CatCon 2018 drew a record crowd this year with 16,400 attendees flocking from 45 states and 11 countries to this 2-day annual feline fan fest in Pasadena, CA.
Image courtesy @lenarenae/Instagram
This year’s conference was a catastic meet and greet with an expanded and influential feline and human talent roster including celebricat Lil BUB, actor Ian Somerhalder (“The Vampire Diaries” and Netflix’s upcoming “V-Wars”), Georgia Hardstark (“My Favorite Murder” podcast) and Moshow the Cat Rapper.
Also in attendance were Morris the 9Lives Cat, Cats of Instagram, Coby the Cat, Julia Butters, (“American Housewife” and Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood) newcomers Merlin Ragdoll, Waverly McTinybeans and Sir Thomas Trueheart, and many more.
Image courtesy CatCon and Natalia Knezevic
The event featured top national and international brands including 9Lives® Cat Food, World’s Best Cat Litter™ and Kat Von D Beauty, and over 170 exhibitors from around the globe. Beneficiaries of this year’s event included the Ian Somerhalder Foundation, Lil BUB’s Big Fund, Kitten Rescue LA, and Milo’s Sanctuary. Over $40,000 was raised this year at CatCon to benefit cats in need. >^..^<
Image courtesy CatCon and Natalia Knezevic
The convention’s most popular panel this year was the important and timely conversation, Cats and Cannabis: What You Need To Know Meow. The seminar Men and Cats: a Love Story concluded the weekend’s programming, engaging a packed house and ending with a surprise wedding onstage, featuring Lil BUB as a bridesmaid and Moshow the Cat Rapper as best man.
Image scourtesy CatCon and Rich Hardcastle
Since its inception in 2015, the annual two-day immersive experience, recognized in the The Wall Street Journal article “Beyond Comic-Con: 5 Other Cons You Should Know”, has seen 62,000 attendees, helped almost 500 cats find their forever homes, and donated over $183,000 to cat organizations. This year saw 159 cat adoptions in the CatCon Adoption Village, presented in partnership with 9Lives® Cat Food and World’s Best Cat Litter™. ASPCA signed up 180 volunteers for its foster program during the course of the weekend.
Image courtesy CatCon and Natalia Knezevic
Most of the meet and greets sold out and included established celebricats like Lil BUB and Morris the Cat (the original celebricat) as well as Coby the Cat, Merlin Ragdoll, Shrampton, Sir Thomas Trueheart, Smushball and Peeny Houdini, and Waverly McTinybeans. Actor and animal activist Ian Somerhalder made an appearance onstage and met with nearly 250 fans in Meet & Greets, with proceeds benefiting the Ian Somerhalder Foundation
Images courtesy CatCon and Rich Hardcastle
Workshops like creating the perfect cat eye and feline health and wellness exceeded capacity. The most popular lectures included Cannabis and Cats: What You Need to Know Meow, The Furrocious Fashion Face Off, and Men and Cats, a Love Story all of which drew standing room only crowds.The Furrocious Fashion Face Off had a record number of contestants, coming from as far away as Arizona, Indiana, Nevada, South Carolina, Texas, and Tennessee.
Image courtesy CatCon and Natalia Knezevic
This year’s sponsors included major and international pet brands ASPCA®, CatGenie®, Cuteness.com, Halo, Purely for Pets®, Kat Von D Beauty, KindredBio, Litter Genie®, MERRY JANE, ModCloth, Modern Cat Magazine, 9Lives® Cat Food, VIP Petcare, World’s Best Cat Litter™, Wellness Pet Food, and The Westin Pasadena.
Image courtesy CatCon and Natalia Knezevic
Need some more cat themed eye candy? We’ve got you covered. Enjoy!
The following images are courtesy of CatCon and Natalia Knezevic
The images below are courtesy of CatCon and Rich Hardcastle.
About CatCon
CatCon is the biggest experience in the world dedicated to cats and pop culture. The annual event, which informs, educates, and entertains thousands of feline fans with the latest in groundbreaking and innovative products and ideas for cats and their people, attracts top talent from the worlds of television, film, and entertainment – as participants and attendees – such as Nala Cat, Drew Carey, Jerry Ferrara, Seth Green, Lizzy Greene, Tricia Helfer, Mariel Hemingway, Tess Holliday, Kitten Lady (Hannah Shaw), Jessica Lowndes, Julie Newmar (“Batman’s Catwoman”), Addison Riecke, Luna Rose, Ian Somerhalder, Simon Tofield (“Simon’s Cat” creator), Kat Von D, and Tallulah Willis.
This looks like it was a whole lot of fun to attend!
They should bring this to Orlando, FL. Then I could attend too! Looks like Purrfectly entertaining. And we do have film industry and celebrities that also live in Florida too! Would be totally the Cat’s Meow if they could also hold that event here, instead of once a year, twice a year, Summer in California and Winter in Florida! That would be cool!{no pun intended} And we do have a very large and nice convention center that would hold it in Orlando.
So spread it out and bring it to us Southerners that love our cats too, but may not be able to get over to the West Coast and California!
Great photos! And kudos to CatCon for getting 159 cats adopted! Yay!
Come to Chicago too!
Big props to MoShow The Cat Rapper! and his crew!