The Hear & Meow: Notes from Catster HQ

Are you ready to find out?

We've collected data from all of our cat members and it turns out that the numbers of males and females are pretty much the same! Just like their owners, they share the planet equally! Yay!

Okay, okay, it's not exactly equal - if you look at the chart below, you'll see that the males have a slight edge, but not by much...

Pulling from statistics that represent over 185,000 cats, this finding is based on the gender information that you provided when you set up your cat's profile. You also told us about activeness, intelligence, curiosity, vocal strength and friendliness, which means that we have a LOT of feline and breed-specific information from the people who know about cats best: YOU. We'll be sure to share some of those statistics in the future as well!

Is the cat pawpulation in your household or on your block equal? Let us know in the comments!

Manly purrs and beautiful elegant graceful meows,

The Catster HQ number crunchers

Gotcha! Hee hee hee!

Sorry about that, but we couldn't resist. It is April Fools' Day and all, and having a little fun (at YOUR expense, this time) is what this day is all about, right?

Really, now... Did you think that we had a video of Murray driving his school bus? We all know cats can drive cars, but a school bus? I can't believe you went for it... ;-)

One of the great things about browsing the pages of Catster is that the fun and laughter that make April Fools' Day such a hoot is present ALL YEAR ROUND on Catster. If anybody knows how to yuk it up, it's our hilarious members!

Take, for example, all the fun stuff going on over at The Kit Kat Club group. Those guys and gals (and as of right this moment there are nearly 3,000 members!) really know how to party and turn up the fun!

And speaking of fun, what's more fun and kooky (not to mention a little freaky) than a cat in a wig? This is what my little buddy Tailer looked like after I snuck him into Bambi's Princess Poochie Salon and Spa! Wow! A bit shocking, but it's actually not a bad look for him...

Super funny stuff!

While I certainly hope that we were able to get a chuckle out of you today, we were just returning the favor! You keep us laughing all year long--and we're really glad that you do!

Have a great April Fools' Day, Catsters!

Repetitive and heartfelt headbutts,

Your pals at Catster HQ

;-)

[The laughing cat way up top is Catster member Lilly Bush, who took her sense of humor and cuteness with her to the Rainbow Bridge in 2007.]

Well, no. We're not. But a Catster member recently wrote to me asking if we were nuts to suggest that a Together Tag is a good item for a cat, seeing that cats don't really dig wearing collars. [Well... we ARE nuts, but that's another story.] As for why we DO think cats are just as worthy candidates for Together Tags as dogs are, I offer the following picture of my cat Tailer, who I think looks simply dashing in his...

Seriously, folks, as a cat owner myself, I understand the concern. Tailer has never been a collar-wearing cat. When I lived with him in Sweden, he roamed the forests freely, but was very familiar with his surroundings. Thankfully, he always found his way back home, even after the occasional two to three day jaunt in the woods. To better the chances of his being returned in the event that he did go missing, I had him tattooed in the ear, a practice that is much more common in Europe than it is here in the States.

After moving back to California, the first thing I did was have Tailer microchipped. I believe in microchipping, though have been frustrated by the fact that the different chip and scanner manufacturers have been unwilling to work together to create a universal system until very recently. So I'm glad that I have him chipped, but did feel that it wasn't enough, so when we began discussing the pros and cons of pet recovery systems here at Catster, I was vocal about the fact that the best thing for a cat owner to do is to microchip their cats AND belong to a tag-based pet recovery system. The tag is the first thing the finder sees, which may prompt a phone call and a reunion at a much quicker pace than the lone microchip will do.

Does Tailer wear his Together Tag every day? Do I wear a tie every day? The answer to both of those questions (my neck is itching as I type this) is NO WAY, JOSÉ. Since moving to CA, Tailer has become is an indoor cat, and he spends his days skipping across the hardwood floors of my apartment, basking in the sun by the window, or sleeping at the foot of my bed. He is pretty much under my control, so I don't make him wear a collar around the house. And he doesn't make me wear a tie.

Needless to say, I can't stand the thought of him not being returned to me should we become separated, and I don't want to solely rely on the microchip, so I put on his collar and Together Tag whenever we leave the apartment. Whether we are going to the vet, taking a road trip to L.A., or simply going for a walk in the garden, he's wearing his Together Tag. When he's not wearing it, it hangs on the doorknob of the closet where my emergency/earthquake backpack is stored, so that in the event that I need to evacuate him, the tag can go on him quickly and then we're ready to go. To me, that feels great.

We are aware of the fact that the Together Tag will probably be of greater interest to dog owners. Dogs wear collars very well, much better than cats do. But we definitely feel that the service behind the Together Tag is something that is worth sharing with cat owners as well, even if the cat's tag is set aside and used in emergency and/or travel situations only. We stand behind the product 100%, have conducted plenty of research, and believe that the sense of security that Together Tag provides is worth sharing with all pet owners, not just dog owners.

Plus, it's a darn good-looking tag, too. Tailer is very particular about where he is seen and HOW he is seen. ;-)

What do you think about cats and collars? Would your cat wear a Together Tag? Do you have an emergency collar and ID tag for your cat? Leave me a comment and let me know.

Check out www.togethertag.com to find out how Together Tag works and why microchipping is not enough.

Have a purrfect weekend!

Meows and head-butts,
Anders Porter
Editorial & Content Manager, Catster.com

We love our pets. And we know that you do, too. It really doesn't get any simpler than that.

Our love for pets is why this site exists in the first place, and your love for pets is why our community has grown to become the number one group of websites for cat and dog owners. We go out of our way to make it possible, and you go out of your way to make it fun and exciting. The progress we have made over the years is progress we have made as a team, progress we have made together. And we're really quite proud of that fact.

As we continue to grow, we are constantly on the lookout for new ways of reaching out to the pet-loving community, new ways through which we can help our fellow pet owners. It's this passion that has driven the launch of our newest product - a pet ID and recovery service called Together Tag. We're very excited to be able to make this product available to dedicated members like you.

Here at Catster, we've heard many tragic tales over the last five years about people being separated from their pets. Whether it's a story about a cat simply running out the front door and not coming back, or a family unable to find their cat after Hurricane Katrina, the disheartening truth is the same: there's nothing worse than losing your furry friend.

Inspired by these sad accounts and the strength of our pet-loving community, we have decided to take matters into our own hands. Leveraging our pet expertise, technical know-how, social networking capabilities and vast community resources, we've created the ultimate service for keeping pets and their families together. Working in partnership with the American Red Cross, Catster is pleased to announce the launch of Together Tag, the most comprehensive pet ID and recovery service. Enrollment is fast and easy and you can activate your account immediately.

$5 from every enrollment purchased is donated to the pet safety program at the American Red Cross.

We invite you to visit our new website at www.togethertag.com, where you'll find everything you need to know about how our service works and how you can protect your pets.

We hope that you find this service valuable and would love to hear your feedback. If you have thoughts or questions about Together Tag, you may either leave a comment on this post or send me an email at anders[AT]dogster.com.

Thanks once again for your continued devotion and support.

Purrs and meows,

Anders Porter, Editorial and Content Manager
Catster.com
Dogster.com
TogetherTag.com

At this point, you're certainly not surprised to hear the words "recession" or "economic crisis." You would have had to be living under a rock to not have seen, heard, read about or experienced the current state of the (now) global economic downturn. You or someone dear to you may be recently unemployed, you may be tightening your purse strings or you may be even switching to a less expensive cat food. The latter, of course, only applies if you are indeed lucky enough to still be able to properly care for a pet, and have not been forced to hand your four-legged friend over to a shelter.

It sounds unfathomable and drastic, but it's true--shelters all across the country have reached and surpassed their occupancy levels and are facing numbers the likes of which they've never seen before. It's happening all over.

From West Texas...

"We do our best to get them a home, but if we don't for some reason, it takes a while, they don't go anywhere. We'll keep them here forever if we have to," Lone Star SPCA Director, Kirk French, said. --NewsWest9.com, January 5, 2009

to Missouri...

"Some of them, when they're first abandoned, are pretty healthy, not thin, and may be wary of people, but don't live completely in hiding. But faster than you'd think, they get very thin, they might get mange, or injured somehow, they live in the shadows, and soon they have an air of dejection," [said] Randy Grim, head of Stray Rescue of St. Louis. -- USA Today, January 6, 2009

to Michigan...

Nearly 6,000 dogs and cats have been taken to the shelter this year. Of that, 401 were turned in by owners who cited financial pressures - an increase of 75 percent compared to the previous year, officials said. -- MLive.com, December 26, 2008

... the story is the same: too many pets, not enough shelter space or resources.

As unemployment rates go up, so do the turn-in rates at shelters, which means that the organizations that are responsible for the care, maintenance and funding of the shelters are forced to deal with a larger number of four-legged clients, but with the same (or fewer) resources. You don't have to be a mathematician to figure that one out. It quite simply does not work.

At Dogster and Catster, we take great pride in not only being able to provide our members with a fun experience, but with an informative and meaningful one as well. As times get tough for our furry little friends out there, we'd like try to do what we can to make the situation more manageable. Here is a list of Catster resources that will help you to find out more or lend a hand during these rough times:

The Catster Railroad - This is a special place for Catsters to help Catsters arrange for community transport of rescue cats or cats being re-homed.

The Catster Adoption Center - Find out about adoptable cats here. You can find shelter cats or cats that are at risk of being sent to a shelter.

Catster Local - This is where you can search for animal shelters and rescue organizations in your area.

Catster Adoption and Rescue Groups - Browse through all kinds of organizations that work to provide furrever homes for cats.

Catster Rescue and Adoption Answers - Browse through, ask or answer questions that have to do with rescue and adoption.

As long as this crisis exists, we here at Catster HQ will do our best to provide our members and readers with news, information and tips relating to the situation. Please feel free to pass links to our dog and cat articles and pet-centric services to any of your pet-loving friends who may find themselves in dire economic straights over the next few months.

Finally, leave a note in the comments section for this post if you have any thoughts or tips that you would like to share with other readers. Together, we can make a difference. And we will.

Tags

2009, adoption, cats, recession, rescue, shelters

Hiya, Catsters! As this year comes to a close, I thought it would be a purrfect idea to focus on some of the editorial highlights in and around the Catster empire in 2008! In addition to doing things like making extensive enhancements to our cat breed info pages and launching our all inclusive Dog and Cat Owner's Manuals, we managed to roll out a or enhance a few other new projects as well. Check it out!

2008 really was the year of the blog for Catster. It was with great pleasure that we launched The Cat's Meow: Catster's Cats and Kittens Blog, an event that was made even more exciting by the fact that Skeezix the Cat and his Food Lady Karen Nichols hopped on board to write it. Skeezix and Karen hit the catwalk running, and have been delighting readers with news, tips and fun for the past couple months now. Stay tuned for more fun--to make sure you don't miss a beat, sign up for the RSS feed or the email updates now!

We also launched Snuzzy this year, our pet and animal humor site where "cute and fuzzy collide." I've been pleasantly surprised with the success of this blog, and have enjoyed the feedback that I receive from our readers. So much of what makes Dogster and Catster successful has to do with the fact that our members and readers have great senses of humor and extreme fondness for all things cute, fuzzy and furry, so it was only logical that we launch the Snuzz. I look forward to continuing to find the snuzz and post it for you as the new year unfolds.

The Daily Cat Tip was also born in 2008, a blog that offers up a short daily bit of handy info that should be of interest to cat owners and cat lovers alike. Tracie Hotchner, author of The Cat Bible, has been writing the tips for us since we launched the blog in September. Look for more helpful tips on a whole slew of topics in 2009... AND, you can also get the tips delivered to you via Twitter! Just follow Catster by clicking here!

And speaking of Twitter, we've really been working hard to develop our Twitter presence, in order to make our followers aware of happenings, articles and fun stuff that cat lovers need to know about. We've got over 500 followers and more are coming every day! If you're not following us yet, and wish to do so, or just want to find out what all of the fuss is about, jump on over to our Twitter homepage.

Our Vet Blog, written by veterinarian Dr. Eric Barchas, has grown to be one of the most comprehensive medical blogs for pet owners on the Internet. Whether responding to your questions or to current events in the pet medical community, Dr. Barchas provides helpful daily advice to pet owners all over the world.

And, if that's not enough fur ya, we managed to sneak in a couple more exciting projects here at the end of 2008...

In order to start an open dialogue regarding the pet health insurance industry, we partnered with Trupanion to start the Pet Insurance and Health Care Blog in December. This is a place where readers are free to share their experiences, pawsitive and negative, with pet health care--so that we can all learn more about how the industry works!

And quizzes? We got yer quizzes! For those of you who have always been interested in finding out which celebrity your cat most closely matches, take our Celebrity Pet Quiz (also a 2008 addition) and find out!

And what good is a website with a bunch of different kinds of cats if we can't... stroll through all of them and try to guess their breeds! That's right, December also saw the launch of the Cat Breed Photo Game, which has been a huge hit in just a short period of time. Haven't played yet, or want to secure your name on the leader board? Give it a whirl now!

Turns out I could go on furever and ever, but I'll leave you with a little 2008 World's Coolest Dog Show info and let you get back to hanging out on Dogster. For the second year in a row, over 3 MILLION votes were cast on over 20,000 entries, making the coolest pet photo contest on the Internet a success once again!

Whew. What a year.

But the most important announcement that we have to make this year is that we plan to ride this creative momentum well into the new year! So stay tuned--we've got lots more excitement coming your way in 2009 from Catster HQ!

I'd like to finish by thanking all of our dedicated members, regular visitors and curious passers-by for helping us grow to be the #1 community for cat-lovers on the Internet. Many companies faced challenges in 2008, and Dogster and Catster were no exceptions. But we want you to know that we're keeping our tails up and our claws sharp as we push off into 2009, and aim to continue to provide you with the cat-friendly content that you've come to know and love. We always appreciate your feedback and look forward to continuing to hear from you in the coming year.

Purrs, meows and head-butts,

Anders Porter
Editorial & Content Manager
Dogster, Inc.

Albuquerque ABC news affiliate KOAT recently aired a clip about Dogster, interviewing Top Dog Ted Rheingold by phone. Ted spoke about the amazing lengths that Dogster and Catster members have gone to in order to find homes for or help relocate Dogster pets. [Click here for more information about the Catster Railroad and check out the whole Catster Railroad database here.]

This specific story focused on Dogster Noelle (above) who was left homeless after her owner, a Dogster and Catster member, passed away. Our strong community (led by members Hazel Lucy, TC, O’Malley, Ele’ and Gimme) rallied to raise money and arrange support for Noelle and her feline roomies Aldo and Tess, in order to find the pets loving homes. You can read the entire story on the Cat's Meow.

And you can watch the entire ABC news clip here.

We've got just two days left until the first round of voting closes in the 4th Annual World's Coolest Dog & Cat Show, and to show our appreciation for your taking the time to vote for your favorite dogs and cats, we're offering a prize of 250 Zealies to a random Dogster or Catster member who casts a vote between now and the close of voting! The more you vote, the better your chances are of taking home the 250 big ones! We're almost at 3,000,000 votes! Let's see if we can get there!

So get on over there and vote! And maybe we'll depawsit 250 Zealies in YOUR Catster account!

Good luck!

Esteemed pet photographer Mark Rogers has announced that he will be offering specials for Catster members in the San Francisco Bay Area, just in time for the holidays. Mark, recently voted SF Gate's Best Pet Photographer in the Bay Area, is the man behind the lens behind our Photo Caption Contest on our For the Love of Dog Blog over on Dogster. So if you're a member of the greatest cat site around, and you live in the SF Bay Area, click here to find out more about Mark's exclusive Catster offer!

Thanks, Mark! Purrs and meows!

PSSST! That cat look furmiliar? That's right, it's Catster member Guido the Italian Kitty, who will be competing for A MILLION DOLLARS in the Meow Mix Think Like a Cat Game Show on November 15! Make sure you tune in to watch!

The 4th Annual World's Coolest Dog & Cat Show is up and running and grrrreat pix are being entered, so stop what you're doing and get on over there--don't miss out on all of the excitement! With categories from Costumes and Shades and Craziest Tail to Sitting Cat and Captivated Cat, there's definitely a purrfect place for your kitty to shine in this one of a kind cat photo contest!

So dig up your best shots and get them entered today, OR go through the CATegories and START PREPPING for the taking of the shot that's going to blow the competition out of the water! World's Coolest only happens once a year, so don't let it pass you by!

ENTER! VOTE! ENTER AND VOTE!