SPRINGFIELD — Who doesn’t love watching a playful cat? The way they wind up their hind legs and… POUNCE!
At 13, Brett Boehme began making and selling cat toys for a school project, and hasn’t had the heart to stop. Not only does he make creative catnip toys, he donates 20% of all profits, “all for the love of cats.”
Two years ago, Boehme’s homeschool group was challenged to create something to sell at their Market Day event. Wanting to make something he’d never tried before, Boehme decided on cat toys. Boehme found some felt, stuffing, and catnip, and with his mom’s help created his first ever cat toy: an orange jelly bean.
Brett Boehme started his own cat toy business that also benefits nonprofits, like at the Patient Pet Advocates fundraiser held last month in Springfield. PHOTOS PROVIDED
Although his cats were a huge fan, Boehme only sold 12 of his toys at the event, so he listed them for sale online. “Everybody loved them,” Boehme said. “So then I had to make more. And then it just became this process of making more cat toys and more cat toys.”
Boehme also sent a cat toy as a gift to one of his favorite online personalities, Hannah Shaw, also known as the Kitten Lady, and she loved it. “She gave me a shout out, and I went from like 300 followers to 3000 overnight,” Boehme said.
Thus NinjaCat’s Toy Factory was born.
Shortly after NinjaCat’s birth, Boehme was on a Christmas vacation and he and his family couldn’t help but notice a hungry kitten loitering around their hotel. They brought the kitten to the front desk and the employee offered to take care of it until they could get it adopted.
This inspired Boehme to use his business to help cat rescues. Boehme donates 20% of everything he sells to a different rescue every month. He has donated to causes as far as Ukraine, as well as all of the local cat rescues, according to Monique Boehme, Boehme’s mom and business partner. The list includes Cat Rescue and Adoption Network (CRAN), Felines Fairygodmother, Patient Pet Advocates, and more. In the first two years of business, Boehme has donated over $5000, he said.
Boehme’s work station, supply stock area, and a basket of the end results. PHOTOS PROVIDED
Last month, Boehme sent his donations to Patient Pet Advocates (PPA). NinjaCat set up a booth at PPA’s annual summer yard sale fundraiser for the second year in a row.
“We were excited to have them back,” said Cynthia Smith, executive director of PPA.
Boehme also began selling merchandise on his website in 2022. “It was something that I always wanted to do,” Boehme said. So as soon as he found Printful, a print-on-demand company, he and Monique began designing.
NinjaCat is continuing to grow. Last summer, Toe Beans and Dreams, a cat cafe in Hawaii, asked Boehme to supply its business with cat toys. Boehme sent an order of 30 custom toys, Monique said, and is currently working with another cat cafe in Missouri.
Although Boehme doesn’t want NinjaCat to be his “main thing,” he does want to keep it going for as long as possible as a hobby. Right now, Boehme is considering a career in building computers, he said. No matter where life takes him, it’s clear that Boehme will continue channeling his creative spirit.
