“This mischievous guy is Ollie. I was driving along the Kuala Lumpur Middle Ring Road 2 (MRR2) highway and there he was, a wee little thing caught right in the middle of the highway. I stopped my car, scooped him up and brought him home.”
“The original plan was to foster him but my husband and I fell in love with him. In fact, he’s the CEO of Three Kats. My two others Bambi and Batik meanwhile are the head of marketing and head of human resources,” chuckled the 26-year-old.
According to Yasmin, the idea behind Three Kats came about last year in March during the first MCO when residents of her condominium demanded the management take action against the number of stray cats roaming freely in the compound.
Worried sick about their fate, Yasmin cooked up a plan — to spay each and every one of the female cats and find them forever homes.
While the plan was good in theory, the actual process of rehoming was tough. So, to sweeten the deal, each adopted cat is sent to its forever home with a batch of cat-friendly cupcakes and biscuits.
Yasmin laughs, adding that while others were whipping up Dalgona coffees and banana cakes to beat the boredom of the MCO, she was busy baking batches of cupcakes for cats.
“I also sold the cat treats to fund the vaccination and spaying effort. This is because each time a cat gives birth, which is usually four to five kittens — every one needs to be vaccinated, then spayed before they are rehomed.
“We had cases in the past where the owners did not bring the cats back to be spayed. So now, I make sure the spaying is done before rehoming.”
Apart from baking cat treats, Yasmin crafts cat trees as well for sale. However, the second MCO early this year disrupted this endeavour. Apart from a shortage of building materials, travel restrictions made it tough for her to deliver the products to her customers.
“Cat trees often come with toys attached to them that encourage cats to jump, play and scratch so I began to crochet cat toys.
“The first-ever crocheted toy was given to Ollie and he went absolutely nuts for it,” smiles Yasmin, adding that crocheting was something completely new to her then.
Now, Yasmin crochets more than just cat toys. She’ll crochet just about anything you request for — headbands, sling bags, blankets, earrings, kitty-shaped coasters, table runners – just name it and she’ll figure out a way to crochet it.
“If my customer loves the product, then I’ll sell it but in a different colour. I never restock the same yarn colour so it’s always different even for the cat toys — no two are alike.”
Three Kats also works with Winners Pet Plaza, a pet store in Taman Tun Dr Ismail, to help rehome stray cats they find.
Besides posting pictures of the stray on various adoption sites, Yasmin uses the proceeds from Three Kats to fund the spaying and vaccination of the animal.
“If the price of the ratchet cat balls is RM12, RM2 goes to the yarn. The rest go completely towards the vaccination and spaying of the cats. In total, we have rescued, spayed and vaccinated 16 cats and three dogs.”
Since she is a certified veterinarian, Yasmin also deworms, defleas and cleans any wounds on the strays before they are put up for adoption.
But this veterinarian hopes to hang up her stethoscope for good someday and focus on expanding Three Kats’s business instead.
“I never had the dream of opening my own clinic. Instead, I want to help more stray animals out there. I plan on meeting other pet shop owners who can hopefully provide food packages to be inserted in the care package when adopting a cat.”
Since crocheting is pretty labour-intensive, Yasmin plans on recruiting single mums in her neighbourhood to help with the increasing volume of orders.
Troubled by the increasing stray population in the country, Yasmin hopes to spread awareness on the importance of spaying and neutering.
“There are many people who still refuse to spay their pets. Little do they know animals that are spayed or neutered are known to live longer than their intact counterparts. They are also healthier and happier, and experience less stress and discomfort.”
Interested to purchase a catnip toy for your furry best friend? Or keen on owning some adorable kitty coasters, blankets and delicious homemade cat cupcakes?
You can help support the Three Kats rehoming efforts by checking out their Instagram page or contacting Yasmin at 017 8331130.