Of Felines And Funding

Agriculture & foodtech • Artificial intelligence • Startups • Venture

Of Felines And Funding

November 14, 2023

Joanna Glasner

Over the years, venture capitalists have poured billions into pet-focused startups. But what about cats, specifically? Cat people want to know.

As it turns out, feline-focused startups receive far less funding than those targeting the canine crowd, 附近上门 data reveals. A large portion of funding also goes to more generic pet startups, which market to households with dogs, cats and other critters.

So, who鈥檚 betting big on cats? , we put together a list of 11 companies funded in roughly the past couple years with a full or major focus on felines.

Altogether, they鈥檝e pulled in nearly $140 million for offerings ranging from human-grade cat food to microbiome-based supplements to an AI-enabled movement-tracking collar.

Full bellies

Next-gen cat food comprises the largest segment. Here, the biggest funding recipient is , a meaty, grain-free brand that markets under the catchphrase: 鈥淐arnivores don鈥檛 eat kibble.鈥� The London-based startup has pulled in $28 million to date for flash-frozen meals it claims can reduce hairballs, enhance energy and even produce less stinky poop.

Celebrity chef also has a startup, , named for his orange Maine Coone cat, Nacho, which landed $14 million in a Series A last year. In addition to pet duties, Nacho served 1聽as 鈥渃hief taste tester鈥� for the company, which only mass-produced recipes he liked.

The other large funding recipient is , which makes ultra-high-protein, human-grade food customized to an individual cat鈥檚 tastes. The New York company picked up $19 million in March.

Health, fun and surveillance

Now that your cats are well-sated with some premium carnivorous eats, it鈥檚 time to teach them to talk.

Right now, you may be thinking: What??? But seriously, this what seed-funded suggests you attempt with your cat or dog using its recordable talking buttons, aimed at providing a communications bridge between pets and pet parents.

Or perhaps you鈥檇 rather surveil your cats from a distance. To help, Japanese startup has raised over $13 million for a product called the 鈥淐atlog.鈥�

The offering consists of an app paired with a sensor-laden collar that lets you know what your cats are doing even when you鈥檙e away from home. (Spoiler: It鈥檚 a safe bet they are sleeping, grooming, staring out the window, or clawing the furniture.) Customers can also purchase a device for under the litter box that tracks cats鈥� activities there and monitors their weight.

For those worried about the state of their pet鈥檚 microbiome, meanwhile, there are products for that. Oakland-based has raised over $12 million for cat and dog supplements aimed at restoring a healthy gut.

A growth market

The target market for cat products is rather vast. U.S. households alone are to house more than 58 million cats. Globally, the population is in the hundreds of millions.

Cat lovers in many countries have also shown a willingness to shell out for their pets. Spending on pets surged during the pandemic, as did venture funding for pet-focused startups. Data indicates we aren鈥檛 scaling back, either.

The percentage of American households with cats has actually , even after聽 pandemic restrictions waned. Perhaps it helps that even if we鈥檙e at home less, cats are pretty content to be on their own.

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