The idea of Frolix came out of a deep reverence for all creatures.

Animals have been part of my family my entire life. I grew up in the Colorado Rockies with horses, goats, chickens, dogs, cats, and all the wildlife inhabiting the landscape around us. Since my early years, I've experienced the joys and tragedies that come with having animals, but the most consistent tragedy was the number of small creatures who suffered and died at the claws and fangs of our cats.

I spent much of my adult life in New York City, where many stray cats roam the streets. In an effort to help them and the birds in my neighborhood, I assisted trap, neuter and release programs and found homes for many strays. 

Then, in the summer of 2021,
a panther-like tomcat with polydactyl paws appeared in our Vermont village.

We adopted him and named him Wiley, in honor of his cunning ways. This tough tomcat has become an affectionate, hilarious and essential part of the family. Yet, like all cats, he’s an excellent hunter.

The best way to save wildlife is to keep cats inside, but Wiley was too accustomed to roaming the outdoors to contain him inside.

So, I bought him a breakaway collar with a bell, hoping it would reduce the number of animals he caught. It soon went missing. I bought him another, and another, but they all went missing. All of them!

I researched products designed to help save birds and learned birds respond more to color than sound.

I found a couple products that used this strategy, both add-ons to breakaway collars. One is shaped like a bib and the other like a clown-collar. I bought the latter, and within hours it fell off Wiley, along with the collar it was attached to. It was like throwing $25 out the window for that collar alone!!

I was tired of wasting money
and littering the landscape
with these lost collars.

Wiley needed a collar that would stay on, warn birds and keep him safe without hampering his style or movements.

One afternoon, collarless, Wiley brought a dead bird into the house. Out of desperation, I found some bright orange webbing, sewed a button on it and put it around his neck with the long ends hanging down like a tie.

This was the collar I was looking for! 

Despite his extensive adventuring, Wiley has never lost the collar I made, and while he still hunts, he brings in far fewer birds. The florescent, one inch webbing is visible from all angles, and the loose ends alert birds and other animals on the ground.

His collar has earned him many complements and also made him a well loved and familiar member of our community. Even though several black cats live in the area, people in all corners of the village and beyond know Wiley because of his distinguished and distinctive, jaunty collar.

—Anna Auster, Frolix founder