It’s naturally purrfect!
Gayan and Melanie with some members of their extended family
The couple who first met at Elizabeth Moir School in their teens debuted Kuppameniya online at the end of last year. Gayan, a sports teacher and Melanie, a physiotherapist based their brand on their love for animals and a want to ‘give back to the animals of Sri Lanka’ by contributing to their welfare in any way they can. Deciding the best way was by adopting an eco-friendly approach, they chose the name Kuppameniya for their brand, to reflect their green concept. As Melanie explains, cats are strongly attracted to the root of the local herb, a type of catnip.
Creating safe and natural products that animals will respond to as strongly as cats are drawn to kuppameniya is their goal.
The duo first realized how sensitive animals can be to synthetic materials when noting how their own cats wouldn’t respond favourably to the toys bought for them. Gayan says something as simple as the smell of the product can be enough to drive an animal away from it. Their biggest concern though, was safety. The harm caused from an animal swallowing plastic, rubber or other synthetic materials can be irreparable.
This is why Kuppameniya only uses recycled, natural and unprocessed materials such as organic cottons, upcycled fabrics, jute and coconut fibres ( the latter which also acts as a teeth cleaner when chewed by animals) and unbleached cotton. For instance, one of their items uses seeds to create a rattle instead of metal beads. In the event the toy breaks, the seeds won’t cause any harm to the animal and can even be planted. Another of their products uses repurposed wood from tree trimmings to create cat scratch poles. “This way we are able to give a second life to the trees,” says Gayan.
Kuppameniya “doesn’t cut to make. We use what we have,” says Gayan, explaining that the timber is acquired from people who have discarded trimmings after regular garden work. Certain products are also infused with dried kuppameniya. Customers can choose if they’d like their products with the kuppameniya which is grown, hand dried and prepared by Gayan and Melanie themselves at home.
Used to receiving feedback from happy customers, one standout response they didn’t anticipate was from a customer whose cat suffered from weak hind legs. She told them how she was able to use one of their products, the cat bone, to rehabilitate her pet. This item is made of coconut fibre with a string attached to it to encourage cats to play with it. Chasing it around regularly helped her cat to strengthen its legs.
Eager to help other animals with special requirements, Kuppameniya also accepts customized orders on certain products. Gayan recalled how he made one of Kuppameniya’s beds for a dog with three legs. While it might not seem like a completely unusual order, it required Gayan to make several adjustments to the bed to make the dog comfortable and address vulnerable areas by giving the dog extra support for its joints and avoid irritating its body as the dog had previously suffered from sores caused by lying on its side. Kuppameniya also ships internationally. Most recently they shipped a dog bed to England for a 13-year-old dog. “Since it’s a Sri Lankan made dog bed, it’s nice to be able to represent the country through a product as well,” says Melanie.
Anyone looking through Kuppameniya’s products will quickly become fondly familiar with the brand’s models, Gayan and Melanie’s ‘fur babies’, cats Othello and Gingy and dogs Koko and Beauty. The couple shared that all of their animals were adopted. “All our pets are strays. It’s like a potluck, you don’t know what kind of character you’re going to get but they’re so hardy and so loving,” says Melanie. As the owners of these pampered cats and dogs, Gayan says, “we feel that owning a pet is a kind of lifestyle. It’s a commitment.” Adds Melanie, “It’s a responsibility that we’ve taken on but we wouldn’t do it any differently.”
You must assume that responsibility only when you are able to, Melanie and Gayan stress. It’s a message they want to share with anyone interested in becoming a pet owner – that responsibility cannot be substituted when it comes to caring for an animal. “They need to fit your lifestyle,” says Gayan about a new pet. “You can’t have a dog and be someone who’s never at home. You need to be able to walk it, take it out, care for it and give it a life.”
Kuppameniya’s products are delivered by Gayan and Melanie themselves while following health and safety precautions. Lucky customers can also look forward to the chance of meeting their dog, Beauty who loves tagging along for the ride with his owners.
Follow Kuppameniya on Instagram and Facebook @kuppameniya
Or visit their website
www.kuppameniya.com
