About
Real Cats.
Real Behavior.
Real Proof.
Because cats don't lie. And we don't guess.
The Founder
Jennifer Maher
Founder, CaliCatLab
I'm Jennifer Maher, founder of CaliCatLab — a real-home feline behavioral research lab powered by seven very opinionated cats.
For more than 30 years, I've worked in database marketing, consumer insights, and behavioral analytics for major national brands including AT&T, Experian, Proactiv, and Jenny Craig.
I've also developed multiple retail product programs for Costco — where understanding real consumer behavior directly impacts product success at scale.
CaliCatLab was created by applying that same insight-driven approach to cats. Today, we help pet brands understand what cats actually choose, use, scratch, ignore, return to, and love through 24/7 observation inside a real multi-cat home environment.
Products influenced and validated through CaliCatLab testing have already contributed to millions of dollars in retail sales.
No artificial testing environments.
No guessing.
Just real feline behavior and retailer-ready insights.
"Because cats don't lie. And we don't guess."
What We Do
The Only Lab That Lives With Its Subjects
Real Home Environment
Products are tested where cats actually live — not in sterile lab conditions. Sofas, scratchers, feeding stations, beds. The full picture.
24/7 Video Monitoring
Continuous behavioral observation means we capture what cats do when no one is watching. That's where the real data lives.
Retailer-Ready Proof
Every study produces video footage, behavioral data, and presentation-ready reports you can take directly into a buyer meeting.
Seven-Cat Panel
One cat is an anecdote. Seven cats with distinct personalities, ages, and behavioral profiles produce data that's statistically meaningful.
Independent Research
No brand influence on methodology or results. The cats decide. We document. You get the truth.
All Product Categories
Food, treats, toys, beds, scratchers, enrichment — if cats interact with it, we can study it.
Our Philosophy
The Pet Industry Deserves Better Data
Pet brands spend millions developing products — and then rely on focus groups, surveys, and staged demos to prove they work. But cats don't fill out surveys. They vote with their paws.
CaliCatLab exists because the gap between "cats might like this" and "here's video proof that seven cats chose this product 47 times in 72 hours" is the difference between a pitch and a sale.
We built the lab we wished existed. Seven real cats, one real home, cameras running around the clock. No staging. No prompting. No guessing.
Ready to get real data?
Let's talk about what a CaliCatLab study could do for your brand.