4 min read

Petpreneur Interview: Madeline, Saskia & Stefi want to rescue stray cats.

STRAYZ: Help by feeding your cat.

1. Can you tell us a bit about yourselves?

We are Madeline, Saskia & Stefi. We’ve met while working for a successful food start-up in Berlin. In November 2020 we decided to found our own company and to live our dream - our social petfood start-up STRAYZ.

2. Why did you decide to found Strayz? How did you get started?

Madeline is our crazy cat lady. On her vacation in 2019 she almost bursted out in tears because she could not save all of the stray cats she met during her trip. Back in Germany she told Saskia & Stefi about her experience and together we came up with a solution, to help street cats worldwide.

3. What is the vision behind Strayz? What does "STRAYZ with Pur(r)pose" mean?

With STRAYZ we want to improve the lives of all stray cats. By selling our organic premium cat food as well as our fashion items with cattitude we collect donations for street cats. As an example one of our cat food pouches donates a meal for a stay cat and our sweater is financing the costs of neutering a kitty cat. We are a pur(r)pose driven company which means that we don’t want to be the best company of the world, but the best company for

the world.

4. Please tell us a bit about your products. Why do you recommend them to cat owners?

While working on our cat food it was our first priority to create a product that is really suited for cats. There is a lot of cat food on the market containing sugar, grains and almost no meat at all risking the health of cats. Our wet food pouches are free of grains & sugar, they contain 95 % meat and are of course organic.

5. Can you tell us a bit about the stray cat rescue & donation process?

With our collected donations we support animal welfare organisations worldwide. The first organisations we are currently supporting are Street Cats Rescue in Spain as well as PAWS in Greece. The two of them feed more than 500 cats every day, run neutering programs and home their kittycats. A whole lot of work - that’s why they heavily depend on donations.

6. Do you have pets?

Sassi and Madeline are completely in love with their pets. Madelines cat Karlii is 10 years old. She loves to cuddle and could sleep on Madelines lap the entire day. She really hates other cats because she is a tiny diva.

Madeline would love to home another cat but this is simply not possible. 😿

Emmy is Sassis rescue doggo. The playful little cutiepie is 6 years old and also loves the taste of STRAYZ. At the moment she is desperately waiting for STRAYZ dog food.

Karlii

Emmy

7. What do you like most about your work?

What we love most about our work is that we are able to fulfill our dream with STRAYZ. Let’s face it, there can be no better job than working for the wellbeing of our tiny pawsome friends. 😻

In addition we really like to build a company from the ground based on our own values.

8. Do you consider yourselves Crazy-Cat-Ladies?

Madeline is our crazy cat lady for sure. When we worked together before her desk was always covered with pictures of cats and her pink crazy cat lady mug. Our colleagues even called her cat lady.

9. Which is your favourite place in Berlin?

Madeline: My favorite place in Berlin is the Siemenssteg which is a beautiful old bridge. From there you have a nice view over the Spree and a very pretty old industrial building.

Stefi: Every day I discover picturesque and unique places in Berlin which makes it really difficult to point out this one favorite spot. But all the small independent movie theaters are definitely on the top of my list, such as the Zukunft am Ostkreuz with the cutest open-air cinema in Berlin.

Saskia: One of my favorite place is the Holzmarkt, as it is located directly at the water and beautifully designed. I can also highly recommend Thaiwiese during summer time, it offers great selection of food and feels like a short trip to Thailand itself. In general I love Berlin for the different places it offers to experience the inspiring culture of different nations.

10. Which saying best describes your life-motto?

“Cuddling a cat a day keeps the worries away.”

- STRAYZ 💞

11. What or who is your greatest inspiration?

Cats really inspire us. They are direct, honest and always true to themselves. These characteristics and values are super important to us and the way we work.

12. Are there any accounts, books or blogs that you recommend to animal lovers and pet owners?

We are simply in love with the Instagram account @lieblingsmadchen. Funny cat content & amazing interior ideas guaranteed.

13. Do you have any special plans for Strayz this year (2021)?

In 2021 we would love to support at least one more animal welfare organisation with STRAYZ. We would also love to create new products and to build a strong community in order to save more street cats.

14. Where do you see yourselves in 5 years?

We would love to add dog food to our portfolio within the next 5 years. That way we can support even more animals in need. We also want to work on sustainable packaging solutions and are also dreaming about founding our own animal welfare organisation in the future.

15. What is the best advice you can give to cat owners?

The biggest advice we can give cat owners is that they should always check the ingredients of their cat food. Most of the mainstream cat food products contain creepy things that are not beneficial for cats' health. In our opinion cat food should be free of sugar, should contain more than 70 % meat & few or better no grains at all.