December 13, 2024 • 21 mins
Maria chats with Melissa Mezzalira, Founder & CEO of CatsEssentials, a brand dedicated to making natural products for your pets. Their beds are organic and toxin-free which means better for your cats (who sleep and sleep!) Melissa says: "Healthy Sleep is as Important as Healthy Nutrition"!
Give a listen and check out their products at CATSESSENTIALS.COM
Give a listen and check out their products at CATSESSENTIALS.COM
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
It's Maria's MutS and Stuff. What a great idea on iHeartRadio.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
Welcome to Maria's Mutts and Stuff. And with me is
the founder of cats Essentials. It is Melissa Mezza Lira.
I love that name. I love your Italian last name,
but I love you for your whole name. Anyway, You're welcome.
So Melissa, tell me what is Cat's Essentials?
Speaker 1 (00:31):
Okay, uh huh? Well, first of all, thank you so
much for having me. Of course, cats Essential was actually
born out of my desire to create a safer and
help your sleeping environment for my cat. Okay, psychologist, is
start on my own journey as a cat's parent. Uh huh.
(00:52):
So I wanted to improve their quality of life and
on my two feelines and so sometimes ago a few
years ago, I started this research on I wanted to
improve their food options because at that time I actually
thought that I was feeding them premium cat food. I
(01:14):
discovered that I actually wasn't. Okay, yeah right, So I
started research to find healthier options because we know how
important it is, of course to see them a very
nutritional and healthy food. And that kind of was like
the beginning of something that expanded it to all of
(01:35):
the other products that I brought home from my cat
because I started being concerned about anything that I purchased
for them. So I started taking apart cat beds and
toys because I wanted to see how these pieces were made.
But most importantly world were the materials that were used.
Because now I'm really, you know, concerning about concern about
(01:55):
everything disover is that the majority of the materials that
I used in conventional PAD products are synthetics and so
petroleum based materials. And I started thinking, like, what these
materials can be good for our cats?
Speaker 3 (02:14):
Right?
Speaker 1 (02:14):
And so I started doing some research and I did
find several studies that actually supported my concerns where environmental
toxins in general were linked to some even serious health
issues for our pats. And one study in particular that really,
you know, I was amazed by is cats had forty
(02:37):
six chemicals in their bodies and some of these chemicals
were levels were five times higher than the humans wow
present in humans?
Speaker 3 (02:48):
Yeah wow.
Speaker 1 (02:49):
And the most astonishing one was actually the flame retardant
was twenty three times higher in cats. I need to
find out wire cats so much sensitive, so much more
sensitive and vulnerable to toxins. Than we are. And so
I found out there are nearly three reasons. The first one,
(03:09):
well it's pretty common to think about, is the cats
group themselves. Everything that lays on their fur, on their bodies,
on their paws, they're basically licking it and they're ingesting it,
so it ends up in their system. The other cause is,
you know, we know how much cats love to sleep
for long hours, lounge around, they spend, Yeah, they spend
(03:32):
a lot lot of time in close content with surfaces. Now,
if the surfaces have chemicals or toxins, you know, they
can either be inhaling them because most of the chemicals,
you know, they evaporate, so they can be emailing it.
Or again, you know, they lay on their fur and
then they end up in their system again. And the
(03:54):
terrorism is actually quite interesting because of specific to cats.
Cats being obligated carnivores, they're missing some special enzymes in
their liver functions, and so they're basically these enzymes that
are supposed to help detoxify the bodies. They're missing it,
so they're uncapable of eliminating these toxins from their bodies.
(04:17):
And that's therefore how why they have a higher level
of toxins because they can't get rid of.
Speaker 2 (04:24):
It right basically, And is that something that's just unique
to cats that they can't get rid of the like,
so other like dogs or birds or whatever, they can
get rid of the toxins just naturally by how they're
I guess their system works.
Speaker 1 (04:39):
I guess yeah, right right now. I don't know specifically
every other spiece by the species. But because cats are carnivores,
you know, they have different enzymes that they need to
process that particular food, and so they're missing some of
these elements. So all of these was kind of like
an eye opening the shore. And uh yeah, me being
(05:01):
like a very health cultuous person, you know, I obviously
want my cat to be as healthy as possible, and
so I decided that Cats Essential will be the brand
who creates like safe oasis for our cats to sleep on.
I developed I developed this aline of organic and taxing
(05:24):
free cat bess begging and also toys that are safe
for our cats, that are eco friendly, and uh most importantly,
they are designed with our cats in mind, because you know,
we spend a lot of time finding the materials that
are comfortable, supportive so that the cats actually love and
(05:48):
use these cat bets, which this is another concern that
I often hear from cat parents before they discovery cats essentials.
You know, they're frustrated that are purchasing cat bess and
the cat doesn't use the bed.
Speaker 2 (06:00):
Yeah, yes, no, that's very interesting. I mean, first of all,
I have to thank you, by the way for reaching
out to me, because I I love cats as much
as I love dogs, but I know a lot more
about dogs, and I've and I've had people say to me,
you need to have more cat subjects to talk about,
because so you're giving me some cred, Melissa.
Speaker 3 (06:22):
So I really appreciate that.
Speaker 2 (06:23):
You're giving me, because you give me some cat cred now,
So I have to thank you about that upfront.
Speaker 3 (06:28):
But no.
Speaker 1 (06:34):
To your podcast, because I noticed that you do talk
a lot about pat heals, which is to me, it's
important because you know, as cat parents, we're all trying
to do the best, of course with our present. The
more we know, the better it is.
Speaker 3 (06:48):
That's right. No, you're absolutely right.
Speaker 1 (06:49):
Thank you for the word.
Speaker 2 (06:51):
Oh no, for sure, but thank you, thank you because
I mean it's it's probably something that many people don't
think about, and I know there was like a scare
many years ago when cat food and dog food and
it was coming from China and it had like, I think,
pieces of I'm trying to remember what was in it,
Like it was like pieces of something that was really
(07:13):
very toxic, and the pets were dying. And I think
that might might have been the beginning. And this was
like many years ago, and I think it was the
beginning of people actually paying more attention to where, you know,
like what they're feeding their pets, what their pet is
sleeping on, or the toys, because that was a big
(07:35):
thing I remember, because you know dogs and cats like
to chew on toys. Well, if it's a toxic material,
then they're basically eating that toxic material.
Speaker 1 (07:45):
What I often think about is, you know, sometimes we
don't think about the some of the benefits, like to me,
like the fact that organic fielders are the more regulating. Yes,
when when when a cat sleep in a synthetic cat
that those those beds are not breathable, so they end
(08:06):
up overheating. And that's why sometimes sometimes you see that
cute little pot sticking out because the cat is trying to.
Speaker 3 (08:16):
To cool down like us.
Speaker 1 (08:18):
But that's actually that's actually not a good sign, so
the cat bed is now properly regulating to his body temperature.
While when you choose or gutting materials, they are breatheable,
so they can keep your cat warm in the winter
and cool in the summer. All of these, yeah, that
are extremely important. So there is there is a lot
(08:39):
of benefits that come with that. And I think as
more and more cat parents, like you said, you know,
we're all becoming more aware of, you know, how we
can better do for our for our cats. And so
I'm actually happy to see that. You know, of course,
like a few years ago, this whole think about healthy
(09:01):
food was, you know, like we see like when you
go now in any pet store, like there are aisle
of course better and healthier, not always necessarily they're all better,
but you know, we have any more options, and I
think and I think that little by little, you know,
we also have to consider that, yes, we are made
(09:22):
by what we eat, but the environment, the environment that
we live in, is the same as the same importance.
So if we are aware of you know, our homes
are basically full of environmental toxic that's true, because that
is and unfortunately those like I call them like hidden
dangers because we don't see them. We don't know how
(09:42):
where those particles are, but they're everywhere around that. Right,
So if if we are aware of we can do
things to improve or at least two.
Speaker 2 (09:54):
Yeah, to improve and to make make a life or
make them make life better so that our pets are healthier.
Speaker 1 (10:02):
Right, we can limit the exposure to this.
Speaker 3 (10:04):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (10:05):
And so to me, to me, it was starting with
the cat bed because that's where our cats spend most
of their time. And the other thing is, you know,
of course we can't. I would think that it's I
would almost impossible to remove all the toxins we have
in our home. But if we start from the basics,
we start from our cat beds, which is where they
spend most of their time, and then maybe we conceive
(10:26):
the light the air, you know, because and the other
thing is to me is like improving their health is
improving our health, of course, because if we improve the
air quality in our home, we're going.
Speaker 3 (10:37):
To get That's true.
Speaker 1 (10:39):
I always see it as a thing they actually make
up closer to our to our pets. Okay, I'm helping
you out, but.
Speaker 3 (10:45):
That's right myself. No, it's true.
Speaker 2 (10:48):
It's like when when so and and you know, even
though they don't understand us our language, I think that
deep down our pets, our cats and dogs know that
that we are look looking out for them and trying
to make their life as healthy as possible, even though
you know, it's hard to communicate that to them, but
I think they know that, you.
Speaker 1 (11:07):
Know, I really I do they feel it?
Speaker 3 (11:09):
Yeah, they feel it. They feel it.
Speaker 2 (11:12):
So I think one of the really cool things about
Casts Essentials is that you donate some of your sales
to environmental organizations. So let's talk about that a little bit,
like do you have specific organizations?
Speaker 3 (11:26):
Do you have different ones? Like how how does that work?
Speaker 2 (11:29):
And I think it's really commendable and very you know,
it's very it's excellent that you do that.
Speaker 1 (11:33):
By the way, thank you, yes, thank you well. Environment
is a very important part of our goal to like,
you know, I'm always being very environmentally concerned. Of course,
I see you know how things are going, and so
I always try to do the best I can, you know,
with my own my own personal life, but I think
(11:55):
as as a company and the responsibility is to try
to do the least damage possible and actually trying to
do the best we can to, you know, and so
we started it. I think it was the first year
with one tree planted. So we started donating uh to.
(12:17):
I don't know if you're familiar with the organization, basically,
uh they you you, you send them your donation, and
then every for every dollar they plant a tree.
Speaker 3 (12:27):
Nice.
Speaker 1 (12:27):
Yeah, yeah, And that's to me is amazing because I think,
you know, the like especially into the trees are the
one that give us the oxygen and help purify the air.
Like one thing, for example, that I like to do
is to have plants in the house so that the
cats they can clean up the toxins from the from
(12:48):
the air. And so to me, like that was like, oh, yes,
of course we have to plant more trees. Like every
time I see the forest station, I just you know,
like my heart thinks all the time because it's like,
oh my god, we need those streets, and I feel like,
you know, there are they have their own they are
like alive, you know, we're not we're just killing We're
(13:08):
just killing time. You know. That was yeah, that that
was our first and then last year we actually joined
one percent from the Planet, which is also like a
higher commitment. So there is like a larger group of
companies now joining where we basically donate one percent of
our profits to environmental causes.
Speaker 3 (13:31):
Wonderful and yeah, yes, and.
Speaker 4 (13:34):
I think it kind of shows really the commitment that
we have because and and I kind of think everything
in in cass Essential it is related that, like we
we create high quality cut beds so that you don't
have to throw them away.
Speaker 1 (13:51):
Every three months, last year, a lifetime. Sure, you know,
we have super movable coverage. You can just wash and
we play and just you know, you can use the
same product for a longer time, because that's another another problem.
You know, we're just so used to throw waitings, but
we don't want that. Yeah, we want long term quality
(14:13):
and uh and and everything else we do, like even
our packaging we just we use only now we just
switched all we used to have used recyctable uhay, because
it was difficult. It was difficult to find something that
you know, like especially with fabric, you know, even if
it's inside the box when we ship it, you don't
(14:33):
want it to get damaged during transportation. So we finally
found this wonderful uh it's kind of like a paper base.
It's uh, it's called Vila and uh it's uh, it's
basically paper, so you can but it has it's waterproof
even if it happens to be yes, And so we
(14:56):
love the fact that we can now provide our customers
with even more environmental friendly packaging because we have we
have some customers actually concerned about like I said, okay,
we don't want the plastic anymore. I'm like, I know,
but I just can't find anything right right with everything
that we were doing as much as possible, you know,
using you know, recycle and all of that. But at
(15:17):
the same time, now we're so happy that we can
do paper. So that's even more because the other thing
with plastic bags, you know, even if they're recyclable, then
a lot of people might not do recycle, so that
we create the same problem exactly.
Speaker 2 (15:33):
Well, it just really shows that your company and you
are the real deal. And you know, some people they
say like you walk the walk and talk the talk
is what the phrase is because you know, you are
looking for stuff that's like organic and natural and healthy
for the cats, but you're also concerned about your packaging
and everything else. So that's really being the real deal
(15:54):
and that's what you are, which which you know, I
think for I mean, I just feel like so many
people are always looking for like alternatives, and they're looking
for the alternatives that are better for the environment, better
for their pets. And you know, your beds sound like that.
It fits the bill and it's perfect. So let's talk
about the beds a little bit. They come in, how
(16:15):
many what's the variety? How many sizes? How does that work?
Speaker 1 (16:19):
Well, we have quite a bit of a variety by now. Yeah,
I'm sure so like to create new ones, but I
think the main focus is really by thinking at how
what cats like. But I think so going back to
the previous comment I made about cat parents being frustrated
with cats not using their cat bed, right, well, well,
(16:41):
we're trying to change that because I think, you know,
it is a matter of finding the right cat bed,
a cat bed that they actually like, the way they
feel comfortable in it. Uh. And unfortunately we don't think
about it like you know, we know how finnicky cats
are for food, but we also have to consider that
they can be a spinicky on their on their beds.
(17:02):
But think about us, you know, some of us might
like to sleep on a soft mattress. Some of the
ones on like a hardtopper. We some of us like
a cover, but cats are the same way. So we
try to create a variety of cat bets that actually
fits the different sleeping preferences of cats. Like if I
look at my cat, my cat maya my girl, she
(17:24):
likes to sleep taxic. She's either sleeping under a blanket,
she's sleeping in her sleeping bag, she's sleeping in a
cat cake because she likes to be covered. On the
other side, my boy baby is just likes to sleep
in the open, and it's always curled up, always sleep
curled up. Yeah, So I try to create cat bets
(17:45):
that feeds all these different slipping positions and preferences so
that you know, if you pay attention to what your
cats like, then you can find something that fits that
specific either position or you know, whatever preference. Because it
is a concern, like you know, I hear this many times,
you know, like, oh, well they won't sleep on their beds. Well,
(18:07):
you know, find the right one.
Speaker 4 (18:09):
It's important to place the bed.
Speaker 1 (18:11):
In where actually your cat likes to sleep. If your
can't like to sleep even on your bed, when that
plays a blanket, an organic blanket, or a pad on
your bed and the cat would like to go there.
Because one thing I do know that cats love to
have their own personal sleeping space. They do like to
be in a confined area. They do like tight spaces.
(18:32):
And so if you provide them with something that they like,
and then they have to be in a location where
they like to sleep, Like if your cat likes to
sleep by the window, then place a cat bed there,
you know, so we have to pay attention on what
they like. And then the other thing it could be
also like maybe they just don't like the smell of it.
A lot of your cat beds they have, we probably know,
we don't even perceive it, but they are very sensitive,
(18:54):
but they might not like the specific smell. Sure, so
I noticed that a lot of our customers say, actually
do love their beds. And I believe also because the
fact that there's some of the fort we use organic
comson and k pok and natural of organic latex uh
and they have a mild natural sense and they seem
(19:14):
to be attrusted to it because they you know, kind
of maybe they smell like nature.
Speaker 2 (19:18):
Right right, Well, that's great, that's great, No, it makes sense.
I mean, their sense of smell is so much more
keen than ours, just like dogs. You know, dogs and
cats smell things that we don't really smell, you know
what I mean. Like, so yeah, that would definitely have
a lot to do with it. Well, I think it's terrific,
well for I mean, it's perfect time of year for
us to be talking about this too, because for the
(19:40):
cat lover in your life, or even for yourself if
you want to. You know, we all give our pets
presents for the holidays. I would love everyone to go
to cats Essentials dot com and they could see all
of your products, you see all your beds, and they
can order beds for the holidays. I think that's I
think it's a perfect time of year.
Speaker 1 (20:00):
Me wonderful. Yes, absolutely, you know, we like to give
presents to the people who mean the worlds and are
definitely top of the least.
Speaker 3 (20:10):
Absolutely, no, of course that we're they're pad parents. We
have to.
Speaker 2 (20:14):
You know, people give presents to their you know, to
their kids with two legs, so we do the same
for our four legged ones.
Speaker 3 (20:23):
And that makes sense.
Speaker 2 (20:24):
So well, Melissa, it's so nice to talk to you
and learn all about your beds and your products and
your whole mission and I want to talk to you
again because I feel like there's more for you down
the road.
Speaker 3 (20:40):
Like you're doing beds.
Speaker 1 (20:41):
Now, very happy to do that.
Speaker 2 (20:42):
Yeah, And I feel like, and you don't have to
disclose anything, but I feel like you're doing beds today,
but I think you're going to be doing something else
tomorrow in addition to the beds.
Speaker 3 (20:52):
Am I right on that they see?
Speaker 2 (20:56):
Yeah, because I could tell just by I you know,
I just met you, but I just can tell by
talking to you that you are you always need to
do the next thing, and you're always exploring, and you're
curious and you're always finding answers to things. So I
don't I think that there's something else coming up. I
just have that feeling anyway, all right, it's great.
Speaker 3 (21:19):
Well, thank you so much.
Speaker 2 (21:20):
So it's founder and CEO Melissa Medzalira of cat Essentials,
and you can see her beds and there's a blog
there and there's so much more that you can learn.
But I think it's it's really it's great for your
cats and also of course great for the ecology and
for the environment. So catessentials dot Com, Melissa, thank you
so much, and have a wonderful holiday.
Speaker 1 (21:41):
Thank you so much, Maya you too, Thank you
It's Maria's MutS and Stuff. What a great idea on iHeartRadio.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
Welcome to Maria's Mutts and Stuff. And with me is
the founder of cats Essentials. It is Melissa Mezza Lira.
I love that name. I love your Italian last name,
but I love you for your whole name. Anyway, You're welcome.
So Melissa, tell me what is Cat's Essentials?
Speaker 1 (00:31):
Okay, uh huh? Well, first of all, thank you so
much for having me. Of course, cats Essential was actually
born out of my desire to create a safer and
help your sleeping environment for my cat. Okay, psychologist, is
start on my own journey as a cat's parent. Uh huh.
(00:52):
So I wanted to improve their quality of life and
on my two feelines and so sometimes ago a few
years ago, I started this research on I wanted to
improve their food options because at that time I actually
thought that I was feeding them premium cat food. I
(01:14):
discovered that I actually wasn't. Okay, yeah right, So I
started research to find healthier options because we know how
important it is, of course to see them a very
nutritional and healthy food. And that kind of was like
the beginning of something that expanded it to all of
(01:35):
the other products that I brought home from my cat
because I started being concerned about anything that I purchased
for them. So I started taking apart cat beds and
toys because I wanted to see how these pieces were made.
But most importantly world were the materials that were used.
Because now I'm really, you know, concerning about concern about
(01:55):
everything disover is that the majority of the materials that
I used in conventional PAD products are synthetics and so
petroleum based materials. And I started thinking, like, what these
materials can be good for our cats?
Speaker 3 (02:14):
Right?
Speaker 1 (02:14):
And so I started doing some research and I did
find several studies that actually supported my concerns where environmental
toxins in general were linked to some even serious health
issues for our pats. And one study in particular that really,
you know, I was amazed by is cats had forty
(02:37):
six chemicals in their bodies and some of these chemicals
were levels were five times higher than the humans wow
present in humans?
Speaker 3 (02:48):
Yeah wow.
Speaker 1 (02:49):
And the most astonishing one was actually the flame retardant
was twenty three times higher in cats. I need to
find out wire cats so much sensitive, so much more
sensitive and vulnerable to toxins. Than we are. And so
I found out there are nearly three reasons. The first one,
(03:09):
well it's pretty common to think about, is the cats
group themselves. Everything that lays on their fur, on their bodies,
on their paws, they're basically licking it and they're ingesting it,
so it ends up in their system. The other cause is,
you know, we know how much cats love to sleep
for long hours, lounge around, they spend, Yeah, they spend
(03:32):
a lot lot of time in close content with surfaces. Now,
if the surfaces have chemicals or toxins, you know, they
can either be inhaling them because most of the chemicals,
you know, they evaporate, so they can be emailing it.
Or again, you know, they lay on their fur and
then they end up in their system again. And the
(03:54):
terrorism is actually quite interesting because of specific to cats.
Cats being obligated carnivores, they're missing some special enzymes in
their liver functions, and so they're basically these enzymes that
are supposed to help detoxify the bodies. They're missing it,
so they're uncapable of eliminating these toxins from their bodies.
(04:17):
And that's therefore how why they have a higher level
of toxins because they can't get rid of.
Speaker 2 (04:24):
It right basically, And is that something that's just unique
to cats that they can't get rid of the like,
so other like dogs or birds or whatever, they can
get rid of the toxins just naturally by how they're
I guess their system works.
Speaker 1 (04:39):
I guess yeah, right right now. I don't know specifically
every other spiece by the species. But because cats are carnivores,
you know, they have different enzymes that they need to
process that particular food, and so they're missing some of
these elements. So all of these was kind of like
an eye opening the shore. And uh yeah, me being
(05:01):
like a very health cultuous person, you know, I obviously
want my cat to be as healthy as possible, and
so I decided that Cats Essential will be the brand
who creates like safe oasis for our cats to sleep on.
I developed I developed this aline of organic and taxing
(05:24):
free cat bess begging and also toys that are safe
for our cats, that are eco friendly, and uh most importantly,
they are designed with our cats in mind, because you know,
we spend a lot of time finding the materials that
are comfortable, supportive so that the cats actually love and
(05:48):
use these cat bets, which this is another concern that
I often hear from cat parents before they discovery cats essentials.
You know, they're frustrated that are purchasing cat bess and
the cat doesn't use the bed.
Speaker 2 (06:00):
Yeah, yes, no, that's very interesting. I mean, first of all,
I have to thank you, by the way for reaching
out to me, because I I love cats as much
as I love dogs, but I know a lot more
about dogs, and I've and I've had people say to me,
you need to have more cat subjects to talk about,
because so you're giving me some cred, Melissa.
Speaker 3 (06:22):
So I really appreciate that.
Speaker 2 (06:23):
You're giving me, because you give me some cat cred now,
So I have to thank you about that upfront.
Speaker 3 (06:28):
But no.
Speaker 1 (06:34):
To your podcast, because I noticed that you do talk
a lot about pat heals, which is to me, it's
important because you know, as cat parents, we're all trying
to do the best, of course with our present. The
more we know, the better it is.
Speaker 3 (06:48):
That's right. No, you're absolutely right.
Speaker 1 (06:49):
Thank you for the word.
Speaker 2 (06:51):
Oh no, for sure, but thank you, thank you because
I mean it's it's probably something that many people don't
think about, and I know there was like a scare
many years ago when cat food and dog food and
it was coming from China and it had like, I think,
pieces of I'm trying to remember what was in it,
Like it was like pieces of something that was really
(07:13):
very toxic, and the pets were dying. And I think
that might might have been the beginning. And this was
like many years ago, and I think it was the
beginning of people actually paying more attention to where, you know,
like what they're feeding their pets, what their pet is
sleeping on, or the toys, because that was a big
(07:35):
thing I remember, because you know dogs and cats like
to chew on toys. Well, if it's a toxic material,
then they're basically eating that toxic material.
Speaker 1 (07:45):
What I often think about is, you know, sometimes we
don't think about the some of the benefits, like to me,
like the fact that organic fielders are the more regulating. Yes,
when when when a cat sleep in a synthetic cat
that those those beds are not breathable, so they end
(08:06):
up overheating. And that's why sometimes sometimes you see that
cute little pot sticking out because the cat is trying to.
Speaker 3 (08:16):
To cool down like us.
Speaker 1 (08:18):
But that's actually that's actually not a good sign, so
the cat bed is now properly regulating to his body temperature.
While when you choose or gutting materials, they are breatheable,
so they can keep your cat warm in the winter
and cool in the summer. All of these, yeah, that
are extremely important. So there is there is a lot
(08:39):
of benefits that come with that. And I think as
more and more cat parents, like you said, you know,
we're all becoming more aware of, you know, how we
can better do for our for our cats. And so
I'm actually happy to see that. You know, of course,
like a few years ago, this whole think about healthy
(09:01):
food was, you know, like we see like when you
go now in any pet store, like there are aisle
of course better and healthier, not always necessarily they're all better,
but you know, we have any more options, and I
think and I think that little by little, you know,
we also have to consider that, yes, we are made
(09:22):
by what we eat, but the environment, the environment that
we live in, is the same as the same importance.
So if we are aware of you know, our homes
are basically full of environmental toxic that's true, because that
is and unfortunately those like I call them like hidden
dangers because we don't see them. We don't know how
(09:42):
where those particles are, but they're everywhere around that. Right,
So if if we are aware of we can do
things to improve or at least two.
Speaker 2 (09:54):
Yeah, to improve and to make make a life or
make them make life better so that our pets are healthier.
Speaker 1 (10:02):
Right, we can limit the exposure to this.
Speaker 3 (10:04):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (10:05):
And so to me, to me, it was starting with
the cat bed because that's where our cats spend most
of their time. And the other thing is, you know,
of course we can't. I would think that it's I
would almost impossible to remove all the toxins we have
in our home. But if we start from the basics,
we start from our cat beds, which is where they
spend most of their time, and then maybe we conceive
(10:26):
the light the air, you know, because and the other
thing is to me is like improving their health is
improving our health, of course, because if we improve the
air quality in our home, we're going.
Speaker 3 (10:37):
To get That's true.
Speaker 1 (10:39):
I always see it as a thing they actually make
up closer to our to our pets. Okay, I'm helping
you out, but.
Speaker 3 (10:45):
That's right myself. No, it's true.
Speaker 2 (10:48):
It's like when when so and and you know, even
though they don't understand us our language, I think that
deep down our pets, our cats and dogs know that
that we are look looking out for them and trying
to make their life as healthy as possible, even though
you know, it's hard to communicate that to them, but
I think they know that, you.
Speaker 1 (11:07):
Know, I really I do they feel it?
Speaker 3 (11:09):
Yeah, they feel it. They feel it.
Speaker 2 (11:12):
So I think one of the really cool things about
Casts Essentials is that you donate some of your sales
to environmental organizations. So let's talk about that a little bit,
like do you have specific organizations?
Speaker 3 (11:26):
Do you have different ones? Like how how does that work?
Speaker 2 (11:29):
And I think it's really commendable and very you know,
it's very it's excellent that you do that.
Speaker 1 (11:33):
By the way, thank you, yes, thank you well. Environment
is a very important part of our goal to like,
you know, I'm always being very environmentally concerned. Of course,
I see you know how things are going, and so
I always try to do the best I can, you know,
with my own my own personal life, but I think
(11:55):
as as a company and the responsibility is to try
to do the least damage possible and actually trying to
do the best we can to, you know, and so
we started it. I think it was the first year
with one tree planted. So we started donating uh to.
(12:17):
I don't know if you're familiar with the organization, basically,
uh they you you, you send them your donation, and
then every for every dollar they plant a tree.
Speaker 3 (12:27):
Nice.
Speaker 1 (12:27):
Yeah, yeah, And that's to me is amazing because I think,
you know, the like especially into the trees are the
one that give us the oxygen and help purify the air.
Like one thing, for example, that I like to do
is to have plants in the house so that the
cats they can clean up the toxins from the from
(12:48):
the air. And so to me, like that was like, oh, yes,
of course we have to plant more trees. Like every
time I see the forest station, I just you know,
like my heart thinks all the time because it's like,
oh my god, we need those streets, and I feel like,
you know, there are they have their own they are
like alive, you know, we're not we're just killing We're
(13:08):
just killing time. You know. That was yeah, that that
was our first and then last year we actually joined
one percent from the Planet, which is also like a
higher commitment. So there is like a larger group of
companies now joining where we basically donate one percent of
our profits to environmental causes.
Speaker 3 (13:31):
Wonderful and yeah, yes, and.
Speaker 4 (13:34):
I think it kind of shows really the commitment that
we have because and and I kind of think everything
in in cass Essential it is related that, like we
we create high quality cut beds so that you don't
have to throw them away.
Speaker 1 (13:51):
Every three months, last year, a lifetime. Sure, you know,
we have super movable coverage. You can just wash and
we play and just you know, you can use the
same product for a longer time, because that's another another problem.
You know, we're just so used to throw waitings, but
we don't want that. Yeah, we want long term quality
(14:13):
and uh and and everything else we do, like even
our packaging we just we use only now we just
switched all we used to have used recyctable uhay, because
it was difficult. It was difficult to find something that
you know, like especially with fabric, you know, even if
it's inside the box when we ship it, you don't
(14:33):
want it to get damaged during transportation. So we finally
found this wonderful uh it's kind of like a paper base.
It's uh, it's called Vila and uh it's uh, it's
basically paper, so you can but it has it's waterproof
even if it happens to be yes, And so we
(14:56):
love the fact that we can now provide our customers
with even more environmental friendly packaging because we have we
have some customers actually concerned about like I said, okay,
we don't want the plastic anymore. I'm like, I know,
but I just can't find anything right right with everything
that we were doing as much as possible, you know,
using you know, recycle and all of that. But at
(15:17):
the same time, now we're so happy that we can
do paper. So that's even more because the other thing
with plastic bags, you know, even if they're recyclable, then
a lot of people might not do recycle, so that
we create the same problem exactly.
Speaker 2 (15:33):
Well, it just really shows that your company and you
are the real deal. And you know, some people they
say like you walk the walk and talk the talk
is what the phrase is because you know, you are
looking for stuff that's like organic and natural and healthy
for the cats, but you're also concerned about your packaging
and everything else. So that's really being the real deal
(15:54):
and that's what you are, which which you know, I
think for I mean, I just feel like so many
people are always looking for like alternatives, and they're looking
for the alternatives that are better for the environment, better
for their pets. And you know, your beds sound like that.
It fits the bill and it's perfect. So let's talk
about the beds a little bit. They come in, how
(16:15):
many what's the variety? How many sizes? How does that work?
Speaker 1 (16:19):
Well, we have quite a bit of a variety by now. Yeah,
I'm sure so like to create new ones, but I
think the main focus is really by thinking at how
what cats like. But I think so going back to
the previous comment I made about cat parents being frustrated
with cats not using their cat bed, right, well, well,
(16:41):
we're trying to change that because I think, you know,
it is a matter of finding the right cat bed,
a cat bed that they actually like, the way they
feel comfortable in it. Uh. And unfortunately we don't think
about it like you know, we know how finnicky cats
are for food, but we also have to consider that
they can be a spinicky on their on their beds.
(17:02):
But think about us, you know, some of us might
like to sleep on a soft mattress. Some of the
ones on like a hardtopper. We some of us like
a cover, but cats are the same way. So we
try to create a variety of cat bets that actually
fits the different sleeping preferences of cats. Like if I
look at my cat, my cat maya my girl, she
(17:24):
likes to sleep taxic. She's either sleeping under a blanket,
she's sleeping in her sleeping bag, she's sleeping in a
cat cake because she likes to be covered. On the
other side, my boy baby is just likes to sleep
in the open, and it's always curled up, always sleep
curled up. Yeah, So I try to create cat bets
(17:45):
that feeds all these different slipping positions and preferences so
that you know, if you pay attention to what your
cats like, then you can find something that fits that
specific either position or you know, whatever preference. Because it
is a concern, like you know, I hear this many times,
you know, like, oh, well they won't sleep on their beds. Well,
(18:07):
you know, find the right one.
Speaker 4 (18:09):
It's important to place the bed.
Speaker 1 (18:11):
In where actually your cat likes to sleep. If your
can't like to sleep even on your bed, when that
plays a blanket, an organic blanket, or a pad on
your bed and the cat would like to go there.
Because one thing I do know that cats love to
have their own personal sleeping space. They do like to
be in a confined area. They do like tight spaces.
(18:32):
And so if you provide them with something that they like,
and then they have to be in a location where
they like to sleep, Like if your cat likes to
sleep by the window, then place a cat bed there,
you know, so we have to pay attention on what
they like. And then the other thing it could be
also like maybe they just don't like the smell of it.
A lot of your cat beds they have, we probably know,
we don't even perceive it, but they are very sensitive,
(18:54):
but they might not like the specific smell. Sure, so
I noticed that a lot of our customers say, actually
do love their beds. And I believe also because the
fact that there's some of the fort we use organic
comson and k pok and natural of organic latex uh
and they have a mild natural sense and they seem
(19:14):
to be attrusted to it because they you know, kind
of maybe they smell like nature.
Speaker 2 (19:18):
Right right, Well, that's great, that's great, No, it makes sense.
I mean, their sense of smell is so much more
keen than ours, just like dogs. You know, dogs and
cats smell things that we don't really smell, you know
what I mean. Like, so yeah, that would definitely have
a lot to do with it. Well, I think it's terrific,
well for I mean, it's perfect time of year for
us to be talking about this too, because for the
(19:40):
cat lover in your life, or even for yourself if
you want to. You know, we all give our pets
presents for the holidays. I would love everyone to go
to cats Essentials dot com and they could see all
of your products, you see all your beds, and they
can order beds for the holidays. I think that's I
think it's a perfect time of year.
Speaker 1 (20:00):
Me wonderful. Yes, absolutely, you know, we like to give
presents to the people who mean the worlds and are
definitely top of the least.
Speaker 3 (20:10):
Absolutely, no, of course that we're they're pad parents. We
have to.
Speaker 2 (20:14):
You know, people give presents to their you know, to
their kids with two legs, so we do the same
for our four legged ones.
Speaker 3 (20:23):
And that makes sense.
Speaker 2 (20:24):
So well, Melissa, it's so nice to talk to you
and learn all about your beds and your products and
your whole mission and I want to talk to you
again because I feel like there's more for you down
the road.
Speaker 3 (20:40):
Like you're doing beds.
Speaker 1 (20:41):
Now, very happy to do that.
Speaker 2 (20:42):
Yeah, And I feel like, and you don't have to
disclose anything, but I feel like you're doing beds today,
but I think you're going to be doing something else
tomorrow in addition to the beds.
Speaker 3 (20:52):
Am I right on that they see?
Speaker 2 (20:56):
Yeah, because I could tell just by I you know,
I just met you, but I just can tell by
talking to you that you are you always need to
do the next thing, and you're always exploring, and you're
curious and you're always finding answers to things. So I
don't I think that there's something else coming up. I
just have that feeling anyway, all right, it's great.
Speaker 3 (21:19):
Well, thank you so much.
Speaker 2 (21:20):
So it's founder and CEO Melissa Medzalira of cat Essentials,
and you can see her beds and there's a blog
there and there's so much more that you can learn.
But I think it's it's really it's great for your
cats and also of course great for the ecology and
for the environment. So catessentials dot Com, Melissa, thank you
so much, and have a wonderful holiday.
Speaker 1 (21:41):
Thank you so much, Maya you too, Thank you
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