Making Cat Beds in 2020 and Our New 2021 Fabric Selections

What happened to our cat bed inventory?

Here we are, just days before Christmas and Winter 2020 has started and our cat bed company is nearly sold out of cat beds! What happened, and when are we getting more? 

It was hard to get fabric

We started making face masks early in 2020, working with fabrics that we had on hand. Making face masks kept us busy but the big thing thing that interrupted making cat beds (and face masks) was getting fabric. The fabric suppliers we work with had to close their warehouses, eventually reopening with limited staff so they could practice social distancing. As a result, all of them had shipping delays. Almost all of the cotton quilting fabric is printed in an Asian country (South Korea, for example) and international shipping was delayed, as were the importing and unloading processes. Every delay simply compounded, creating huge warehouse backlogs, and it got really hard for us to buy fabric in the quantities that we need for manufacturing our cat beds, and for getting new, fun fabrics to make face masks. 

We made our Cat Canoe® and Cat Ball® cat beds as normally as we could over the year, and also "got discovered" by new local mom and pop boutique pet shops around the country, so more people were able to see the nice fabrics we use to make our modern cat beds in person. The increased wholesale activity did reduce the inventory available in our online stores.

All of the face masks!

Let's backtrack to face masks for a moment before getting into our cat bed plans for 2021. We first developed a classic contour face mask design and made it in a size large. We then started to add an adjustable behind the head elastic option, which many people prefer if they wear glasses and/or hearing aids. 

We then added two more sizes, Medium for pre-teens to women, and Small for kids ages 4-10. We can add the adjustable behind head elastics to these masks. 

After wearing face masks myself for a few months I wanted to make some improvements, so I designed a new option (I went to school for pattern making and Apparel Design). This new face mask is reversible and is made so the two components most likely to break or cause problems, the nose wire and the headband, can be replaced. We have made the reversible face mask in size medium and size large, but the flexibility of fit will allow many people to wear either size. 

What are the plans for cat beds? 

We are cutting fabrics for 5 new Cat Ball® cat beds in January 2021 and will have some beds ready by late January to early February. Here is what we are working on, the top fabric swatch will be the shell fabric and the bottom swatch is the lining fabric. 

Fabric swatches for our upcoming "Purple Cats" Cat Ball® cat bed

Fabric swatches for our upcoming navy blue tile fabrics Cat Ball® cat bed

Got Anything Else Planned?

We are currently working on cat sleeping mats that will be made of luxury faux fur and cotton fabrics. These mats would be able to be used on their own or also with our Cat Ball® cat bed. The design will be like a slipcover or pillowcase, so you can adjust the fill material, adding a pillow or sheet of foam, or slip in a heating pad. Here is a photo of the prototypes:

Cat sleeping mats made with super soft luxury faux fur. The bottom is made with cotton. We are working on photos for other fabric options now.