Anyone who’s had the courage and determination to try to pose cats for holiday photos know that it’s a little like playing whack-a-mole. Cat Guy Paul Klusman just made a video of his Halloween attempt, and I’ve gotta hand it to him: he is a gifted cat wrangler. AND HIS CATS ARE SO CUTE!!!

It’s the moment yoo’ve all been wating for: the annownsmint of the winners in The Cat’s Meow’s Halloween Costume Contest and Purrade.

We had a lot of amazing entries, and the judges had a hard time narrowing down the feeld to 8 finulists.

From those 8 finulists we drew an entry at randum, using random.org to determine the Grand Prize winner (in cases where multiple family members were finulists, they only got one entry in the drawing, per the roolz). But we’re also giving out a consolayshun prize to a non-finulist winner, and a vary speshul prize to one of the finulists for overall pawsomeness.

All the other finulists git sum zealies.

Drumroll, pleeze:

The Grand Prize Winner of 50 zealies, a $25 Gift Card and a trophy goes to Chewy and her family, who also get a nod of recognishun for the most creative and funny entries:

And the special winner of the Best Group Entry and Award for Overall Pawsomeness goes to Mercy and the Gang who portrayed the entire cast of The Wizard of Oz. They win 50 zealies, a $25 Gift Card and a trophy.

Thanks to all hoo pawtisipated. Don’t furgit to enter your fotos in the World’s Coolest Cat Contest! You could win a Flip Ultra digital camcorder or other great prizes!

The judges have weighed in with their picks for finalists. The judging criteria included:

• Photographic quality
• Originality
• Degree of Difficulty
• LOL factor

We also factored in the comments left on the Purrade post yesterday.

In selecting the finalists, only one entry from each family is eligible for the random drawing of a grand prize winner. So there will be 8 finalists vying for the Grand Prize, to be announced tomorrow.

We will also be awarding a few additional purrizes, including 25 zealies to be awarded as a consolation prize in a random drawing from all entries that didn’t make the finals.

Here are the finalists:

Mercy and the Gang as the Wizard of Oz cast
This amazing effort had the judges arguing over which one of these Wizard of Oz characters deserved to make it to the finals. They all deserve it, but per the rules, they’ll only get one entry in the random drawing for the grand prize winner.

Louis LeBeau as King Louis XIV

Hazel Lucy as Candy Corn

The following three entries — Lucky, Eve and Charlie — are from the same family. They all deserve recognition as finalists, but they only get one entry in the random drawing for the finalists.

Chewy as Eve in the Garden of Eden
Note from one judge: her fig leaves should have been placed a little lower.

Charlie as Operation Kitty

Lucky the Skunk

Mo the Fly Fishing Champ

Princess

Samoa as the Queen of Diamonds

Taz as God of the Sea, Neptune

Charlie the Prisoner

Welcome to The Cat’s Meow’s Halloween Purrade. The finalists will be annownst tomorrow (Sunday). You still have time to enter, so drop by and uplode yer best Halloween foto!

Don’t furget to leeve a comment and let us know hoo yer faverite is!

The winner will get a $25 gift card to PetSmart, Petco, Amazon or Shutterfly, a trophy and 50 zealies.

Our grand marshalls are Calvin and Jack Kayden… take it away, Calvin and Jack!

Calvin as the King of Hearts

Jack Kayden as a Groom

Pretty Girl as a Blushing Bride

Charlie as a Prisoner

Chewy as Eve in the Garden of Eden

Mo the Fly Fishing Champ

Baci Celebrates a Redheaded Halloween Birthday

Yolo the Purse Thief

Pigeon, the Sweetest Warlock

Princess hopes your Halloween is PURRfect!

Pookie says, “BOO!” … “Did I skeer yoo?”

Oscar as [shudder] A Flying Monkey

Princess Fiona

Robie as Prince Robinton

Khaki as Cap’n Khaki

Pele the Gato as a Hot Dog

Bonnie as the Drunken Jester

Baker as Mr COOL!

Phanto as a bunny Rabbit!

Chief Crazy Cat Luigi

Kitty Pryde as “Hello Kitty”

Milo the Little Devil

Sir Sonny Bono “More Handsome Than Johnny Depp”

Tobey in his Halloween Stroller

Muppet – Scary Pumpkin

Louis LeBeau as King Louis XIV “Sun King”

Wilson J Scooter as Biker Dude in the Village Cats

The Village Cats sing YMCA
Olde Furts Riley, Simon, Wilson J Scooter, Misha, Flower and Rascal

The Village Cats at Pie’s Breakfast Club at Olde Furts
Clockwise Riley, Flower, Wilson J Scooter, Simon, Misha and Rascal

Samoa as the Queen of Diamonds

Newman as a Joker

Blake as Vlad

Ko as a Booty Witch

Taz as God of the Sea, Neptune

Marvel Ann as a Little Princess

Orvis as Warlock

Jacob as Hairdresser

Graycen as a Witch

Onyx with her Witch outfit

Garage Cat as Basement Cat

Itza Guido the Italian Kitty as Dracucat

Jasper as Super ManX

Meio as a mummy

Mercy as Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz

Enzo the Scarecrow from the Wizard of Oz

Nike as the Tin Man from the Wizard of Oz

Reebok as the Cowardly Lion from the Wizard of Oz

Riley as the Wizard of Oz

Sophie as a Ballerina Munchkin from the Wizard of Oz

Pebbles as Glinda the Good Witch from the Wizard of Oz

Joy as the Wicked Witch of the West from the Wizard of Oz

Melody as Auntie Em from the Wizard of Oz

Pixie as a Flying Monkey from the Wizard of Oz

Mr Emerson the Vampire Bat

Kali as a Ladybug

Simba as a Cowboy

Mazi as a Bumblebee

Charlie as “Operation” Kitty

Lucky as a Skunk

Beanie as a Zombie — The Night of the Living Dead

Hazel Lucy as Candy Corn

Tabby as a Hippie

Piewackit as the Egyptian Queen

Zeke is the Werecat Warrior Prince

Ziggy as a Little Lamb

Hallie Baloo as Hallie Krishna

The finalists will be annownst tomorrow (Sunday). You still have time to enter, so drop by and uplode yer best Halloween foto!

Don’t furget to leeve a comment and let us know hoo yer faverite is!

After you’ve entered TCM’s Halloween Photo Contest, why not take a few minutes to enter that great photo in other Halloween photo contests as well? There are a few that are still open for entries:

World’s Coolest Cat Contest

The Costume and Shades Category is purrfect for your Halloween efforts!
Deadline: November 18th
Eligibility: All Catsters (Not a Catster member? It’s free, and just takes a minute to join!) One entry per cat in each of the 15 categories.
Grand Prize:

• A Flip Ultra digital camcorder
  
• One-year CatsterPlus membership
  
• 250 Zealies

Judging: Dogster luminaries and one Feline Fashionista pick the categories winners. Voting determines Best in Show.
Link:Enter the World’s Coolest Contest

Marin Humane Society’s Pet Photo Contest

Good Housekeeping Pet Photo Contest

Deadline: 11:59pm Halloween
Eligibility: All companion animals. One entry per household.
Prizes: There’s a bunch of them. The Grand Prize includes round-trip coach airfare for four (4) people from major airport nearest Winner’s residence. Grand Prize Winner will also receive $600 worth of Bissell Pet Cleaning products and $2,000 cash. The total approximate retail value of the Grand Prize is $6,500.
Judging: Popular vote.
Link: Good Housekeeping’s Pet Photo Contest

Walgreen’s Cutest Costumed Pet

Deadine: November 4, 2009
Eligibility: Click here.
Prizes: $7424.50 (ARV) in prizes will be awarded, including:

• Ten (10) First Prize winners (5 from each contest): $250 WPhoto Gift Card and the following prints credited to the Entrants’ Walgreens.com photo account: (500) 4″x6″ prints, (50) 5″x7″ prints, (25) 8″x10″ prints, (10) wallets sets. (ARV: $489.15)
  
• Twenty (20) Second Prize winners (10 from each contest): The following prints credited to the Entrants’ Walgreens.com photo account: (150) 4″x6″ prints, (20) 5″x7″ prints, (10) 8″x10″ prints, (5) wallets sets. (ARV: $89.15)
  
• Fifty (50) Third Prize winners (25 from each contest): (100) 4″x6″ prints credited to the Entrants’ Walgreens.com photo account. (ARV: $15.00)

Judging: Popular Vote
Link: Walgreen’s Pet Photo Contest

Calvin the King of Hearts (need to grab a hankie??)

Jacob as a Hairdresser

Baker the Beach Cat

Bonnie the Jester

Jack Kayden the Groom

King Louis the Sun King

You have until 11:59 pm on Halloween to enter. Grand prize includes a $25 gift card (to Petco, PetSmart, Amazon or Shutterfly), 50 zealies and a trophy (trophy for US and Canadian cats only).

[SOURCES: 1) portlandpickle; 3) 4) 6) 8] 10) 11) bandofcats.com; 2) rd.com; 5) guy-sports.com; 7) tagyerit.com; 9) received via email – source unknown; 12) photobucket; 13) blisstree.com]

ENTRY DEADLINE: Halloween

For the whole scoop, dig around over here.

[SOURCE: neverbetter.nomadlife.org]

It’s a great time to be shopping – huge discounts on costumes are available in many stores this week, although the longer you wait, the more limited your selection will be.

As one who’s been dressing up the cats for over ten years, I thought I’d share some insights that might help you make an informed decision when you’re shopping for costumes.

How will the costume be used?

Is this something you’re going to pose the cat in for a contest photo or Halloween card? Or will your cat wear it trick-or-treating or around the house? If it’s for a photo, you should consider costumes that photograph well when your cat is sitting facing you, as in the pose above.

Most pet costumes are designed for wearing, not posing, with the main design on top (the back) of the pet (see the wiener dog at right). This is great for pet parades, and specifically, for dogs in pet parades. However, this type of costume isn’t the best for photos — you need to photograph the back of the cat in order to see these costume — which means all you’ll see of your cat is the back of her head. If you take a photo with your cat facing you, you won’t be able to tell what the costume is.

Sleeveless T-Shirts

There are a couple of different costume types that lend themselves well to photos. One is the t-shirt. In the witch example above, I wanted something colorful to match the hat, and this t-shirt fit the bill. Skeezix is actually wearing the tee backwards, so that part of the design shows in front.

Sleeveless t-shirts like this are the most comfortable for cats to wear because they permit a full range of motion in the shoulder area and your cat is less likely to slither across the floor like a snake while wearing this type of shirt.

“Posing” Costumes

The second costume type is a “posing” costume that is strictly for the purpose of photographing your pet. Your cat will not really be able to walk around in it. It hooks (usually with Velcro) around the back of the cat’s neck, and has leg-holes through which your cat will step with her front legs into the costume. Most are set up with fake arms creating a funny illusion, as in the costume below from wiggle-n-waggle.com:

Headwear

Another option is to stick to headwear. Petsmart, for example, has a nice array of cat hats, including this one that sits between the ears:

It’s important to consider the ears, because about 98% of cats will not tolerate having their ears mooshed down, and they will shake the hat off repeatedly before you can ever snag a shot. Because of this, you should either get a hat that covers both ears completely so that the ears sit unencumbered within the hat (as in Skeezix’s witch hat above), or get a hat that is cut out around the ears. Don’t be shy about grabbing the scissors and snipping larger earholes.

Costumes for Wearing

If you plan on having your cat wear the costume for any length of time, I recommend something sleeveless and unfussy, like this one designed by Whisker City:

This allows for a full range of motion in the arms, and there is no fabric draggging that could trip up your cat. Ones that attach with velcro at the neck and chest provide easy-on/easy-off access.

Sizing

The most difficult part of shopping for cat costumes and clothes is figuring out what size to purchase. There are no standards of measurement, and what is considered an “x-small” by one brand is another brand’s “medium.”

There typically are two measurements that are used to determine size: the length of the back from the base of the neck to the tail, and the chest measurement. Of the two, the chest measurement is the most important — if Fluffy is a bit of a widebody, you don’t want to have to corset her up to squeeze her into the costume like you’re making sausage. Also take into consideration your cat’s coat and add an inch or two if your cat is a longhair. When in doubt, go the next size up.

If you’re shopping in the store, it’s always a good idea to eyeball the costume for size before you buy (and please, fold it up nicely and return it to the package when you’re done).

If you’re shopping online, it can be a bit of a crapshoot, but if you’ve had luck buying a particular brand in the past, it’s good to stick with that brand. Make sure you know the store’s return policies before you buy — often, Halloween costumes are not returnable (especially after Halloween). One of my favorite retail outlets is Chi-wa-wa Ga-ga in New Orleans. It’s a mom-and-pop shop that provides over-the-top customer service. You can provide your cat’s exact measurements when you place your order and they will telephone you to discuss what size you should order. Their fulfillment is super-fast, too.

A Witty, Well-Executed Concept Can Require Very Little Costuming

Chewy (in photo at right) is portraying Eve in the Garden of Eden. It’s brilliant and laugh-out-loud funny. You can get great results without going near the costume section of your local pet store if you put on your thinking cap, have a glass of wine and spend an evening brainstorming.

And look at that face! You can tell Chewy loves to ham it up for the camera!

Think Beyond Costume Shops

Catster Orvis recommends buying costumes for smaller cats — and accessories, too! — at Build-a-Bear. (B-a-B generics work well, too.) If you’re a decent seamstress, don’t be shy about ripping out seams and customizing.

Hobby and Craft Stores (ones that offer doll-making supplies) also might have outfits or accessories from which you can craft Halloween costumes.

Taking the Photograph

For tips on photographing your cat, see my World’s Coolest post. Here’s the short list:

• If your cat detests costumes, don’t force the issue.
• Have everything set up and ready to go before you bring in the cat.
• Provide lots of treats and toys; make it fun.
• Be vocal and profusive in your praise. Believe or not, most cats do love to please their guardians.

Enter in a Photo Contest!

Don’t forget: if you’re taking a Halloween photo, enter it in The Cat’s Meow’s Halloween Contest. You could win 50 zealies, a $25 Gift Card and a trophy.

Then, enter the Costumes and Shades Category of Catster’s World’s Coolest Cat Show. Because the degree of difficulty is somewhat higher than, say, the Sleeper Category, there are fewer entries and your odds of winning are higher! The Grand Prize winner gets a Flip video cam!