Today we’d like to introduce you to Jennifer Sharkey.
Hi Jennifer, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I have loved animals all my life, especially cats! When I was a kid, we would sometimes see cats at our cabin, and I would get so excited! There was this one calico cat we often saw; we named her Purry. One day, we heard meowing coming from the shed and found Purry had a litter of kittens. They were so adorable! We took them all home. I was so thrilled we got to keep two of them, and my parents could find homes for the rest of the kittens and Purry. We named the two kittens Cuddles and Ginger. Cuddles was black and white, and he was my cat. Living with cats changed everything for me! I learned so much from them. While growing up, school was hard because I was bullied. I was lucky to have cats to come home to. They always helped me when I felt sad and alone. When Cuddles passed, I was devastated. I still have letters, to this day, that I wrote to him, saying how much I love him and that he was my best friend.
Fast-forward many years, and cats later:
I learned about a cat roaming a neighborhood. I found out that he was thrown out of from home during winter. When his family moved away, I knew I had to help! Long story short, he was added to our family of 4, making 5 cats! A handsome tuxedo that we named Moo.
Over the years, I’ve had many cats with unique personalities, but Moo was different. I’ve never met a cat that was so friendly, personable, funny, and charming. If you’re not a cat person, I think he would change your mind. I was so angry that someone could throw a cat outside, especially unfixed. Sadly, it happens all the time.
Because Moo is so charming, and I was still so upset that he was abandoned, I thought, no better revenge than for Moo to go from street cat to CEO of his own company and be the spokes-cat for stray, feral, and abandoned cats. I want people to know his story and ways they can help make a difference for cats that face this same fate as Moo would have if we had not rescued him.
I was already growing my catnip (Moo always gets so excited when I come in the house from picking some) due to the poor quality that is out there. Catnip in stores always seems to be brown, dry, filled with big sharp stems, fillers, chemicals, and who knows what. I wanted Moo to have a premium, organic alternative to imported, processed catnip. You won’t find a better catnip out there. You don’t have to take my word for it; check out the reviews on his website. We have 100% 5-star reviews! Moo is at the front of the company, answering emails, managing his social media accounts, reaching out to shelters, and making in-purrson donations. His human staff goes to events when he is not able to attend.
We also sell whole catnip leaves, buds, and powder. Over the first year, we expanded to making cat kickers and other handmade toys. I also do seasonal-themed toys with different fun patterns. I have branded merchandise like coffee mugs, stickers, refillable jars for catnip, a Moo calendar, and even an illustrated book about Moo’s story, to help raise awareness about abandoned cats, coming out later this year! I would love to do more books to help educate kids and adults about cat-related topics. We’re also working on catnip tea for humans! Catnip tea has many great benefits, including calming, relaxation, digestive health, mental focus, and more. I have so many ideas. There’s not enough time in the day to make it all happen at once!
His products have shipped to 31 US states, including Canada, Australia, Portugal, Germany, Russia, the UK, Turkey, and France.
Catnip isn’t just always for fun and to get crazy. It’s a great distraction if having to give injections, to more easily administer a shot also, to give before or after medication to help calm. It can also use to help socialize cats with each other and humans. Catnip doesn’t always have a “high” effect. Many cats get calm when they eat catnip versus inhaling it.
Moo joined the cat community on Instagram in 2019 and now has wonderful furriends worldwide. He has 2 Instagram accounts; a personal account for when he’s not working, of him having fun with his roommates, his beloved dolly, hanging out in his catio, going to box pawties, and he loves getting Moo mail from all over the world! His other account is for his business, to post educational materials, helpful cat tips and reminders, upcoming events, fundraisers/donations, and product photos. He has a Himalayan girlfriend in Canada and a little tuxedo brother in New York.
We are honored to have been able to take part in some great events so far. Feline Rescue’s Glitter Ball silent auction, where the proceeds for the auction items we donated helped Feline Rescue and their cats. We were also a proud partner for The Animal Humane Society’s 2022 Walk for Animals, their largest fundraiser. Big Moo’s Catnip was part of their Cat Prize Pack for “Top Walkers,” who raised/donated $500 or more. We have also been invited to an event this fall with Dave Ryan from KDWB. Roger’s Rescue Ride is a motorcycle ride and fundraising event that will benefit Pause 4 Paws, a local fundraising organization that helps cats and dogs.
Moo is also part of the Secret Waffle Club (@secertwaffleclub), a special group of vendors offering waffle-themed gift packs for people to send anonymously to a cat or dog as a random act of kindness. Moo offers a cat pack filled with waffle-themed toys, treats, stickers, and even a treat for the human. It’s gratifying to have someone pick our waffle box to send to a cat to cheer them up or show how much they’re loved.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It hasn’t always been easy or smooth. In 2020, the Postal Service raised stamps and First-Class Shipping rates. We also ship to Canada and other countries, and USPS International increased by quite a bit. But we do our best not to impose those increases on our customers. For several items we ship, we absorb several shipping costs.
Currently, inflation is our biggest issue. People don’t have the extra budget with the economy and gas prices. We also have an advertising roadblock. I am not a marketing or advertising expert, so we rely on paid advertising and word-of-mouth. We attend cat events with local rescues and charities, but that doesn’t always equate to increased traffic. We utilize as much social media as possible, our main driver right now. We’d love to be able to expand our advertising, so if you know of a good marketing person, I’m all ears!
It certainly has been an interesting journey, and we’re not all the way there yet, but I hope I can keep growing, giving back, and providing quality catnip and other products to all Moo’s cat furriends! I hope to educate people about the cat populations in their own cities, actions they can take to help, and the benefits of having a cat as a member of their family! And hope Moo can become a household name to represent all the cats out there who are forgotten about or pushed aside. I’m so proud to have gotten this far.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
Due to the pandemic, I lost my full-time job, so I took this as an opportunity to focus strictly on building Big Moo’s Catnip. We would not be as far or have been able to do all the things we have this year if I was working a full-time job. I am lucky to have had this time right now.
Every job I’ve ever had has prepared me for this role, from customer service to being in the culinary field and working for different corporations. My love for cats and being creative makes this a purrfect fit for me! I’m most proud of the difference Moo has made in his community and other states and countries. From helping cats have more fun, socializing to get ready for adoption, and helping their furriends receive medication without anxiety. It’s a lot of work, but what makes it worth it is reading all of the wonderful reviews and seeing pictures and videos of cats having fun; one of the coolest things is that a teacher in Atlanta, GA. I loved my Ukrainian Big Moo stickers; she had her students earn them, and getting one was a big deal! She also had a Moo drawing contest with her students. I loved this so much that we made some special Big Moo stickers just for her class, and now I sell them as a teacher pack for other teachers to inspire their students and have a fun reward for doing a great job! I received pictures of all their drawings of Moo. They’re all so cute!
What sets me apart from all the other small cat businesses is that my catnip is 100% organic and hand-processed. My catnip is green and very potent. So many others out there source their catnip from a big company or farm in large quantities and just put their label on it. Being a “small batch” allows for the entire process for Big Moo’s Catnip to be done by hand, with no machines, no dryers, and no chemicals. It’s a labor of love! I also really care about my products and all the cats that try them.
Moo’s mission is to give back to the community and shelters in need. He hosted a couple of fundraisers; “Donate to Ukraine, Get a Cat Toy,” – which benefits Sirius, the largest animal shelter in Kyiv, Ukraine. You can choose an amount you’d like to donate; in return, you get a handmade Ukrainian flag cat toy. So far, we’ve raised over $3,400! Moo was even featured in a news outlet in Washington about his efforts to help animals in Ukraine. He also has a furriend in Turkey, Tosun, living on the streets. He is suffering from FIP (Coronavirus for cats). FIP is very expensive to treat, and the medication is hard to get, so Moo is trying to help by giving all proceeds from an item on his website that will help with the cost of his treatments.
It’s important to Moo that a portion of proceeds from all sales on his website are donated to a shelter at the end of the year. There are also specific products on the website that can be purchased to be donated. Moo has made some in-purrson donations to Feline Rescue and The Animal Humane Society. He has also donated items to SCRAM Animal Rescue and a private cat foster. Moo also donates toys to a cat café, Kitty Cantina, in Spokane, WA, so each adopted cat gets a toy to go home with. We hope and would love to be able to donate more often to shelters and hopefully even shelters in other states.
Moo’s old neighborhood had a large feral cat colony, so we have TNR’d (Trap/Neuter/Return) over 30 cats and kittens to help control the cat population. The 14 kittens we trapped were all adopted through the Animal Humane Society. They offer a great program, and it’s easy to get involved! Moo also wants to help other cats get off the street and into their forever home, as he has now.
The crisis has affected us all in different ways. How has it affected you, and any important lessons or epiphanies you can share with us?
We launched Big Moo’s Catnip right before the pandemic hit, so I don’t know if there was a big impact on the business. There were events we planned to do in 2020 that were canceled. I would guess that the pandemic impacted that we couldn’t get out there as much as we would have without it.
Contact Info:
- Website: bigmooscatnip.com
- Instagram: @bigmooscatnip
- Facebook: @bigmooscatnip
- Other: @big_moo_and_friends
Image Credits
Big Moo Logo – Dan Biesel