A shop that looks charitable and never quite says otherwise is relying on you not to check.
The plain facts
The Cat Kind is a commercial business. Your purchase is not a tax-deductible donation. We are not registered as a charity, we have no board, and we are not subject to charity reporting obligations.
So what is the contribution?
A published commitment: a fixed amount set aside from every eligible item, held from the day you order, spent on food we put down ourselves. It is a promise with a number attached — enforceable the way any advertised promise is — and it is not a donation you made.
Why not become a charity?
Because doing it badly is worse than not doing it. A registered charity is a serious legal structure with governance and reporting attached. We can sell jewellery well and we can run a feeding operation honestly. We are not equipped to run a charity, so we do not claim to be one.
The uncomfortable maths
If your goal is to maximise money reaching cats, a shop is an inefficient vehicle. Beads, plating, postage, payment fees and advertising all take their cut first. A direct donation to a rescue beats us on that measure. What a shop offers is something to wear plus a defined slice that does something useful. If that trade is not worth it to you, donate instead — we mean that.
Why we lead with this
Because the alternative is letting you assume something more flattering, and a brand that needs your misunderstanding to make the sale has a problem it will eventually have to explain.