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Owning the Cat Training Category — Together

Pupford brings the education engine and the talent. Petco brings the reach, the stores, and the cat parents.

Powered by Pupford
Kitrs x Petco 01 / 04

Cat is quietly (or loudly?) winning the pet category.

Ownership is rising, spend per cat is rising, and treats are where it’s showing up first.

74M+
U.S. cat-owning households
Cat ownership has outpaced dog growth since 2022.
~11%
Cat treat category YoY growth
Outpacing dog treats (~6%) over the last 3 years.
65%
Cat parents who treat daily
Yet most still reach for low-quality, carb-heavy options.
The Gap
Cat training content is a near-empty category
Demand is real. Trusted education barely exists. Petco can own this space.
The Opportunity
First-mover wins in emerging categories
Pupford built the #1 dog training education platform. We’re doing it again for cats — with Kitrs and Petco.
Sources: APPA Pet Owners Survey; Packaged Facts; Nielsen pet treat category panel (directional).
Kitrs x Petco 02 / 04

The talent: Nick Franco, The Pain-Free Pet Trainer.

A positive-reinforcement trainer with proven reach, high engagement, and the exact pet-parent audience we need.

NF

Nick Franco — @thepainfreepettrainer

A longtime Pupford collaborator whose short-form training content consistently goes viral. Already aligned on positive-reinforcement methodology and ready to extend the playbook to cats.

TTTikTok YTYouTube IGInstagram
~197K
TikTok followers
est. — Sept 2026
~115K
Avg. TikTok views / video
est.
~10.2%
TikTok engagement rate
est. — 3–4× industry avg.
~175M
Lifetime YouTube views
Sept 2026
Viral breakouts

Individual videos: ~9.9M, ~6.6M, and ~5.1M views (est.). Combined with YouTube, well over 200 million views across platforms.

200M+
Combined platform views (est.) — across YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram. The reach is already there. We just need to point it at cats.
Sources: public platform analytics, Sept 2026. Figures marked est. are third-party estimates pending first-party verification.
Kitrs x Petco 03 / 04

Let’s co-create: production, distribution & conversion.

We’re not arriving with a locked plan. The best version of this gets built with Petco. Here’s what we’d love to explore:

Production
  • What format and episode length fits Petco’s brand?
  • Shot in Petco stores, a studio, or real cat homes?
  • Petco-branded, Kitrs-branded, or co-branded?
  • What role for Petco’s own pet experts?
Distribution
  • Petco.com, app, email, or in-store screens?
  • How do Nick’s and Petco’s channels amplify each other?
  • Is there a role for Vital Care / loyalty?
  • Paid amplification — worth testing and where?
Conversion & Measurement
  • Which products / endcaps should each episode point to?
  • What does success look like — views, basket lift?
  • How do we attribute content to sales?
  • What makes a pilot worth scaling?
DiscoverShort-form reaches cat parents
LearnFree, trusted education
PracticeTraining needs treats & tools
BuyPetco is the natural next step
ReturnEach skill restarts the loop

Let’s own cat training together.

Pupford brings the education engine, Nick Franco, and Kitrs. Petco brings the reach, the stores, and the cat parents. We’d love to workshop this with your team.

Kitrs x Petco — cat training content concept · prepared for discussion
Kitrs x Petco 04 / 04
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