CatConLA: A feline-tastic event for Los Angeles cat fans

This weekend in the heart of downtown Los Angeles, people from all over traveled to go and honor the one animal that has been loved for centuries; the cat. CatConLA was an original and fantastic event dedicated to the modern day feline, and not only were there a plethora of artistic and creative vendors and products but celebrity cats and their owners flew in from all over the country to visit their Los Angeles fans.
Presented by Rachael Ray Nutrish Super Premium Natural Food for cats, CatConLA was a chance for cat lovers to buy products not only for their cats, but also for themselves to show their love and dedication to the species. One of the best and touching parts of the convention was the fact that there was a Rachel Ray Nutrish Furever Home adoption, where guests of the convention could adopt kittens. It was amazing to see a long line to get into the adoption area all day because that meant that people were actually serious about adopting cats. Just on Sunday by 1:00 alone, 22 cats had been adopted and the previous day many more cats found their Furever homes as well.
The convention was laid out in a very interesting way, very different than what one would expect from a typical comic convention. The pathways were a bit narrow and cramped and with a huge turnout it was a bit hard to get to what you wanted to see. This was a reality all day for such vendors such as the popular social media cats, Pusheen, Lil’ Bub and Pudge. Pusheen’s booth especially was jam packed all day and by early afternoon on Saturday had already sold out of many of their T-shirts, tank tops and mugs. One worker at Pusheen said, “We have never been to an event like this so we weren’t sure how much product to bring and how fast it would sell out. This is so crazy!”
Celebrity cats Lil’ Bub and Pudge were both extremely popular at the convention as well. Lil’ Bub’s booth offered many different products such as socks, shirts, mugs, hand-made cups and plush stuffed animals. Lil’ Bub’s meet-and-greet was also a huge success and was sold out both days, however not for a low price. To meet Lil’ Bub one had to pay $150 to pet the famous feline. Bub’s owner Mike Bridavsky gave a very understandable reason for this large amount saying it was mainly do to the fact that since Lil’ Bub is such a special needs cat, the people that can really afford and want to pay $150 to pet a cat are the kind of people that would respect Bub and are her true fans. Bridavsky says he doesn’t want people who aren’t fans of Bub to come and pet her because they might not give her the respect and gentleness that she needs. All of the proceeds made from the meet-and-greet are always donated to charity as well.
The other most famous cat at the convention was Pudge. The cute and fluffy Exotic Shorthair had her own booth as well which sold adorable Pudge buttons, mugs, sweatshirts and phone cases. Pudge had her own meet-and-greet and also charged a high amount ($100) to pet her and take photos. Her owner Kady Lone gave similar reasons as to the high amount like Bridavsky, saying it was to protect Pudge’s comfort.
Both Pudge and Bub appeared with their owners in the most popular panel of Saturday night called “My Cat is Famous...and how I’ve dealt with that.” In this panel Bridavsky and Lone both recalled how their cat really rose to fame and how they have dealt with that over the years. They were also joined by Will Braden, who is the creator of the popular Youtube video series, Henri Le Chat Noir. All three cat owners claimed they were never expecting their cat’s fame to rise to the point that it is and all three also agreed that they would never have an agent to come take over their cat’s lives. The owners claimed that they always want to have full decisions over what happens to their cats and how much they put their cat through. This showed how much love and respect the owners have for the animals and it was really heart warming to see that dedication.
Another popular panel of the day was with the two stars from Animal Planet’s Treetop Cat Rescue, Shaun Sears and Tom Otto. These brother-in-laws from Washington save cats from extremely tall trees on their own time and they were able to regale the crowd with their incredible stories of cat rescue and their methods they use to save the cats from near death situations. After the stars from the show ended their topics of conversation, Lil’ Bub made a special appearance at this panel as well much to the surprise and delight of the crowd. Animal Planet was also another huge sponsor of the convention and was there the whole time filming live footage of the panels to put online.
On Sunday, some of the main speakers were Ben Huh the creator of the popular internet cat meme “Cheezburger” and Rob Reger, who is the comic creator of the popular character Emily the Strange and her cats. Following that, the last big event of the day was Lil’ Bub’s Big Show LIVE. This popular online show featuring the adorable Bub was live for the first time at CatConLA and attracted tons of Bub fans.
Some other great parts of the convention included a hip and modern area called the Cats of Instagram Lounge. Decorated with comfortable red couches, this lounge was for people to take a break from the crowds, sit and literally recharge (this is where all the outlets were for people to charge their phones). The other lounge, the PetSmart Charites Lounge was another great area for people to learn more about PetSmart charities, causes and ways to donate.
Other noteworthy booths were Sleepypod, a cat carrier company used by famous cats such as Pudge, Meowingtons, a popular online store which creates trendy, modern and fashionable accessories and clothing inspired by cats and also Zoomer Kitty, a robot cat who you can “adopt” just like a real cat. CatConLA had their own booth as well which offered different shirts and mugs with original CatCon artwork on them to commemorate the event.
Overall, CatConLA was a fun event, especially for the hardcore cat lovers. Besides a really cramped and hot venue, the sponsors, vendors and CatConLA team all put on a great show for guests. For fans of felines there really wasn’t much else they could have done to make it a better convention all about cats.