Having cats as colleagues for many is a dream, for some a nightmare, but for very few is it the inspiration for a new business.

Matt Hayward and Paul Flood are illustrators who for a time both worked freelance from home, each with two kitten companions.

This month the Chatham friends of 15 years put their heads together to create a business idea of occasion cards. But as the business name suggests, they have made it Slightly More Interesting, by theming them all around a central cat character.

Matt, 35, said: “We had both been working from home for so long, our cats kind of became our colleagues, and it felt natural for them to become part of the idea.”

The pair, who met while working at Tap’n’Tin in Railway Street, Chatham, in their days studying graphic design at Rochester’s University for the Creative Arts, have now created a range of 24 cat-themed cards.

The duo have also created more niche designs, alongside the standard Christmas and birthday greetings.

Matt, of Cranleigh Gardens, Chatham, said: “Both of us have been to a couple of gay weddings, and found buying a card difficult, so that was a good starting point. But we also have a few other unusual themes, like pirate day.”

The artists started a Kickstarter campaign to make their designs a reality. Kickstarter is a website where people present their business ideas to a global audience, to assess how viable they are.

People can opt to sponsor ideas they like, and depending on the level of donation are rewarded with some of the merchandise.

The men set a goal of raising £500 in a month to meet the costs of producing and shipping some cards, but in less than a week had already reached that target.

Spurred on by people’s enthusiasm for their product they are already looking at ways to expand the business.

Matt, who works in advertising at Canary Wharf, said they planned to start take designs out into the public, to craft fairs and eventually onto shop shelves.

Paul, 32, is a self-employed tattoo artist and freelance illustrator.

He lives with his partner and three children in Boundary Road, Chatham, and said: “We’re also hoping to create more homages to film, TV and video games, and are looking at recreating the entire cast of The Walking Dead as cats.

The featured cat is a mix – it looks like Paul’s moggy, Smokey, but has the energetic nature of Matt’s cat, Franklin.

It was Paul who initially came up with the idea.

Matt said: “He’s a pencil and paper illustrator, and he came up with the designs, I’m more into Photoshop, so I take the designs, tidy them up and make them into a file.”

There is a Slightly More Interesting Facebook page to stay updated, and to support the new business visit www.kickstarter.com/projects/1337916852/cat-cards Facebook page.