How We Work

WE DON'T SELL EVERYTHING!

And we're not for everyone. You know how the big pet stores stock thousands of things? That’s because adding one more product costs them nothing. That might be the best way to make a profit, but we went the other way, and we say no a lot. Honestly, we say no to most things, and every product on The Neko Store had to win us over first.

Here’s the short version of what every product goes through:

01
The background check

We look into who’s behind it first, including who the founders are, their history, how long they’ve been around and what cat parents say about them.

02
The fine-print read

We read every single line on the label, and then we check the materials, and fact-check any and all claims they've made.

03
The Neko Council

Real cat parents on our Neko Council review the products and some live with them before we decide.

04
The vet review

Anything edible goes to our vet panel before it goes anywhere near your cat. No exceptions.

05
Yuki’s Approval

He’s our CEO, and he judges everyone and everything that comes through the door, including us. It’s nothing personal. That’s just his management style.

From one cat family to another.

Here’s the thing about buying from us: you’re actually buying from us. We get our products directly from brands and certified distributors, and hold them in our safe warehouse until they ship to you. There are no third-party sellers or dark stores anywhere in the chain, which means there are no blind spots either.

Every product passes through our hands, so if something goes wrong, it’s on us. That’s exactly why we’re this fussy.

Every product auditions.
Most of them don't make it.

There are eight rounds, and a product can get sent home at any of them, no matter how cute the packaging is. Here’s what happens in each one.

  • 01
    Stalk, then Pounce 🐱

    Sometimes a brand finds us, and sometimes we go hunting for one ourselves. Either way, we read the label before we read the pitch deck, and a lot of conversations end right there.

    We only stock things that were designed with cats in mind from the very first sketch, which comes easily to our brand partners because almost all of them are cat parents themselves.

  • 02
    The Sniff Test 🔎

    We ask for the full material or ingredient list in writing, a manufacturer we can actually verify and the country of origin. We want to know who really made it, because a sticker on the box doesn’t tell us much. If a label is vague, we keep asking questions until it isn’t.

  • 03
    Touch and Feel 🐾

    We check that the materials are non-toxic, that there are no sharp edges or choking hazards, and that nothing comes apart into a cat-sized snack after a week of enthusiastic use. If a brand claims “cat safe,” they have to prove it.

  • 04
    The Vet Visit 👩‍⚕️

    Anything edible goes to our vet panel before it goes anywhere near your cat. There’s no founder override and no “we’ll get it checked after launch.” If our vet panel says maybe, we treat that as a no until it becomes a yes.

  • 05
    Sit With It 👀

    Real parents from our Neko Council live with it and tell us honestly how it went. Their cats usually make their opinion very clear, very fast.

  • 06
    Yuki Approved ✅

    Both of us, Aparna and Nomi, have to say yes, and if either of us hesitates, it doesn’t go up. Then we ask ourselves whether we’d give it to Yuki. He won’t actually inspect it, but he will absolutely sit on the box.

  • 07
    It Gets a Backstory ✨

    Every product page tells you what the product is meant for clearly. The specs are there too, but they come after the question that matters most, which is whether it is truly cat safe or made with cats in mind. 

  • 08
    Probation Never Ends 📍

    Getting onto the shelf doesn’t mean it stays there forever. We track every complaint, our vets flag patterns, brands have to tell us before they change anything, and we go through the whole catalogue every three months. If a valid safety issue comes up, the product comes down within 24 hours, and we reach out to everyone who bought it to check in on them and their cat.

We’re new at this.
Here’s what you can count on anyway. 

You’ll hear it from us first, in a public post that stays up. Everyone who bought the product gets an email from us and a full refund if they want one. We won’t hide behind “an issue has come to our attention.” We’ll honestly tell you what went wrong and what to do next.

If something arrives damaged, incorrect or not fit to use, tell us within 7 days and we’ll make it right.

Write to support@thenekostore.com and a real person will get back to you.

Fair. If you’d rather not hear from us for a while, just tell us or use the unsubscribe link at the bottom of any email, and the messages stop. There won’t be any guilt trips or “are you sure?” loops.

You’ll still get updates about orders you’ve placed, and you’re always welcome back.

What happens in your cart,
stays in your cart

You gave us your details so we could get cat things to your door, and that’s all we use them for.

We never pass your name, email or phone number to brands for ads. Brands only see totals, like how many of their scratchers sold this month, and they never see who bought one.

It’s a slower way to run a store

We’re completely fine with that, because everything on here is something we’d happily hand to our own cat. 

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