I made an appearance on Shark Tank to help out some friends with a pitch! Here’s how that happened.
A while back, my human and I were at a cat show and met the couple behind Frame Your Feline, a wall perch for cats that looks like a framed piece of art. Then at some point not quite a year ago, they called my human and told her they landed a slot on Shark Tank to pitch their idea and drum up some capital. They wanted to know if I could come on the show. My human said yes.
To be honest, she was a bit reluctant because she knows how unpredictable the show can be. It’s not like a commercial or a movie that’s scripted. It’s a big set and there was no guarantee that I or any of the other two cats involved wouldn’t go running off. She was even less enthusiastic when we showed up for the scheduled shoot in September and found out she had to wear a special outfit on screen.
I was excited! I had a bath the day before so I knew I was doing something special. My human’s boyfriend came along to help carry my stuff.
The other two cats they were using for the pitch weren’t professionals. One belonged to the couple, and the other was a cat belonging to a friend. A Humane Society rep was present, which my human was used to, since we’ve worked with them before on other productions.
The pitch, as my human suspected, was completely chaotic. The other two cats leapt out of their frames right away. I stayed, in good part because my human left a big pile of treats in my frame. Also I realized I was getting looked at and admired. You don’t see it on the show, but one of the Sharks, Lori Greiner, even came up and petted me. But eventually I left too and went exploring.
You can see my silhouette behind Daymond John. And a little later, if you look really close in the background, you can see my human fetching me. When I saw her, I walked right up to her. Because, to be honest, I was mostly wondering where she was.
Even though they didn’t get the funding, they were really lucky that their segment got aired. Not every pitch gets on an episode! So they threw a watch party. It was a little bit of a long drive, but at the last moment my human decided to bring me, since it was at a hotel. And she knows how much I love hotels.
I have one last story to tell you about my Shark Tank shooting day. The crew told my human and the two people handling the other cats not to say one word while on the set. This was because as a union show, anyone who speaks gets SAG minimum pay. My human, having come from the film and TV industry, totally knew the deal. Then at the end of the show, there was a segment where everyone, including the cats, were gathered to listen to the Sharks’ wrap up. I was happy that my human finally got to hang out with me.
Then Lori Greiner piped up.
“One thing I want to know,” she said, pointing at me, “Is that cat adoptable?”
My human gave her a look that might have killed a lesser entrepreneur and very loudly said, “Absolutely NOT!” Then immediately realized what she’d done and clamped her hands over her mouth. I hope she’s not why this part of the show got cut out.
Anyhow, here’s a video that shows you some of the watch party. If you want to hunt down the show, it’s Season 16, Episode 17.
