The Feline Club of India– Creating activities with a ‘paw’sitive impact

Growth in popularity means growth in cat market

The increase in the cat population has brought a change in the market as well, with an increasing number of products catering to cats being introduced to the Indian market which is dominated by dog products. The cat food market alone was worth INR 663 million in 2013 which has risen to INR 1320 million in 2019. With A record growth of 95.8%. This segment is estimated to rise to INR 2590 million by 2024.

We also saw many new brands of cat food being launched in the market and even the established brands bringing in new variants specific to breeds, age, and health conditions of cats. Cat-specific products, services, and dedicated cat zones in pet shops are becoming more and more visible across cities. Special cat clinics have come up in a number of cities. This is a great time to nurture and shape the cat fancy in India and FCI through its efforts intends to impact it in a positive way.

Reminiscing the memories of 2022

The year 2022 has come to an end, it has been an eventful year for us and our cat community. The year has been full of new challenges and opportunities, lots of learning, team building and networking, and making our FCI family bigger and stronger. FCI successfully conducted 49 events in 2022 that included registration drives, feline conventions, and championship cat shows. The events were spread across 21 cities across the country.

A year full of cat shows

The show season started with Kolhapur on the 27th March 2022. Kolhapur has developed into an important city for cats in India with some of the best cats in shows. This was followed by our flagship show in Mumbai, which is the biggest cat show in Asia on sheer scale of the show and the cat count, with overwhelming participation from the industry. FCI was part of the first Petgala in Bengaluru – a gathering that celebrated pets and pet lovers. It was a successful event that left a huge impact on the Bengaluru event scene.

FCI was also part of the second edition of Petgala that happened in Pune, which was yet again a success. Pune was also the first FCI show to have 4 international judges judging in 4 rings. Other show cities this year were Hyderabad, Belagavi and Bhopal. Hyderabad was a huge show like our previous shows in the city. Belagavi was a new addition to show cities and surprised many with the participation and turn out of cat parents and cat lovers. The last show of the calendar year was Bhopal, a city with a growing cat population and cat hub of central India.

Registration Drives and Feline Conventions

After a break to the registration drives and feline conventions due to Covid restrictions there was a tremendous demand for them from cat parents across India. We hosted 21 registration drives and 21 feline conventions starting with Hubli and Shivamogga on the 1st and 2nd of January 2022. This year we decided to reach out to more and more unexplored cat markets even in Tier II and Tier III cities as these cat parents are lacking in the knowledge of cat keeping, health and basic hygiene. New cities like Mysuru, Dharwad, Coimbatore, Chennai, Prayagraj, Lucknow, Dombivli, Aurangabad, Ahmedabad, Belagavi etc were explored and saw a great response to new cat registrations. Along with these cities some other cities like Hyderabad, Pune, Delhi, Bengaluru, Bhopal, Indore, etc were revisited. Feline conventions were held in all these cities with prominent veterinarians addressing the cat parents in cat related topics.

The world of going online, and so are we

Over the years FCI family has grown not just in the physical world but also in the virtual world of social media, with reach and engagement going in millions for our online events and campaigns. Our social media is also a great and easy way for cat parents to keep themselves updated about FCI events, connecting and engaging with us. Since Covid lockdown we strive to find creative ways to keep cat parents active with us, be online webinars with experts, celebrity interactions, interactions with cat parents and children to celebrate the joy of cat keeping, the first-of-its-kind Live Virtual cat show, online contests etc.

Going ahead with Grooming School Drive

FCI hosted a first Grooming school drive in three locations with the acclaimed cat groomer Mr. Fadly Fuad from Indonesia. The certification grooming school was conducted in Kolhapur, Mumbai, and Delhi with hands-on training to the attendees. Live demonstration in dry and wet grooming on short coat and long coat cats was carried out during the one-day session in each of the cities.

World Cat Day celebrations

Each year the city wise club of FCI comes together to celebrate World cat day on 8th August. Various activities are carried out by the respected clubs under the FCI banner like small get together of cat parents, expert talk, donating food to local animal shelters, free vaccination and health check-up drives etc. This is a great opportunity to create a feeling of community and work towards the betterment of cats in general.

Collab for success

We are thankful and enjoyed working with team Dogs & Pups and Cats & Kittens. Your insights have helped us understand the market and plan our events more effectively. And your special stories from top breeders and vets are helping our cat pet parents and enhancing their experience with their pets. We are eagerly looking forward to an eventful year 2023 with a power packed line-up of events, new cities, and new collaborations.

(S. Kranthi is Brand Head, Feline Club of India).