Lots of Kitties Will Win with the Petties 2014 Pet Blog Awards

It’s time once again for the annual Dogtime Petties Pet Blog Awards. This isn’t just about me winning an award for The Creative Cat, though that would be splendid. This is more about helping me and The Four Housecats of the Apocalypse donate money to help other cats—and other animals—in need.

For the chance to bring $1,000 to the Homeless Cat Management Team and bring those who volunteer for it the recognition they deserve, and to keep sharing the story of Frankencat and Old Grand Dad, I’ll do it if you will.

In monetary terms, $1,000 is:

Two-thirds of the cost of a “free” clinic serving up to 100 cats.

Free clinics are free for colony caretakers but still cost money in materials. Each clinic costs about $1,500, and winning this would nearly pay for another clinic.

Emergency surgeries and veterinary care for the cats and kittens we rescue.

All the cats and kittens in the rescue, including those pulled from the street when we receive calls, emails and texts about ill and injured cats or abandoned kittens, can receive care at the clinic, and emergency surgeries and critical care are the most expensive but save hundreds of lives each year.

Food and litter for foster homes, colony caretakers and cats in care at the clinic.

At any given time between now and November, 50 to 100 kittens and their mothers will be in foster care. Kittens and nursing moms, especially rescued nursing moms, need a healthy diet and eat more food than you can believe. All those cats will be spayed and neutered and given age-appropriate vaccines before going anywhere for adoption too.

You know that each week I write about cats and kittens in need of homes, and also rescue stories from the streets—these are barely the tip of the iceberg in what really goes on in cat rescue every day, and not only in the Pittsburgh area where I am, but all over the country, even the continent.

Each day I hear stories of individuals running all over to rescue cats and kittens, nurse them through grievous injuries and chronic or acute illnesses or just finding humane euthanasia for the ones who won’t make it, bottle feeding abandoned neo-natal kittens, socializing frightened shelter and rescue cats, trapping and spay/neutering thousands of cats each year who don’t even belong to them or to anyone and trying to assist others and train them in TNR, and educate and inform anyone who will listen about low-cost spay/neuter and veterinary care. They don’t get paid for this, and they don’t get awards for this, in fact they often get criticism and sometimes threatened lawsuits for their actions. They do this because they Care.About.Animals, and they deserve what recognition and reward they can get.

But I am always frustrated at watching individuals, rescues and shelters struggle to do what has to be done to keep our animal populations healthy and respected as living, loving creatures in our society. After my own 30 years in cat rescue, I sometimes have to shake my head and wonder why we still have to struggle. When I find an opportunity to turn something I do well into cash for the rescues and rescuers I know, I am all over it, and that’s what the Petties are about for me.

I don’t like contests, and I don’t like to ask anyone to take their valuable time to nominate me for anything unless they are moved to do so on their own. But for these people and the many like them, I want you to take the time each day during the month of June to nominate a blog and a rescue to win actual cash—even if it’s not me, and it’s not the other nominees I suggest. Someone will win big, and animals will benefit.

Last year I was a nominee for Best Cat Blog and I cried when got the news; I really had no idea I had that much support. I did not win last year, and this year I debated the time and effort of asking everyone to nominate each day in June and vote each day in July as everyone did last year.

About the Petties Awards

There are awards for bloggers, for shelters or rescues and for volunteers through this contest, which runs from June 3 through June 28.

Blogger Awards

There are ten categories bloggers can win, and the winner in each category will receive a personalized Petties trophy and a $1,000 donation to the shelter or rescue of their choice.

Petties Grant Award

And as if that’s not enough the shelter or rescue listed with the most nominations wins a $10,000 donation from Dog Time Media in the Petties Grant contest! Any shelters or rescues receiving donations from DogTime must be a non-profit 501c3. Nomination for this award is given in coordination with a blogger award.

Unsung Heroes Award

And to recognize that much of the work done on behalf of animals is done by volunteers, the contest also offers the Unsung Hero Award, wherein the winner will be given a personalized trophy and $10,000 for the shelter or organization of their choice. Nomination for this award will begin July 5, with step two of Petties nominations!

My Suggested Rescue

If The Creative Cat were to win won of the ten categories, I would choose to give the winning $1,000 to the Homeless Cat Management Team. I probably don’t need to tell you anything about this organization because you hear about it nearly each day in one way or another. Over 1,000 cats each year are spayed and neutered in the clinics, and while adult stray and feral cats are returned to their colonies, countless kittens are pulled for socialization and adoption, and sometimes even friendly cats are too. Hundreds of cats also receive medical attention for everything from sniffles to amputations, cats who’ve been rescued with collars embedded in their armpits, who’ve been shot, mauled by a dog and left for dead as well as the leagues of kittens and momcats who are the victims of difficult births or nearly fatal viruses, and are treated for as long and as deeply as necessary despite the fact they don’t technically belong to anyone. Every feline life matters.

And without all that work on behalf of cats, Frankencat would not have been rescued, and his magic with Old Grand Dad would never have happened. And who knows what amazing thing Franken will do after this?

You can read about the actual clinics in my article about the HCMT TNR clinic.

How the Petties nominations work…

You are not actually voting in this award contest, and you don’t just go and do it once. Unlike the usual one-person-one-vote-one-time method, you are nominating blogs and content for the categories listed below, and you can do this once each day. Yes, once each day, it’s the part I hate to ask you to do, but the more votes, the more chance of winning. After all, upwards of $20,000 is at stake for shelters, rescues and volunteers, so we have to work a little for it.  Nominations opened June 3, 2013 and close June 28, 2014 at Midnight PST for these first rounds.

Then, after that round of nominations, the blog winners are drawn in each category, and there is voting for the winner in each category through July as well as the winner of the Unsung Heroes Award. These winners will be announced during an online ceremony in autumn.

Nominating

You can nominate one slate of candidates each day.

I have voted for myself in the Petties, and I’ve also voted for others. I hope you will vote for The Creative Cat in any appropriate category, such as Best Cat Blog and if you have a favorite blog post on The Creative Cat please nominate that as well, but I hope you’ll choose Devoted to the End: Frankencat and Old Grand Dad, https://thecreativecat.net/devoted-to-the-end-frankencat-and-old-grand-dad/#.U5KJIyjX-wM.

I’ve no doubt you have other favorite blogs too, as I do, so please don’t leave any spaces blank! Each nomination counts, each day, and the money will be awarded!

Filling out your nominations

1. Log in: http://petties.dogtime.com/login You can log in with your Facebook account, or you can use an e-mail address.

2. Nominate:

Best Cat Blog: www.TheCreativeCat.net in the “Nominee URL” box (if you can’t copy and paste from here, you can copy and paste from the header bar).

Best Blog Post: https://thecreativecat.net/devoted-to-the-end-frankencat-and-old-grand-dad/#.U5KJIyjX-wM, or if you have another favorite copy the full post address from your browser’s address bar and paste it in the  “Nominee URL” box. If you can’t copy and paste this one you can also click on the link to go to the post and past it from the header bar there.

Nomination Categories

Best Overall Pet Blog : A blog that showcases all that is pets and offers readers a little bit of everything on our furry friends.

Best Blog Post : blog post that has had a powerful effect on its readers (Please put URL of blog post you are nominating, not just the blog URL itself).

Best Cause Related Blog : A blog that is dedicated to animal welfare and the rescuing of animals in need.

Best Designed Blog : A blog that is well designed and is complemented by photography or other artwork that makes visiting this blog a pleasure to the eyes.

Best Social Integration Blog : A blog that is easy to find and permits you to share with ease.

Best Product Review Blog : A blog that you turn to when you want to find out about a new product for your pets.

Best Dog Blog : A blog that is dedicated to dogs and has insightful posts about their dog and offers readers a variety of information on dogs.

Best Cat Blog : A blog that is dedicated to dogs and has insightful posts about their dog and offers readers a variety of information on cats.

Funniest Blog or Blogger : A blog or blogger that has made you laugh multiple times through their posts and you enjoy visiting their blog for a good daily chuckle.

Best Video Post : An informational, educational, or inspiring video that enhances a blog post and helps engage the reader. (Please put URL Of blog video post you are nominating, not just the blog URL itself)

Best Mobile App: A non-paid, downloadable application offering the best of the pet world through a mobile device.

Best Active Living Blog : A blog dedicated to living a healthy and active lifestyle, which includes adventures with your [dog]—well, we cat people are living a health and active lifestyle with our cats as well, and no doubt so are rabbit and ferret and bird and other animal lovers as well.

Why nominate every day? Why nominate at all?

Don’t just nominate me, nominate all your favorites.

First of all, animals somewhere will benefit, plenty of them, and in the process none at all will be harmed.

Second, we bloggers work very hard at something we are all passionate about—entertaining and educating you, our readers, each in our own unique way. Most of us do this simply from love and receive no compensation whatsoever, but even if we do it’s not much. Without compensation to give us an idea of how we’re performing our jobs, feedback is our guide. One of the best ways to find out if we are doing it right is to be nominated for, and to receive, an award for what we do, and it’s also a payment on its own from you, our readers, a pat on the back, a virtual hug, telling us that we’ve done a good job.

Third, there’s Giuseppe, ready once again to visit if he finds you haven’t visited the Petties nominations page and cast your nominations. Those eyes should be enough incentive. And you wouldn’t want The Four Housecats of the Apocalypse to show up in your kitchen, would you?

SO NOW GO AND NOMINATE!!

Click here to go to Dogtime’s Petties 2014 where you can read more about the nominations and the program and review winning bloggers, shelters and volunteers since 2010.

You’ll also see the logo below at the end of all my posts through June.

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Click here to nominate “www.TheCreativeCat.net” for a Petties Award.

Read more about the Petties in this post.

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Browse some rescued cats and kittens!

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All images used on this site are copyrighted to Bernadette E. Kazmarski unless otherwise noted and may not be used without my written permission. Please ask if you are interested in using one in a print or internet publication. If you are interested in purchasing a print of this image or a product including this image, check my Etsy shop or Fine Art America profile to see if I have it available already. If you don’t find it there, visit Ordering Custom Artwork for more information on a custom greeting card, print or other item.

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© 2014 | www.TheCreativeCat.net | Published by Bernadette E. Kazmarski

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Weekly schedule of features:
Sunday: Essays, Pet Loss, Poetry, The Artist’s Life
Monday: Adoptable Cats, TNR & Shelters
Tuesday: Rescue Stories
Wednesday: Commissioned Portrait or Featured Artwork
Thursday: New Merchandise
Friday: Book Review, Health and Welfare, Advocacy
Saturday: Your Backyard Wildlife Habitat, Living Green With Pets, Creating With Cats
And sometimes, I just throw my hands in the air and have fun!

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