Tuesday, November 1, 2016

Supplier Spotlight: K&H Manufacturing

K&H's Kitty Sill, available heated or unheated

Supplier Spotlight: K&H Manufacturing


Old Maid Cat Lady has been around for more than six years, and in that time we've acquired over sixty suppliers! This fall, we're introducing you to several of them with an in-depth look at those suppliers and their products.

This time we take a look at K&H Manufacturing, who's been one of our suppliers since our first year. While other companies have come and gone, K&H has consistently been a reliable source of high quality heated and non-heated products for cats. Despite selling a great number of products, the company is still family-owned and relatively small.

Based in Colorado, K&H has been around for more than 40 years. They're actually the originator of heated products for pets! K&H's Lectro Kennel has been on the market since the company's founding. It comes in both regular and Deluxe models. Made for cats, dogs, and even birds, each product is designed by the company's founder and president James Koskey. 

K&H's Thermo-Kitty Bed, available in two sizes & colors


K&H: Meeting Cats' Needs

One of K&H's best sellers in winter is the Thermo Kitty Bed. Cats have a natural body temperature that is slightly higher than a human's, so a room that may seem only slightly chilly to us feels much colder to them. This bed warms to 10-15 degrees higher than the ambient air temperature. With a washable cover and orthopedic foam base, it's understandable why it's so popular! It comes in Sage (green) or Mocha (brown), both with a tan interior.

Not all kitties are lucky enough to have indoor homes in winter. One of Old Maid Cat Lady's customers ordered two of the warmers for his outdoor cats that are semi-feral, to put in some wooden shelters he'd built for them. They were so popular he ordered two more the next week! He sent us the photo below of the cats enjoying them on a chilly fall morning.

Outdoor cats enjoying a chilly night on their Lectro-Soft heated beds

K&H's Thermal Bowl was designed to hold water for outdoor animals, but requests from people who feed colonies of feral and community cats led them to develop the Thermo-Kitty Café, shown below. It's great for keeping cats' wet food from freezing in winter. Thanks to K&H, there's no need for your outdoor cats to do without their wet food in cold-weather months!

Thermo-Kitty Cafe keeps both water and wet food from freezing outdoors

K&H: Tested for Cats' Safety

One of K&H's great points of pride is how well its products are tested to be safe for our feline companions. You've likely heard of UL testing for electronic products, but K&H uses the MET Laboratories guidelines. MET was the nation's first Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratory (NRTL) for product safety certification. They currently have OSHA approval to test over 180 UL standards categories, plus tests 230+ additional standards.

What does this all mean for you and your cats? Safer, longer-lasting, higher quality products than those from other companies that try to imitate K&H. Almost all of the knock-offs are untested for safety. Always check for that certification: it costs a lot for a company to get it, but K&H feels that you and your cats are worth the extra investment. They go above and beyond the minimum standards for testing.

If you'd like to know more about MET product testing, here's a guideline that more completely spells out the differences between it and UL testing.

Now that the weather's colder all over the US, when you're shopping for your cats this holiday season, why not get kitty something to warm the body as well as the heart? (Sorry, but Old Maid Cat Lady is no longer in business selling these items.)