About PURRZ™

Meet Dr Duncan Houston,
the emergency vet who started PURRZ™

Every product on this site exists because of something I have treated at 3 am, watched a cat ignore, or taken out of one. Gary, my Ragdoll, tests every version at home before it is listed. This is who I am, how I work, and what you can hold me to.

  • Emergency and critical care veterinarian
  • Veterinary science University of Sydney
  • Founder PURRZ™, WOOPF™ and Ask A Vet
  • Sydney born practising in Hong Kong
Dr Duncan Houston outdoors holding Gary, his Ragdoll

The short version

  • Who designs it

    Me. Dr Duncan Houston, an emergency and critical care vet who worked in animal nutrition and product development before PURRZ™. Not a marketing team with a vet on retainer.

  • Who tests it

    Gary, a Ragdoll, at home and at the clinic, where he comes with me on a harness. He is a cat, so he ignores most things; if he ignores a product, it does not go on sale.

  • What that gets you

    Products with a reason to exist, sizes by her curled length rather than her breed, plain words on what each thing does and does not do, and reviews that stay attached to the product they are about.

The story

How an emergency vet ends up making cat furniture

I was working in pet food before I qualified. I studied veterinary science at the University of Sydney, graduated in 2017, worked as a vet in Sydney, found my way into emergency and critical care, and now practise in Hong Kong. Emergency work is a strange education in cat products, because you meet the product at the moment it fails.

You see the kitten who ate the string off a wand toy, in for surgery. The tom who cannot pass urine at 3 am, in a house where nobody could read a scented tray. The cat hung up by a collar that would not release. The old cat who quietly stopped climbing, and nobody noticed for a year. None of that is exotic. It is a normal week.

If Gary ignores it, it does not go on sale.

Then there is Gary. He is a Ragdoll, he is leash trained, he comes to the clinic with me, and he has opinions. He walked away from three scented litters before the one I sell. He sleeps in the caves, scratches the post beside his bed, wears the Sardines tag every day and the tracker on his walks, and forgives the wrap by lunch.

PURRZ™ started because I kept recommending products I did not fully believe in, and because most cat products are dog products made smaller. So I began designing my own, against the failures I see and around what cats actually do: hide, scratch, hunt, climb, and sleep for sixteen hours a day. One rule: nothing goes on sale until it has been through my own house first.

The Cat Standard is simple. If your cat is not resting, she should be doing something on purpose: scratching something that is not the sofa, hunting something that ends in a catch, watching from somewhere high, or hiding somewhere good. Every range on this site serves one of those, and I will always tell you what a product does and what it cannot do.

Dr Duncan Houston

Emergency veterinarian. Founder of PURRZ™, WOOPF™ and Ask A Vet.

Where the products come from

Five things the emergency room taught me about cat products

  1. The string toy I see most is the one inside the cat.

    A cat swallows string because a cat cannot spit out what her tongue has caught. Every toy on this site is either a leave-out toy, with nothing that trails, or a wand toy that goes in the drawer when you leave, and every toy page says which.

  2. A cat scratches where the habit already lives.

    Scratching sheds the old claw sheath, stretches the back and leaves a scent mark, and she does it on the nearest upright thing, which is the sofa arm. The fix is a better upright thing in the same place, a post that does not rock, and a nail trim every few weeks. Declawing is an amputation and is not an answer on this site.

  3. A cat who hides is telling you something.

    Hiding is how a cat manages a house, not a habit to train out. A cave with one door and walls all round gives her a better option than under the bed, and a cat who suddenly hides far more is a vet visit before she is a shopping trip.

  4. The tray is the best diagnostic tool in your house.

    Clumps you can count and size are the earliest sign of a kidney or bladder problem an owner can catch at home, and a cat who hates the smell of her tray goes on the bed instead. So the litter clumps hard, carries no perfume, and goes in the bin, never the toilet.

  5. A tag is for the day someone else finds her. A tracker is for the day you do.

    Every cat wears a tag, indoor cats included, because indoor cats get out. A tracker is for a cat over 4 kg who goes out, on a breakaway collar, with a plan. Neither replaces a registered microchip; both add a layer.

The test lab

Head of Quality Control, and the rest of the department

Gary tests every product at home. The cats we have fostered taught me what a frightened cat needs, and the emergency room taught me how products fail. Nothing is listed until it has passed all three.

  1. Head of Quality Control

    Gary Ragdoll

    Leash trained, comes to the clinic, and ignores anything that does not earn his attention. The sniff test decides whether a product is tried; the nap test decides whether it stays. If Gary ignores it, it does not go on sale.

  2. Frightened cats

    The fosters Various, over the years

    The cats we have fostered arrive scared and hide first. They are why every cave has one door and walls all round, why the beds have a wall, and why the pages say a cat who hides is telling you something rather than misbehaving.

  3. Failure analysis

    The emergency room Night shifts

    Every product starts with something I have treated: the string, the collar that would not release, the tray nobody could read, the old cat who stopped climbing. The vet note on every page is that failure, written down before you buy.

The Cat Standard

What you can hold me to

These are the rules every page on this site is written to. If you catch one being broken, tell me.

  • Sizes by measurement.

    Every bed and cave page carries her curled length, not her breed, with weights as a guide only. Between sizes, I tell you which way to go.

  • No magic words.

    I do not sell you calming, anxiety relief or indestructible, and no product on this site treats anything. Beds, caves, scratchers and toys give a cat a better option; your vet treats her.

  • Cats are not small dogs.

    Every product is designed around what a cat does: hide, scratch, hunt, climb, rest. If it would suit a small dog just as well, it is not a cat product.

  • Real prices.

    A set's crossed-out price is what its parts cost on the day, not a number invented for the strike-through. A saving is one you could check with a calculator.

  • Reviews that stay put.

    Reviews live on the product they are about, and a verified badge means Judge.me matched the review to an order. The count and the average are shown as they stand.

  • Safety layers, not substitutes.

    The Smart ID Tag and the GPS tracker add layers; neither replaces a registered microchip, a zone alert is a notification and not a fence, and activity data is not a diagnosis.

  • Tested here first.

    Nothing is listed until it has been through my own house, on Gary, on real naps, real scratching and real 3 am zoomies.

  • Designed by a named vet.

    Every product is designed by Dr Duncan Houston, and every product page says what it is for, which cat it suits and how to use it, in plain words.

On camera

Three minutes with Dr Duncan

Short vet tips filmed for Instagram, no script department. Turn the sound on.

Follow @drduncanthevet

Verified owners

What owners say, on the product they bought

Four verified reviews, each still attached to its product page. Tap through for the rest.

Shop all products
  • Verified

    Our kitty loves her new cottage and matching cuddly Koala

    Our kitty loves her new cottage and matching cuddly Koala. It looks great too! And she loves the wool balls. One happy cat

    Clare, July 2025

    The CottageRated 5.0 out of 5 from 9 reviews
  • Verified

    My cats love it

    I bought this for my cats, Rilke, Iris and Delphine, and they absolutely love it. All three have claimed it as their new favourite spot in the house. The design is adorable, the quality is great, and it's become a multi-purpose hideaway/scratcher/resting spot.

    Mike D., November 2025

    Giant Cat Tunnel, Scratcher Lounge, and Wool Ball SetRated 5.0 out of 5 from 12 reviews
  • Verified

    My cats think this is the best toy ever

    My cats think this is the best toy ever. The ostrich feather is their favorite thing.

    Emily B., June 2026

    Emu Feather Toy SetRated 5.0 out of 5 from 10 reviews
  • Verified

    Great product for naughty cat owners

    I've been worried about my cat wandering too far, but this GPS tracker has been a total game-changer. The setup was quick, and the app is very easy to use. I can see exactly where my cat is at any time, which has taken all the stress out of letting them roam. Highly recommended for any cat owner!

    Andreina R., July 2026

    Cat GPS TrackerRated 5.0 out of 5 from 12 reviews

The family

One vet, three brands, one job

PURRZ™ is the cat half of something bigger. The same person designs all of it, and the same rules apply.

  • PURRZ™

    You are here

    Cats

    Beds and caves, towers, scratchers, toys, safety and the essentials, designed around hiding, scratching, hunting, climbing and resting.

Work with PURRZ™

Creators, clinics and stockists

  • Ambassadors

    Film your cat with PURRZ™ products, earn commission and get early access to new products.

  • Clinics, groomers and retailers

    Open a trade account for wholesale pricing across the full range, designed by a vet who still works the floor.

  • Press and everything else

    Interviews, product questions, a size you cannot find, or a rule on this page you think I broke.

Is Dr Duncan a real, practising vet?

Yes. Dr Duncan Houston graduated in veterinary science from the University of Sydney in 2017, works in emergency and critical care, and currently practises in Hong Kong. PURRZ™ is designed around what that work shows him, and he still works the floor.

Does Dr Duncan design every product himself?

Yes. Every PURRZ™ product is designed by Dr Duncan Houston and tested at home on Gary before it is listed. Every product page carries his notes on what the product is for, which cat it suits and how to use it.

Can I ask Dr Duncan about my cat?

Not through the shop. For a health question, the Ask A Vet app has certified vet chat. For anything urgent, go to your nearest emergency clinic now; a chat is not the place for a cat who is straining to urinate with nothing coming out, struggling to breathe, or has eaten string or a lily. For product questions, use the contact page and a human will answer.

How do the product pages help me choose?

Every page has a measure-first size guide with her curled length and the weights as a guide only, a plain list of what the product does and does not do, a vet note from Dr Duncan, verified reviews that stay on that product, and a comparison with its neighbours so you can pick the right one, not the dearest one.

Where does PURRZ™ ship, and how fast?

Worldwide, tracked. Dispatch and delivery times by destination are on the shipping page. If a size is wrong, contact us before you send anything back and we will sort it.

Is there a PURRZ™ for dogs?

That is WOOPF™, designed by the same vet around what dogs do: walk, play, sniff, chew and rest. Bridie and Kiko, two golden retrievers, are the test team, and the same rules on this page apply there.

Start with what she does most.

Hides, scratches, hunts, climbs or sleeps: every range on this site is one of those. Shop everything, or start with the caves.

Owner notes

The Cat Standard.

One email a fortnight from Dr Duncan: what cats do and why, a product when it is relevant, and 10% off your first order for joining.