Ebony Centazzo has become known as the cat lady in Wyndham. 80136 Picture: DAMJAN JANEVSKI
By XAVIR SMERDON
A HOPPERS Crossing businesswoman with a love for all things feline is proving that if you have a unique idea and you know your market you can be successful.
Ebony Centazzo has become known as the “cat lady” in Wyndham after setting up the municipality’s first ever cat only kennel just over six months ago.
Officially a travel agent, the 28-year-old decided to take the plunge and try to start her own business by setting up Cat Napping Suburban Retreat.
Ms Centazzo said she was amazed at how successful the venture had become.
“I was just blown away,” Ms Centazzo said.
“Christmas was my busiest period, we had 55 cats here and over Easter we had 51.”
She has now started taking on work experience students and hopes to work on the business full time.
“I love it because you never know what kind of cat is going to walk through the door,” she said.
“I love running my own business and I don’t feel like this is a job when I get up in the morning.”
Ms Centazzo attributed her success to her discovery of a niche market.
“I guess there was a little bit of a gap in the market,” she said.
“I find a lot of people like not having to travel out of the area to find another business.”
And it is not just food and water that the cats need, Ms Centazzo also has to administer medication and even wash some cats.
“I take photos of the cats and send them to the owners while they are away just to show them that their pet is happy,” she said.
