Upscale marketer introduced new line of 'fun toys' for cats.

Upscale marketer introduced new line of `fun toys' for cats

TORRANCE -- Some Los Angeles cats will fly a bit higher this week as Beau Geste -- maker of hand-decorated wicker sleeping baskets and fur sleeping mats -- begins test marketing its "Slick's Calico Collection" catnip toys to local pet shops and veterinary hospitals. Featuring pure catnip made by Massachusetts-based Dr. A.C. Daniels Inc., the Slick's Calico Collection toy line marks Beau Geste's move into pet-fun products.

"Cat toys are really uninteresting," said Fern Marks, owner and operator of year-old Beau Geste, which markets top-dollar sleeping baskets and plush sleeping mats for babied cats. "Our toys have calico fabric and the best catnip you can buy. Catnip toys are really necessary, stimulating a cat to exercise -- some veterinarians recommend catnip if a cat is off its feed. I'm sure that the Calico Collection will be the best catnip cat toys available."

Named after Marks' pet cat "Slick," the toys will benefit the Los Angeles Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals -- a portion of the Calico Collection's sales will be donated to help promote the SPCA tip line (800-540-SPCA). Last week, Marks delivered 100 of the catnip pet toys to the SPCA, presumably to make the lives of incarcerated cats a little more festive.