Brad Kronlund makes the kind of trees you’d want your cat to climb. What started as a simple cardboard tunnel system held together with duct tape has grown into Custom Cat Cribs, a booming business that now creates two-metre-tall castles, garden homes, haunted graveyards and jungle paradises for cats.
Kronlund has always loved cats, and after his dad saw the homemade cat tunnel he made when he was just 15, he suggested Kronlund start making cat trees. The idea immediately clicked for him, and he purchased a few two-by-fours and built his first tree.
“It was not a great looking cat tree,” he says, “but I was very proud of it.”
He made a few more trees and advertised them on Kijiji and Facebook and, to his surprise, there was a huge demand for them. Although he received help from his dad initially, Kronlund’s construction skills are all self-taught and it didn’t take long before he began to add intricate details and make improvements to his initial designs.
“I was 15 and had nothing but time,” he explains, “so I was able to get really creative with them, and it was just fun for me.”
And, while many students might go to college to learn how to run their business, Kronlund had been running Custom Cat Cribs for four years before he entered the Business Administration program at then-Lethbridge College. He credits his time at the institution with helping him learn how to network and make connections in the local business community.
“Because of networking I have a really good bookkeeper now,” says Kronlund. “My former instructors provided good business advice and the marketing classes helped as I grew my business and began launching advertising campaigns.”
Although he’s based in Lethbridge, most of the business for Custom Cat Cribs comes from outside the city. Kronlund began shipping his cat trees across Canada in 2020; a year later he was shipping them to the United States. The models range in height and price, although the sky is the limit for the custom elite models, which allow Kronlund to let his creativity flow as he brings his customers’ ideas to life – be it a jungle scene complete with fabric tiki torches, or a castle fit for feline royalty.
“I consider each one a piece of art,” says Kronlund. And, with nearly 200,000 followers on TikTok, cat lovers around the world can now see his work.
His success has allowed him to hire two human employees, but no product can go out the door without being approved by his feline product testers, Leroy (or Roy) and Zipporah (or Zippy), who can attest to the comfort, durability and nap-ability of each tree.
Kronlund has produced more than 2,000 pieces of cat furniture in the 10 years he’s been in business and says “a busy day is a successful day.” He is now selling Custom Cat Boxes, a bi-monthly subscription box filled with cat toys, treats and even a few items for humans.
As for what keeps him motivated every day, he credits his customers and his own pride in his work. “When I drop off a cat tree, you can tell it just made the customer’s whole day,” he says. “Those are the moments that make it all worth it.”
See more of Kronlund’s work at www.customcatcribs.com.
