Cats, Coral and a Comeback: How Your Pet’s Dinner Could Support Coral Reef Restoration

When you think of iconic duos, cat food and coral reefs probably don’t spring to mind. But one pet food brand is hoping to change that. Sheba, best known for keeping your cat well-fed and a little smug, supports one of the world’s largest coral reef restoration initiatives – and a just-release documentary presented by the brand will show you what that looks like.

Reef Builders, a new documentary now streaming globally on Amazon Prime Video, shines a light on the Sheba Hope Grows™ programme – an ambitious effort to revive damaged coral reefs across the world.

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The timing couldn’t be more urgent; we’ve really given our coral reefs a beating. Researchers estimate that over 50 percent of the world’s coral reefs were lost between 1957 and 2007. And if current trends continue, we could lose 90 percent of what’s left within the next two decades.

Despite their importance, coral reefs are still slipping under the radar. New research from Sheba shows that 73 percent of people underestimate how much reef we’ve already lost. That gap in awareness is part of the problem – and exactly why this documentary exists.

That kind of loss wouldn’t just devastate tropical coastlines – it would hit all of us. Reefs protect shorelines from storms and erosion, and support global fish stocks. Lose the reefs, and we lose far more than just something pretty to snorkel over.

But Reef Builders offers more than just a wake-up call – it gives us a rare and hopeful glimpse into the communities fighting back. The documentary follows four different coastal areas: Bontosua in Indonesia, Oʻahu in Hawaiʻi, the Gunggandji Sea Country in Australia and the Lamu Archipelago in Kenya. Each place is restoring coral in its own way, tailored to local conditions and knowledge.

In Indonesia, residents build and install ‘reef stars’ – hexagonal metal frames that anchor loose coral rubble and provide a stable base for new growth. In Hawaiʻi, volunteers with the Kuleana Coral Restoration project use drills to reattach broken coral fragments back into place on the ocean floor. The techniques vary, but the spirit is the same: local people leading the way with ingenuity and grit.

Actor, activist and associate producer Auli’i Cravalho (Moana), who is Kanaka Maoli (Native Hawaiian), joins the divers in Hawaiʻi as they work to revive the reefs she grew up around.

“We just want our children to be able to grow up in the same place that we did,” she told the audience at the world premiere in London’s Natural History Museum in April.

So where does Sheba come into it?

You might be wondering why a cat food brand is so invested in the fate of coral reefs. For Loïc Moutault, Global President of Mars Petcare, it’s a logical – and long-standing – extension of the brand’s sustainability journey.

“Through the Sheba Hope Grows™ programme and work through Mars Sustainable Solutions we’ve helped establish 72 restoration sites across 12 countries. I think we all feel very proud about it, and we know we must go further.” 

And with a global platform and the resources to back it, Sheba sees itself as well placed to help tell these stories – and to support the people doing the work.

“Taking on this commitment created a lot of energy in the organisation, and with the initiative that combines brand reach, scientific innovation and community leadership to help restore coral reefs and protect oceans, we remain focused on driving positive impact.”

It’s not every day a cat food brand plays a role in restoring an ecosystem. But Reef Builders makes the case that the solutions to climate and biodiversity loss might come from places we don’t expect – and that hope, like coral, can flourish if given the right foundations.

Reef Builders is streaming now on Amazon Prime Video.