10 Most Popular Post of 2014

It’s always fun to take a look at the posts from the year to see which were most popular. And it gives readers a chance to catch-up on any “good stuff” they’ve missed along the way.

This is particularly relevant given we just achieved my personal goal of having 34k Facebook Fans (or “likes”) by my Birthday (today, shhhh!) so we’ve (hopefully) got a bunch of new blog readers joining us today!

While giveaways and reviews are fun, I was happy to learn the most popular posts were the ones involving storytelling and humor. I find it heartening, and am grateful for readers who appreciate topics a single cat lover (moi!) enjoys writing about!

So here we go, in David Letterman style, the TOP 10 POSTS FROM I HAVE CAT in 2014:

10) Decorating, with cat (s): Granted, at the moment my apartment looks like a cat toy testing facility. But normally I do my best to make it look like a semi-stylish human occupies it. As I’ve always said:

I want my apartment to announce itself to friends, family and suitors with a resounding, “Hello, an independent sophisticated woman lives here” not “Meeeoooooow, welcome to Casa Cat.

That being said, I’m always on the look-out for functional cat products that look good and my cats will love as much as I do! In this post I feature one of my favorite finds, the Urban Pet Haus Wave Shelves (and you’ll also get a peek at what my apartment used to look like!).

9) 5 Things Cats Know About Life We Should Learn: This guest post by Kat Sherbo (yup, that’s her real name!), features things she learned from her cat Timmy, who she says never met a day he didn’t like!

8) “Cats and Abs.” It’s For Real.: The title doesn’t leave much to the imagination. This is a post featuring cats (kittens actually) and the chiseled of a few hunky young guys. The featured abs being those of “Cosmopoliton.com resident shirtless hunk” (yes, I believe that’s his official title), CJ Richards, in a video created for the Humane Society of New York. All I can say is. You’re welcome.

7) 13 Ways To Feel Like You Have A Cat (When You Don’t): Not responsible enough to care for a cat? Building doesn’t allow them? Terrible allergies? Don’t fret, this post will make you feel as though you live with a bevy of cats even without a real one in sight.

I was particularly proud of my creative candle holders make of cat litter. Perhaps I should begin marketing them…hmmm….

Posts #6 and #5 feature CAT MEN! Woot! It’s one of our favorite topics here at I HAVE CAT. Sadly for us singletons, both these guys are taken (Jon only recently – shucks!). But I think you’ll still enjoy perusing these posts!

6) Cat Man Monday: Officer Jon Boyer: In this post I interview the very young and sweet Officer Jon Boyer, a cop whose beat is the not-always-so-friendly West side of Baltimore, MD. Many animals are abandoned or born in dilapidated, vacant homes and Jon has gone above and beyond to rescue both cats and dogs. At one point he lived with six cats he rescued. He’s become so popular because of the campaign he did for “Show Your Soft Side,” a bunch of ~~stalkers~~ fans even started a I LOVE JON BOYER Facebook page!

5) CAT MAN MONDAY: Chris Poole, He Loves Cats of All Sizes: Chances are you’re already familiar with Chris’ cats Cole and Marmalade (sweet new ginger kitty Marm was recently diagnosed with lymphoma but seems to be doing better with treatment). Chris was kind enough to write a guest post for us about his life long love of all cats large (he works at Big Cat Rescue in Florida) and small. I promise if nothing else you’ll get a kick out his videos and photographs!

4) NYC CATS: The Subway Kittens: Back in August of 2013, two little kittens found themselves in quite a jam. They’d somehow found their way onto the New York City subway tracks, and in doing so, brought an entire subway line to complete standstill for over two hours! Not an easy feat!

In this post I interview one half of the lovely couple who adopted these sweet bonded siblings who became national celebrities when they made an appearance on the Colbert Report!

Their Mom Katherine provided me with the photo above juxtaposing a photo from 2013 with one from August 2014. It’s amazing a difference a year makes!

3) Exclusive Peek Inside “Cat Town”: 1st US Cat Cafe! Before the first cat cafe in the US opened last October, I interviewed Adam Myatt, one of the founders of CAT TOWN in Oakland, CA who told us how the idea of a cat cafe came to him, the research that went into it, and even gave us an exclusive look inside the cafe and introduced us to the first batch of cat that would be residing there (and up for adoption!).

The cafe has been an incredible success adopting over 80 cats to date in less than three months! In a follow-up piece we had local I HAVE CAT fans act as on-the-ground reporters and visit the cafe on opening day, and again a few weeks later. So be sure to check that post out as well!

We’re getting close!!! Here are the TWO most popular posts of 2014! Be sure to read them if you haven’t yet done so! One is very in formative and the other just fun!

2) 11 Tips for a Safe & Stylish Kitty Home: Just as many of us humans managed to survive to adulthood despite lead paint, secondhand smoke and death-trap cribs, my eldest cat Kip has somehow survived over 6 years with me, a single Mom who adopted him in her mid 30s without any prior feline experience. Don’t learn the hard way, read this post. You can still have a stylish home that’s cat safe.

NOTE: Since writing this article the dangers of reed infusers (those lovely scented oil bottles with sticks in them to make the room smell pretty) has come to my attention. Not only can the liquid be poisonous if ingested, but pets can suffer severe chemical burns if they touch it.

And, the MOST POPULAR POST on I HAVE CAT in 2014 was…

1) My Visit to New York City’s First Cat Cafe: Before Meow Parlour, Purina had a pop-up cat cafe in NYC’s Lower East Side over the summer that drew crowds who waited over four hours for a chance to play with kitties (and drink complimentary cat-foam adorned cappuccinos!).

I was fortunate enough to get in on the first day, play with the kitties and meet my newest girl-crush.

A HUGE THANK YOU to all I HAVE CAT blog fans. Without you, my family and friends would be forced to read all of my posts (well, they kind of are anyway). But thanks for the validation and I love knowing there are so many like-minded cat lovers out there! Keep coming back (please!).