew a good product when he saw one and knew something about how to give a product a unique, recognizable identity so it would stand out in the marketplace. What John hadn't expected was the degree to which actually being an entrepreneur differs from having second-hand knowledge of how to grow a business. "You can read about it in books," he says, but nothing can completely prepare for "the different things that happen when you're actually doing it." Conventional wisdom "doesn't have the depth or the terrifying sense of urgency." Perhaps Fat Cats success can be attributed to the sense of humor that remains part of the unique spirit of Kitty Hoots, their line of pet toys. The catnip-scented Kitty Revenge line, for instance, includes a seven-inch stuffed Veterinarian the Victim, the Revenge Rover, and the Nasty Neighborhood Kid. The Political Animal series includes Newt Hoot, Toss Perot, and more. Their cats Mel and Chuck (both females, by the way) and their Airedale dog Woody play at their office daily, and are integral parts of the business. "The idea here is to have fun and make people laugh," John says. People respond by letter or e-mail, and the family grows. "We're the Ben & Jerry's of the pet toy world." Like that larger company, Fat Cat has struggled with production issues. At the inception, each Kitty Hoots toy would make the circuit from Anne screen-printing and hand-painting the artwork in their basement after putting the kids to bed, then to her mother in Ohio for sewing, then back to Vermont. As the operation expanded, home sewers would pick up kits and drop off work at all hours of the day and night. Materials and inventory began taking over the house. Anne says it best: "We had a tiger by the tail." A move out of the house to a new facility helped fill the increasing sales orders that representatives were now bringing in, and did so more efficiently. But success brought an even more dire threat: other companies stealing their ideas. In self-defense, to boost sales into a viable market share, they would eventually need to send production offshore, like their competitors. Fat Cats founders have kept their trademark sense of humor while growing at a dizzying pace. They've transformed their cottage venture into a nationwide success, and are now out-sourcing manufacturing overseas.
-2002-
Pet toys scratch way to a place in national sales
Leslie Wright
(Burlington, Vt.) Free Press
Oct. 21, 2002 12:00 AM
WILLISTON, Vt. - Like most snowmen, Frosty the Victim had a short life expectancy. That he was a handmade cat toy stuffed with catnip and given as a gift to a family with cats sealed his fate. The doomed cat toy with a shock of blue hair had a long-lasting impact, though. Frosty provided Anne and John Lika with the inspiration for Fat Cat Inc., a pet-toy company that now sells millions of dollars' worth of toys a year. Their toys are sold in major retail stores such as Target. "Our slogan is, 'We make people and pets laugh,' " Anne Lika said. "People are connecting not only with the toy but with our humor." Anne Lika's sister made Frosty as a Christmas gift years ago, triggering an ever-escalating contest to see who could make the wildest and boldest cat toy at Christmas. John Lika, then the head of the marketing department at Ben & Jerry's Homemade Inc., encouraged the family to market the wacky toys. So, in 1990, the Likas started Fat Cat in the basement of their Essex, Vt., home. After their then-infant daughter went to sleep, Anne Lika would silk-screen fabric. Whimsical faces came to life, like the white-coated veterinarian who is the target of every cat's secret dreams of revenge. The screened fabric went off to Lika's mother in Ohio, who cut out the figures, sewed them and sent them back. Anne Lika's cat toys - and eventually, dog toys - stood out. The colors were vibrant and non-toxic. The construction was durable. The catnip filling was high quality. Most important, Fat Cat's packaging was aimed at the real consumers: pet owners. The whimsical packaging is the work of artist Lyn Severance, who created the signature look of Ben & Jerry's. The products come with stories, making them fun and funny. There was the Kitty Revenge Series featuring Vet the Victim, Revenge Rover and Nasty Neighborhood. Doggie Dress 'n' Drag featured catnip-filled dogs wearing removable skirts. That design was way out, Anne Lika said, but it sold. The folksy toys caught on quickly. In their first year, Anne Lika peddled her creations to local pet and gift shops. She sold a few hundred. The following year she sold a few thousand. It wasn't long before the Lika home was operating at capacity. Fiberfill would arrive in 600-pound bales. Boxes were stacked to the ceiling. UPS trucks rolled up daily. The neighbors were patient. "It was a cottage industry," Anne Lika said. "The boxes got so high we couldn't look out the windows." Now the company is in a 10,000-square-foot warehouse in Williston, Vt. It employs 12 workers, including a general manager hired nine months ago to fill a new position. The toys are now made in China and arrive in a 40-foot container every 10 days. The line has expanded to more than 30 toys; plans are to add at least an additional 10. Growth has been 40 percent a year and could hit 50 percent this year, said John Lika, who left Ben & Jerry's in 1992 to focus on Fat Cat. Sales are in the "multiple millions," he said. "What has happened and what is helping is that our product is out in more channels of distribution," he said. In 1993 Pet Stuff, a chain with 50 stores in Georgia, placed an order. Winning that account was a milestone. Landing Target, the up-market discount chain with 1,107 stores in 47 states, was even. Landing on Target's shelves took nine months. Target wanted its own label on the toys. The Likas didn't want to sacrifice their unique storytelling packaging. "That probably had to be shocking to have a growing company say, 'No, we're not going to do it your way,' " John Lika said. But they did. After three years, Fat Cat has 40 percent of the cat-toy selection in Target stores, John Lika said. Target was an important victory on several levels. Target is a retail leader with an expertise in marketing to women, Fat Cat's key customers, John Lika said. Getting into Target was a psychological win for the small company because it opened the door for other national accounts like Petsmart and Petco.
-2007-
Leading Pet Product Manufacturer Announces Acquisition of Award-Winning Dog, Cat Toy Company; Creative, Unconventional Products Complement Existing Bamboo Line
NORTH HILLS, Calif., (April 27, 2007) –
Bamboo®, the pet care division of leading baby product manufacturer Munchkin Inc., announces the acquisition of leading cat and dog toy manufacturer, Fat Cat Inc. Known for whimsical cat and dog toys with an innovative, clever design, Fat Cat is the third brand within the Munchkin parent company. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Fat Cat will remain a separate brand under the Munchkin umbrella. The founder of Vermont-based Fat Cat Inc., John Lika, will join Munchkin as vice president of creative, and the Fat Cat design team will remain intact in Vermont in an effort to continue to bring out-of-the-box creativity and innovation to new pet and infant product launches. “We’re thrilled to bring Fat Cat into the Munchkin family,” said Steven B. Dunn, president and chief executive officer, Munchkin Inc. “The brand perfectly complements our Bamboo product offering and fits well with Bamboo’s philosophy, ‘Pets are kids, too.’ We look forward to the Fat Cat creative team bringing its wacky design approach to not only our pet products, but throughout Munchkin’s infant and toddler lines as well.” Fat Cat made its foray into the pet industry 16 years ago when husband-and-wife team John and Anne Lika began making handmade cat toys for family and friends as silly holiday gifts. Soon the designs and high-quality products made the toys truly unique items in the pet product space. With John’s experience as the former marketing director for Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream, along with Anne’s fine arts background, Fat Cat quickly became a popular brand. Today Fat Cat manufactures numerous eye-catching, tongue-in-cheek products, from fancy dog beds to Hilary Clinton dog chew toys. Its four product lines include “Kitty Hoots,” “Doggy Hoots,” “Fat Cat” and “Dancing Dog,” all featuring colorful, zany graphics. “This is an exciting opportunity to take our mission of ‘Making People & Pets Laugh’ to a new level,” John Lika said. “There is a dynamic synergy between the Fat Cat and Munchkin/Bamboo teams that holds great promise for future innovation in both the pet and infant markets.”
ABOUT FAT CAT INC.
ABOUT FAT CAT INC.
Based in Williston, Vt., Fat Cat Inc. was founded in 1991 with “Making People & Pets Laugh” as its mission. The company’s line of dog and cat toys has evolved to include hundreds of products, each with its own whimsical, funny design characteristics. Fat Cat products are sold in numerous pet specialty and mass market retailers nationwide.
ABOUT BAMBOO – Pets are kids too! ™
Headquartered in North Hills, Calif., Bamboo® is the pet care division of Munchkin Inc., a market-leading designer, manufacturer and distributor of baby accessories. Launched in 2004, Bamboo upholds the Munchkin philosophy by developing clever, innovative pet products that excite, delight and make life easier, safer and more enjoyable for families. Bamboo understands pets are an integral part of today’s family and deserve the same kind of high-quality, safe and innovative products that are created for children. After all, pets are kids too! For more information, visit bamboopet.com.
Headquartered in North Hills, Calif., Bamboo® is the pet care division of Munchkin Inc., a market-leading designer, manufacturer and distributor of baby accessories. Launched in 2004, Bamboo upholds the Munchkin philosophy by developing clever, innovative pet products that excite, delight and make life easier, safer and more enjoyable for families. Bamboo understands pets are an integral part of today’s family and deserve the same kind of high-quality, safe and innovative products that are created for children. After all, pets are kids too! For more information, visit bamboopet.com.
-2007-
John Lika, Vice President & Creative Director, John was the Co-Founder and CEO of Fat Cat, Inc., for 16 years before the popular pet brand became part of the Munchkin family in 2007.John created unique cat and dog toys with the mission of "Making People & Pets Laugh". Prior to his new role at Munchkin, John was a Director of Marketing Development at Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream, where he created unconventional marketing initiatives and personally consumed (tested) hundreds of pints of ice cream.John is married and has two children, Katherine (human) and Stewart (the Airedale) and three cats.In his spare time John enjoys bowling, knitting, welding, ballroom dancing, reading Mad Magazine and eating ice cream.
-2008-
Fat Cat, Inc. is dedicated to the ultimate bliss of cats and dogs. Fat Cat's mission, "To Make People and their Pets Laugh" is achieved everyday in households throughout the world. With innovative products, creative designs, and the pet-passion required to fuel them, Fat Cat, Inc. creates products that go far beyond those boring toys of yesteryear. What delights audiences of pets and people is a brand new form of comedic entertainment. With Fat Cat toys in your house, who needs TV? The company recently joined Bamboo, a division of Munchkin, Inc. Together, our mission remains the same - to design toys that "Make People & Pets Laugh". Fat Cat, Inc's cat and dog toys are making the wildest dreams of pets around the globe come true. Fat Cat's toys can be found in local pet stores, gift stores, animal clinics and select supermarkets with distribution throughout the U.S., Canada, England, Japan and more!
-2013-
The Fat Cat Story…And Other Stuff!
Fat Cat is a brand of Petmate dedicated to making people and pets laugh every single day. Petmate, and its family of brands, are trusted authorities in smart pet care solutions. As the first to provide a safe and comfortable alternative to wooden travel crates, Petmate has gone on to introduce smart solutions for every stage in a pet's life. At Petmate, we believe in what we do, because we have pets too! Check out all of the other great brands and products in the Petmate family: Bamboo, Fat Cat, Booda, Petmate and Aspen Pet.
