A pet shelter worker in Georgia was browsing through truck listings when an idea for an ad campaign struck her. Never did she know that it would be viral and attract the attention of a lot of people.
Kayla Delcoure manages the social media page for Pippi’s Place Pet Rescue in Atlanta and she needs to be creative to make potential adopters look into their shelter. She came up with CATVANA, a play on the famous online car site, Carvana, and she listed the adoptable cats as if they were used cars.
Those listed for adoption included a “2023 Mini Pooper” named Mr. Goodbar, a “2014 Furrari” named Arlis, and a “2015 Furcedes” called Buddy.
In an email to NPR, Delcoure wrote, “My inspiration for CatVana is humorously uneventful. My husband has been wanting to buy a truck for months, and occasionally brings me his phone to show me the listings. On Tuesday morning while I was brainstorming cute ways to display all nine of Pippi’s Place’s available cats in one post, my husband walked into my office to show me a truck listing.”
She shared that she went to the Carvana website and was inspired to do the same display but instead of cars, she used cat photos. “Different amusing descriptions kept popping up in my head, like the ‘four-paw-drive,’ ‘rear air vent,’ and the rest of them, so I went ahead and made the individual listings as well,” Delcoure wrote.
The CatVana post went viral in Reddit, getting more than 65,000 Up votes and over 1,500 comments. Someone commented, “These are delightful. Mini Pooper is my fave. But I especially enjoyed reading the highlights of each cat.” Another wrote, “…this is the most adorable thing I’ve ever seen in my life I love it. I want an actual shelter site like this.”
The reaction from netizens surprised Delcoure and Vicki Grizzard, the director of Pippi’s Place. “We’ve received an outpouring of encouragement. People have even been asking to donate,” Delcoure said. After seeing the viral ad in Reddit, an anonymous overseas donor has matched adoption fees of all nine kittens on CatVana. Two kittens are already adopted and “Furrari” Arlis, an older cat, is reserved for a family in Canada.
The internet became an amazing avenue for people to help Pippi’s Place. Many loved the idea of CatVana that they decided to buy the domain name so the shelter can continue advertising their adoptable cats in a unique way. A TikTok user commented: “…THIS is the best of the internet. I hope the human that did this gets everything they want in life. Stay awesome.”
Pippi’s Place started two years ago and is named after Grizzard’s black kitten. An adventurer and explorer, Pippi became a treasured family member. Unfortunately, an accident took the life of the 1-year-old kitty. Her body may be gone, but her spirit lives on in Pippi’s Place. The shelter is a place “where the light of love is always on.”
If you’re looking for your own Pursche or Catillac from CatVana, visit their website and check out their adorable fur babies. Donors and volunteers are always welcomed.
