Ludwig, adopted from the Hall County Humane Society more than 20 years ago, left quite the mark on Vivian Hoard's family.

During his long life, the tuxedo-colored American shorthair cat frequently snuggled up to Hoard's children, putting them to sleep with his purr and comforting them when they were sick.

"After Ludwig died, I thought there should be a little toy cat on the market that purrs, and I looked and looked for something and couldn't find it," said Hoard, who lived in Gainesville for five years after law school, working for the Stewart Melvin & Frost firm.

"Kids like to have something sleeping with them. They always want the real cat sleeping with them and, of course, the real cat isn't interested in sleeping with them until they've already gone to sleep," she said.

Hoard, now an Atlanta tax lawyer and Sandy Springs resident, found one interactive toy on the market, but it didn't quite satisfy.

"It is good for what it is - you just put it in the middle of the den floor and the kids can watch it play," said the Jefferson native. "But it's a plastic cat covered with fur, so it's not snuggly, and the purr ... sounds mechanical."

Unable to find the right toy, she decided to develop her own - and Catnap Kitties were born.

"We put people on the moon," Hoard said. "We should be able to make something that feels and sounds like a real cat."

She said she began trying to find someone to help her produce the toy, and that search went on for a while.

"I finally found a retired IBM electronics guy and he tinkered for about a year," Hoard said. "A cat owner himself, he understood what I was trying to recreate."

She was particular about the purr.

"Finally he called one day and said, ‘My wife says I have it.' He came over and helped me make an electronic circuit board," said Hoard. "The sound is reproduced in a manner similar to the way a real cat purrs. The mechanical part that makes the vibration also makes the purr, so it's synchronized like a real purr. It's very subtle."

So subtle in fact that it's barely perceptible at noisy toy fairs and in busy stores.

"A toy store might say (the purr is) not loud enough, but once you get it home in a quiet environment, it is plenty loud," Hoard said.

After three years in development, she debuted the patented toy at a fair in February in New York; then she had to work afterward to find the right manufacturer.

Finally, "we got the first shipment in the first of December, so we started selling them in December," Hoard said.

The toy sells for $45 to $50 and can be bought online.

Otherwise, expect to travel a bit to check out the toy. For now, it's selling at shops in Atlanta, Buckhead, Woodstock and Marietta. Hoard's sister's store, Old Town Antiques in Commerce, also carries it.

Jeff Weiss, owner of Learning Express in Woodstock and Marietta, said he was impressed by the product.

"I was real intrigued by the nature of it, that the purring was so lifelike," he said. "And it's a real nice cuddle toy, and kids seem to be into cuddle toys."

One plus is that the toys are made with hypoallergenic materials.

"We haven't had it very long," Weiss said. "We got it in just before the holiday season came to a close. We've sold a handful of them."

Overall, Hoard said she is pleased with the business she has received.

"For a recession, it's going fine," she said. "But then I don't really know ... because I haven't launched a product before."

Hoard's toy has gotten some widespread attention, including positive recognition in Consumer Reports magazine and winning the Creative Child Magazine's Preferred Choice Award for 2008.

But juggling the business with her tax litigation work can be tricky.

"Eventually, if I can build (the business) up, to hire someone else to run it would be the goal," she said.

Hoard, meanwhile, hasn't given up on real cats.

Her husband and daughter presented her with Lucy after Ludwig died.

"She's real sweet but not sweet like Ludwig was," Hoard said. "Ludwig was sweet and ... very tolerant. Lucy doesn't put up with it."