Purrhaps it’s because he’s a finalist in Catster’s World’s Coolest Cat Show!

The votes are in, and the top five vote-getters in each category have made it to the finals.

A team of celebrity judges will decide the category winners, but Catsters (and Dogsters) get to select the Best in Show. So check out all the finalists, and cast your vote for the Coolest Cat in the Feline Universe.

Concatulations to everycat who made the cut!

Click here to enter .

[PHOTO: Tabby Girl]

You can enter in any of four categories:

• DOMESTIC ANIMALS
  
• WILDLIFE ANIMALS
  
• MY PET & ME
  
• ANIMAL HUMOR

ENTRY FEE
$12 per entry
($10 entry and $2 donation required. The $2 donation will go to the charity of your choice: Best Friends Animal Society, Kids Saving the Rainforest, or the ASPCA).

DEADLINE: 22 DEC 2009

1 GRAND PRIZE WINNER WILL RECEIVE:

• A Kodak Zi8 Pocket Video Camera
  
• A Kodak ESP 5250 All-in-One Printer
  
• 50 rolls of Kodak Professional Tri-X, T-Max or Portra film

4 FIRST PLACE CATEGORY WINNERS WILL RECEIVE:

• A Kodak EasyShare Z980 Digital Camera
  
• 25 rolls of Kodak Professional Tri-X, T-Max or Portra film

ALL GRAND PRIZE AND CATEGORY WINNERS WILL RECEIVE:

• A PDN Magazine Subscription
  
• A 2010 PhotoPlus Expo Gold Pass
  
• Exposure in our online winner’s gallery and presence in the winner’s print exhibition at PDN PhotoPlus Expo 2010 in NYC
  
• Winning images will receive exposure on the Kodak.com home page and the Kodak “Tips and Projects” blog

There are also prizes for top vote-getters each week.

Click here for the Best Friends Photo Contest website.

[PHOTO: Catster Lola]

This month’s photo contest at Martha Stewart Pets is “Pets at Play.” Your winning photo could get you a year’s supply of Purina One cat or dog food. (If that’s not a flavor your cat eats, you can always donate it to your favorite shelter or a pet lover in need.)

Entry Deadline: 15 NOV 2009.

Click here for more info or to enter.

Got a great photo of your cat at play? Don’t forget to enter it in the “Playful” CATegory of the World’s Coolest Cat Contest.

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

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).

Grand prize: Five-night stay at the Hotel Vintage Park in Seattle, Washington, airfare for four, pet-pampering package, $2,000 cash, and great pet products from Bissell.
First runner-up: $500 gift card for Amazon Pet Store.
Second runner-up: $250 gift card for Amazon Pet Store.

Entry Deadline: 31 October 2009 at 11:59pm ET

Click here to enter.

Sammie’s Cutest Pet Photo Contest

Barbra Streisand is sponsoring a pet photo contest named after her beloved dog, Sammie (pictured above). To promote her new album “Love is the Answer,” she’ll be playing a once-in-a-lifetime show at the Village Vanguard in New York City on Saturday, September 26 to an intimate group of 100 fans. The winner of Sammie’s Cutest Pet Photo Contest will win tix to the show.

Here’s what you need to do. Submit a cute, original photo of your pet. The top 20 votes with the most votes move to the finals, from which one grand prize winner will chosen to receive two tickets to the performance, plus hotel and airfare.

Winners will be selected on Sept 9th.

Click here for rules.

Click here to enter.

Enter Martha Stewart’s 4th of July Patriotic Pet Photo Contest

How did your cat celebrate the Red, White and Blue? Whether it was for the Fourth of July or just saluting the flag, a photo of your patriotic cat could win a year’s supply of Purina One cat food!

Entry Deadline: 15 July 2009

Click here to enter contest.

[PHOTO: Catster Marvel Ann]