In Menifee, California, Petra Luna has built a career around two enduring passions: storytelling and cats. After more than five years of educating viewers about feline nutrition through her YouTube channel “CatCrazy,” Petra has stepped into the role of an entrepreneur. Her latest venture, CatCrazy Inc., has launched its first freeze-dried raw cat food, Puckin’ Crazy Chicken Feast, transforming years of audience questions into a direct-to-consumer product.

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“It still takes time for people to understand that I’m no longer only a channel, but that I’m also creating an actual product,” Petra says. “This is not made in my kitchen anymore. This is a huge facility we work with.”

Before becoming a recognizable name in online pet care, Petra spent more than a decade in the entertainment industry. In Germany, she ran an independent film production company at Bavaria Studios and later worked in Los Angeles marketing and promotions, creating campaigns for studios including NBC Universal, 20th Television, and Sony Pictures.

But her professional shift was born from personal loss. “Two of our cats passed away because of tainted treats,” she recalls. “That made me really look into the health aspect of the food industry. I started reading labels and making cat food myself.”

Her curiosity grew into a mission. By 2019, Petra began sharing homemade recipes and product reviews online, launching her YouTube channel devoted to feline health and behavior. What started as a personal project quickly attracted a dedicated audience. “People would message me, saying, ‘You make cat food yourself. Can you send it over?’” Petra says. “I told them I couldn’t, it was in my freezer. That’s when I realized we had to do something bigger.”

Building CatCrazy’s Community

Petra’s background in media shaped her approach to YouTube. Each episode resembled a small-scale television production, complete with music composed by her husband, a concert pianist. Early videos combined product reviews, quizzes, and expert interviews. “We were creating a whole TV-style episode: 15 minutes about black cats, a quiz, and ‘Ask the Vet’,” she says. “But people didn’t really relate to that format, even though I loved it.”

Gradually, she adjusted to the rhythm of digital audiences – faster pacing, concise edits, and more direct engagement. The shift grew “CatCrazy” into a 225,000-subscriber channel, serving as both an educational hub and a testing ground for consumer insight.

Viewers’ questions guided the development of Petra’s content and, later, her business. “People would ask about kittens, litter boxes, or what to feed a cat with urinary tract issues,” she explains. “I thought it would be easier if I just filmed it, and that’s how it all started.”

Turning Viewers Into Customers

By 2023, Petra and her husband assembled a team of 10, including a food scientist, a creative director, and a marketing lead, to develop the first CatCrazy recipe. The result was Puckin’ Crazy Chicken Feast, a freeze-dried raw formula made from chicken sourced from USDA-approved farms (United States Department of Agriculture).

“This isn’t a white-label product,” Petra emphasizes. “It’s our own recipe, created by our food scientist.” The process took nearly two years, including trials with more than 60 cats at local shelters. “Among all of us on the team, we have 24 cats ourselves. They were our first testers,” she says with a laugh.

The choice of chicken as the debut flavor wasn’t arbitrary. Petra polled her subscribers to ask which protein they preferred. “Most came back with chicken,” she says. “We listened. We also added ingredients like cranberry for urinary tract health and pumpkin for digestion, because those were the issues our community talked about most.”

Two pucks of the freeze-dried food equal one can. There are 24 pucks in a bag, providing 12 meals. Despite its $24 price point, Petra stresses that it’s cost-competitive once hydrated. “People see the bag and think it’s expensive,” she says. “But two pucks equals one can. It just looks different.”

The Business of Freeze-Dried Nutrition

The freeze-dried (and frozen) pet-food segment is among the fastest-growing parts of the pet-care market. One study estimates the global freeze-dried pet food market at about $2.1 billion in 2024, rising to over $5 billion by 2032.

For Petra, the appeal lies in both nutrition and practicality. “Raw is what cats should eat – they don’t cook their food,” she says. “Freeze-drying keeps all the nutrients, but gives you shelf life.”

Her decision to source domestically also reflects a broader sustainability logic. “It makes sense to buy chicken from the U.S.,” Petra says. “You don’t want planes flying ingredients back and forth. We’re here, our chickens should be here.”

The CatCrazy team contracts with a U.S. pet-food manufacturing facility for production, ensuring quality and safety standards while maintaining control over formulation. “We can’t call it ‘human grade’ because it’s made in a pet-food facility, but the chickens are USDA-approved for human consumption,” she says.

The Creator-to-Founder Transition

Despite her channel’s loyal following, Petra discovered that translating online trust into consumer sales required more than enthusiasm. “Even with lots of followers, it takes time for people to understand the shift from being a content creator to being a brand founder,” she says.

Her challenge mirrors that of other influencer-turned-entrepreneurs navigating credibility gaps in traditional industries. In pet care, creators like YouTuber Rachel Fusaro, who promotes canine nutrition, and TikTok-famous veterinarian Dr. Hunter Finn have similarly leveraged audience trust to launch wellness products.

CatCrazy officially launched sales in late 2025, and while Petra declines to share revenue figures, early results are promising. “So far, five-star reviews all around,” she says. “People say their cats’ fur feels silkier and thicker. That feedback means everything.”

Listening as a Business Strategy

Petra’s approach to product design, marketing, and brand identity revolves around a single principle: audience feedback. “Listen to your subscribers and followers. That’s the best advice I can give anyone,” she says. “Write it down and act on it.”

That interactive mindset extends beyond YouTube. Petra frequently polls her community about new recipes and ingredients, incorporating insights into product planning. The next flavor (potentially salmon or pork) will depend on what her audience chooses.

The direct feedback loop offers creators like Petra an advantage over traditional pet-food companies, which often rely on third-party market research. “Big brands don’t have that relationship,” she says. “Creators listen better and act faster.”

Petra’s trajectory reflects a growing pattern across the creator economy: niche experts transforming credibility into commerce. In sectors like pet care, where emotional attachment drives spending, that trust becomes especially powerful.

“Some celebrity chefs just put their name on a can,” she says. “Creators are different. We listen to our viewers and create products that actually help.”

What Comes Next?

CatCrazy’s immediate priority is inventory management. “Our house is filled with products,” Petra shares. “Step one is to sell what we have.” 

The team is simultaneously developing new recipes and exploring potential expansion into frozen or canned formats.

In the longer term, she envisions an expanded lineup of three to five flavors, all adhering to the same philosophy: minimal processing, high-quality protein, and transparency. “Cats get bored,” she says. “We want to provide a healthy variety.”

The company currently sells exclusively in the U.S., but plans to scale internationally once logistics allow. “The next goal is to go worldwide,” Petra says. “But right now, it’s about proving the quality of what we’ve built.”

For Petra, the entrepreneurial shift hasn’t changed her core motivation. Whether on camera or in the kitchen, her mission remains the same: helping cats live longer, healthier lives. “Anything related to cats is important,” she says. “Whatever it is, I’ll figure it out.”

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