MEET THE PEOPLE BEHIND THE BRANDS
THE FUTURE IS YOURS TO CREATE. WE CAN HELP YOU DO IT. A new resort concept for cats. By Christina Huang
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Happy Cat Hotel & Spa franchise is a premier, world-class care facility designed and engineered exclusively for cats. Happy Cat Hotels & Spas are boutiques, that is, quiet, serene environments that allow you every opportunity to immerse yourself in a hands-on cat experience while growing a successful business.
We recently learned more about Chris’ and Happy Cat's journey. Could you tell us about yourself and how long you have been doing business? I’m 41, a Connecticut native, though my wife and I spent a few years in Colorado in the mid-2000s. We have two children, a 5-yearold named Jude and a one-year-old named Etta. We’ve been in business with Happy Cat Hotels since 2014. The flagship location
was founded then, and the franchise company founded in 2020. Prior to that, we owned another pet-care service business, more focused on dogs but with pets of all kinds. We owned that for 14 years, employing at its peak about 20 people, and finally selling it last year. I’ve managed in the restaurant and construction industries and have always worked for or owned small businesses. What attracted you to the line of work you're in, and how did you get started? I’ve always loved animals—a trait I surely inherited from my mom. So when it came time to leave the workforce and start my own thing—a trait I surely inherited from my dad—it was in service to animals and their humans. We started an animal care service that was primarily dog centric, but when it wasn’t, it helped us realize taking care of cats was a bit more complex than we had anticipated. We realized that the traditional means and approach did not always correlate with the best results, which we define as enriched, relaxed, and happy. We knew there
18 FRANCHISE CONNECT | MAR-APR 2021