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A Dunedin baker making birthday cakes for cats and dogs for a living says she wants them to look “as good as people cakes”.
While she catered mainly towards cats and dogs, Toni King said they were not the only animals looking to get a taste of her work.
“I’ve had a couple of people wanting one for their horse, and also a lady threw a birthday party and got a cake for her rats.”
Ms King, who has more than 12 years’ worth of hospitality experience, said her business, Pawsome Treats, began from her love of birthdays.
“I absolutely love birthdays.
“My son actually told me I have a problem, because I used to keep a book and come up with different birthday ideas every year — none that they could ever predict I was going to do.”
Now that her four children were all grown up, she could not throw birthday parties for them anymore.
So she turned to dogs.
More and more people were not having children — “their dog is their baby”, Ms King said.
Some people even threw their dogs parties, complete with party bags, decorations, photographers and other canine invitees.
“People blog all about the life of their dog … they’ve thrown epic parties, and of course the cake is the centrepiece.
“It’s not a birthday unless you have a cake, really, is it?”
The business launched about two years ago, but since last November it had been “hard out”.
She had now sold nearly 700 cakes for people’s pets, she said.
There were seven options for dogs, including a “barkday cake” and “bone cake”.
Cats had two to choose from, one of which was the “kitty crumb”.
“I wanted them to look as good as people cakes.”
Speaking of which, humans could eat them too — “I sample them on my kids to see what they taste like,” Ms King said.
She also made other pet-friendly treats like dog cookies and doughnuts.
“It’s no different to making a people cake than it is a dog cake, decorating wise.
“You’re obviously just using different ingredients.”
The reception from customers, and their dogs, had been positive.
“People have messaged me and said they were just sitting there, licking their lips, waiting for me to say, ‘eat it’.
“Most are just devouring it.”
Cats were a bit harder to please.
She had even made a gender reveal cake for one dog owner, the thinking being the colour would be revealed once the dog took a bite.
The problem was the dog “literally inhales it”, she said.
Another customer had told her the dog donuts looked so realistic his daughter might eat them if he left them in the fridge.
Ms King said her business was all about “celebrating your pet”.
She hoped her cakes would allow people to create memories and have beautiful experiences with their pets.
“I believe it’s going to be really big.”