About Us

Our Story

How It All Started

Hello! 👋 I’m Andrew Bruce - an engineer, tinkerer, and recent (but devoted) member of the cat community.

CATSUMO began with an unexpected adventure. While sailing in Greece, my parents met a tiny feral kitten they simply couldn’t leave behind. They brought her all the way back to the United States and entrusted her to me. When she arrived in San Francisco 🌉, I named her Kleio, after the Greek goddess of music, because from the very beginning, she was pure energy and rhythm.

Meet Kleio

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Living with Kleio meant discovering her personality fast:
she loved to play, she needed stimulation, and she had the kind of kitten confidence that made every interaction an event.

One of her favorite ways to engage?

Wrestling.

She wanted a worthy opponent, and apparently, my hands were volunteering.

The Aha Moment

In an effort to keep up with her energy (and save my forearms), I bought a basic hand puppet. Kleio went wild for it. It instantly became our go-to play routine.

But there was a problem:

her claws tore through the fabric, the stuffing gave out, and my arms still took damage during our “matches.”

That’s when the lightbulb went off 💡:

Why wasn’t there a toy built specifically for the way cats naturally want to play?

Something durable.
Something interactive.
Something that let cats wrestle like cats, without being scratched and bitten.

The Birth of CATSUMO

That question led to months of sketching, testing, refining, and prototyping. The result became the product I wished existed from day one:

CATSUMO — a purpose-built wrestling puppet designed for cats.

Strong enough for claws.
Safe enough for play.
Fun enough to become a daily ritual between cat and human.

What started with one tiny Greek kitten is now a mission:

to create toys that tap into a cat’s natural instincts while strengthening the bond they share with their humans.

Thanks for being here, and for giving your cat the chance to play the way they were meant to.

— Andrew Bruce
Founder, CATSUMO