Cat Internet Festival and Lil BUB: How I Was Swept into a Catnado

Last week was a total catnado, but in a totally great way -- not in the way that cats were falling from the sky and chomping people. This catnado landed at the 2014 Internet Cat Video Festival in Minneapolis, and then jumped to the Feline Rescue fundraiser staring the one-and-only Lil BUB!

So many cool T-shirts!

The video festival is in my city, and it's the original one ... that means it's in my backyard and it's extra-super-cool. I was chosen as a juror again this year, so it was fun to see which ones made it to the reel and which one was picked to receive the glorious Golden Kitty award (it was this video)!

Catified!

As usual, the people-watching was spectacular and the attendees seemed to be elated just to be in the company of other feline fanciers. Cat lovers tend to connect most often online, so to be in a group of close to 10,000 all at once was pure nirvana.

With my friend Kelley from Feline Rescue

My friends at Feline Rescue had a booth again this year, and -- surprise -- the Cat Engineer guys stopped to take photos with their adoring fans. Have you seen their cat-yodeling video? You must!

What the AWESOME?

I ran into some blogger friends as well. It's always a treat to see Joanne from Tiniest Tiger, Paris from CatTipper/DogTipper, Debbie from Glogirly and Alana from Cat in the Fridge. Speaking of Alana, her team from CATastrophes (recently picked up by Animalist.com) was there interviewing kitty-cat devotees about their cat's super power ... if they had one besides their obvious awesomeness.

Alana, me, Joanne and Paris

The hour-long reel was well worth the wait, and it was absolutely insane (in the best possible way) to sit among thousands of other cat lovers and laugh, smile and "awwww!" together. I think we generated enough positive energy to keep the whole city of Minneapolis lit up for at least a few days. Hey -- that was our super power!

A powerful crowd!

The next day, my husband and I volunteered to help at the Feline Rescue fundraiser, which included a meet-and-greet with Lil BUB herself! The event was ticketed and limited to 200 participants because Mike Bridavsky is a top-notch guy and looks after BUB's well-being -- even the magical BUB can only take so much activity. Have I mentioned how great of a guy Mike is?

Look how CUTE she is! Yay, us!

The money from from the fundraiser was split in half between Feline Rescue and BUB's fund (which benefits animals with special needs) and people were excited and more than willing to donate in exchange for a photo (and perhaps a little top-of-the-head kiss) with the little sweetheart.

She signed it all by herself. Kidding.

My husband John helped by keeping the line moving and taking BUB photos of the participants using their own cameras. And that guy did a bang-up job! He squatted, chatted and snapped photos for over three hours. He said it was all worth it to be able to see the joy on everyone's faces as they interacted with the famous cat.

My favorite cat guy.

Overall, it was two days of complete craziness and pure elation; however at the end of it all, I fell into bed feeling a little catatonic (haha).

If you weren't able to make the fundraiser, and would like to help Feline Rescue, take a look at their donation page and wish list. Something as simple as paper towels or plastic bags will make a huge difference in their day-to-day operation. 

I Stepped Out On My Cats -- For a Great Cause!

You may remember that in May, Catladyland won a the Best Humor Blog award at the BlogPaws Pet Blogging and Social Media conference. I was over-the-moon excited and grateful for the honor. 

I get to act silly and win awards for it! Yay! Photo: Mary Dunbar

Even better than the really cool, personalized trophy, all winners received the opportunity to donate 200-lbs of cat food and 200-lbs of dog food to a shelter of their choice. My favorite local shelter is Feline Rescue, Inc. in St. Paul and they can't do much with a pallet of dog food. BlogPaws agreed to allow us to substitute more cat food for the dog food, which meant we'd get to donate a whopping 400-lbs of Petcurean cat food to the shelter! 

Lots of kneading paws! Photo: Tim Glovatsky

But wait, there's more! My friend and fellow Minnesotan cat blogger, Debbie Glovatsky of the hilarious Glogirly blog won the Nose-to-Nose for Best Twitter Design. The award was actually for @WafflesTooKitty, but I'm not telling Katie about that. Would you? 

Debbie and I snuggled many a kitty that day, including White Cloud! Photo: Tim Glovatsky

Anyhoo ... Debbie and I thought it would be a swell idea to combine our donations and give them to the same rescue, resulting in 800-lbs of Petcurean cat food! That's a lot of full kitty bellies!

Does Black Foot look impressed? Not so much. Photo: Tim Glovatsky

Last month, Debbie and I visited Feline Rescue and met some of the kitties that live there. And her husband, Gloman was kind enough to follow us around with a camera. For those of you who aren't familiar with the nonprofit rescue, they are a no-kill, all-volunteer shelter that was established in 1997. 

Cuddle-fest with Rufio and Tux T!! Photo: Tim Glovatsky

And they do a lot more than provide shelter for cats awaiting adoption. They also offer foster care, social and medical rehabilitation, feral and stray management, spay and neuter subsidy and community education. In other words, they're making a huge difference in the lives of cats! Please take a moment to like or follow them on their social media sites: Facebook, blog, Twitter, Pinterest.

I didn't want to let this sweet Louie go. Photo: Tim Glovatsky

Debbie and I are pleased to be able to help such a worthwhile organization and share their good work with you! I came home from the shelter covered in foreign cat hair. My cats wanted to know if I'd been stepping out on them and the whereabouts of their pallet of food. Self-centered little buggers.

More White Cloud! The kitties of Feline Rescue get lots of love! Photo: Tim Glovatsky

We're hoping to learn about the scheduled donation delivery time so we can be onsite and take some photos. We've been trying to imagine what 800-lbs. of cat food looks like and have come up with no sort of realistic visual, but we're pretty sure it's a ginormous pile. If we make it down to Feline Rescue for the delivery, we'll be sure to post pics!

Feline Rescue: Give to the Max

I live in Minnesota and today GiveMN.org, an online nonprofit donation database, will allow Minnesota nonprofits to earn extra funding. Feline Rescue, Inc., a no-kill shelter in St. Paul will be one of the participating organizations.

Give to the Max Day is an annual 24-hour school and nonprofit fundraising opportunity. According to the GiveMN.org site, "Every donation you make gives your favorite organization the chance to win even more money. Hundreds of nonprofits and schools will offer the opportunity to double your dollars throughout the 24 hours."

Since the campaign's inception in 2009, donors have given more than $50 million to over 6,700 nonprofit organizations. During last year’s Give to the Max Day, 47,534 donors logged in and raised $13.4 million for 3,978 Minnesota nonprofits.

Feline Rescue offers rescue and relief to homeless and endangered cats with programs such as:

• Shelter services
• Foster Services
• Spay/Neuter Subsidy
• Social and Medical Rehabilitation
• Feral and Stray Management
• Community Education

To make a donation to help Feline Rescue with their ongoing efforts to benefit the feline health and welfare, please visit their Give to the Max page today. For additional ways to help the organizations, see the How to Help page on their site.

Now that all the business is out of the way, here's a cute photo of Mustafa, Feline Rescue's campaign mascot. Enjoy!