Around 3 years back, my girlfriend and I welcomed a new member to our household - Gorba, our first cat (iPad for scale). What followed was a delightful realization: playtime was essential for a new kitten, and our play sessions were genuine bonding experiences. Gorba had a quirky habit of snuggling up with the person who had engaged with him the most. And yes, we'd occasionally find ourselves playfully arguing about who got the next playdate, purely due to our affection for this cuddly companion.
But here's the twist: who knew cats could devour cat toys so swiftly?!
Gorba wasn't the wildest kitty around (Tolstoy, the second addition, took that title), yet he managed to dismantle most toys within days or weeks. This wasn't just an unexpected hit on our wallet (because really, who could resist buying new toys for our furry friend?), but it also opened our eyes to the fragility and wastefulness of typical cat toys. Some practically disintegrated the moment they met Gorba's paws.
Both Petra and I had a background in mechanical engineering and even though we weren't your typical gearheads we did understand that not everything is made equal. Some items are crafted for fleeting use, destined to break and be discarded, while others are built to withstand the test of time.
Surely, there had to be durable cat toys out there, right?
Well, not quite.
We ventured into the world of cat toys, testing out numerous options. Some caught our fancy, but only a select few piqued Gorba's interest. What we discovered was that Gorba had a soft spot for all things that glittered, crinkled, and of course, feathers. In his kitten days, his favorite pastime involved sprinting across the barely furnished apartment on our oversized rug – up, down, left, and right – in hot pursuit of a feather bouquet and silver strips dangling from a long rod. With the rod allowing precise control over his prey's movement, we had him engaged and amused. Yet, the rod was rather flimsy, and Gorba would eventually outmaneuver it.
As the feathers fell apart and the silver strips met their demise from his sharp claws, we found ourselves facing a predicament. We were left with a plastic rod adorned with glue, tape, and remnants of feathers, no longer a source of enjoyment for anyone.
It dawned on us that there had to be a way to create better cat toys. But initially, we brushed the idea aside, replacing Gorba's worn-out stick with a new one from the store.
Time passed, and one day, we found ourselves at the recycling station. In our bag of disposables, we stumbled upon Gorba's discarded plastic rods. That's when we voiced our musings: "Someone should make cat toys that last," "Can't be that hard, right?" and "This is just wasteful."
As evening fell, we decided to take matters into our own hands. We resolved to craft a durable cat toy ourselves. Our rationale? "How hard could it be?" and "someone has to, why not us?".
And thus, the seeds of what we would later name "repounce" were sown that very evening.