Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Kitty Quote

There are few things in life more heartwarming than to be welcomed by a cat.
~Tay Hohoff

May your day bring warm welcomes and lots of joy.

Down For Maintenance

As some of you may have realized, the Cat Breeds page is not along the tabs anymore. The page is not gone, we are just fixing it. So stay tuned for a new and improved Cat Breeds page!

Sunday, January 29, 2012

Which Cat Breed Are You Most Like? Personality Quiz #2!

Our past personality quiz has had an amazing popularity, so we've made another version--Which Cat Breed Are You Most Like? #2! It's all new and improved with new questions, new results, but the same crazy cat fun!
Now, you have a selection of FIVE possible cat breeds: the talkative Siamese, the playful Tonkinese, the kind Scottish Fold, the fluffy Persian, and the popular Maine Coon! Plus, the quiz is less time consuming. There are only six questions in this new version of the quiz!

So try it out! Here's our new quiz...

Saturday, January 28, 2012

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow!

Wow, we don't know about some of you, but in our area, this has been a very snow-less winter. So our snow-cat contest is going to be extended until the end of February! Let's hope that we get some snow so we can get some submissions! We're so excited to see them!

Saturday, January 21, 2012

Poll Results

For our last poll we asked if you had seen the new "What is this cat thinking?" page. Lots of people said they hadn't but we hope that they will check it out soon!
Thanks for voting--check out this week's poll!

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

The Tyger

The Tyger

Written By William Blake

Tyger! Tyger! burning bright
In the forests of the night,
What immortal hand or eye
Could frame thy fearful symmetry?


In what distant deeps or skies
Burnt the fire of thine eyes?
On what wings dare he aspire?
What the hand dare sieze the fire?


And what shoulder, and what art.
Could twist the sinews of thy heart?
And when thy heart began to beat,
What dread hand? and what dread feet?


What the hammer? what the chain?
In what furnace was thy brain?
What the anvil? what dead grasp
Dare its deadly terrors clasp?


When the stars threw down their spears,
And water'd heaven with their tears,
Did He smile His work to see?
Did He who made the lamb make thee?


Tyger! Tyger! burning bright
In the forests of the night,
What immortal hand or eye
Dare frame thy fearful symmetry?

This is a poem written by William Blake. To read this and other amazing works of cat poetry, visit the Cat Literature page and read the poems!
Fun Fact: The World Record for the Loudest Purr of a Domestic Cat goes to a cat named Smokey in Northampton, UK!
That's all for today, cat lovers!

Monday, January 16, 2012

Picture Perfect!

Taking photos and videos of cats is lots of fun, but how can you get those picture-perfect shots you see in magazines, books, and on websites? Here's a guide to taking the perfect pictures and capturing the beauty of your feline friend.

Let's start with the basics. First of all, take your photographs in a well-lit room. This will make your photos visible and clear in resolution. Another good thing about lots of lighting is that some cameras can take action shots. The better the lighting, the more action you can get. But be careful not to have too much light either! Second of all, when taking a picture, hold the camera steady. Sometimes a picture can come out blurry if the camera shakes while taking it. Third of all, if the room is bright, you may not need flash on the camera. The flash could make your cat squint her/his eyes or close them completely. It could also hurt their eyes if it is up close.

Another tip is for close-ups. Like we said before, don't use flash if the picture is close to their face. Also, while doing close-ups, you can hold a toy or rattle a treat bag above the camera to get an alert and excited expression from your cat.

Remember: If your cat doesn't seem to want their picture taken, don't force taking pictures. Just put the camera down and try again later. You could discourage your cat from liking photos if you force them to have their pictures taken.

For the most part, better pictures have your cat looking at the camera. Other tips for better photo quality are the following...
  1. Try not to get a lot of background in your photo. Your cat should be the main focus of the picture. People who see the picture could get distracted and look more at the background than at your kitty. So zoom in on your pictures. Another way to do it is to crop the pictures on the computer. But that sometimes makes the image really small that it can't be seen as well as if you had just zoomed in with the camera.
  2. What is your cat's best quality? Their face, their fluff, their silly poses? Try to depict their best quality in the pictures you take of them!
Get ready to take some GREAT photos--because EverythingCat101's just started a PHOTO CONTEST! For more details, check out the contests page! Good luck!

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

NEW! What is this cat thinking?

Our previous method of "What is this cat thinking?" contests didn't turn out to be as effective as we thought it would be. So we stopped it. BUT, we have an all-new method of getting your thoughts on what some silly cats could be thinking. Now, on the right side column (same spot as before) we have a poll with a picture and possible answers. No more sending emails! Just click the answer you like the best and then press "vote" and--voila! That's all there is to it! There is currently one availible on our site but if you can't get enough of it :D then just click here.
So try it out! What are you waiting for? :)

Saturday, January 7, 2012

Puzzles

We're sure you remember the puzzles on the right column of our page. We thought it was about time to give you some answers. We'll say what's up there, you have to figure out which one is which. We've scrambled the order up a bit...

Siamese
Birman
Lioness
Balinese
Tonkinese
Maine Coon
Norwegian Forest Cat
Russian Blue
Havana Brown
American Curl
Tiffany
Burmese

Friday, January 6, 2012

Fun Facts

Do you know how many times stronger a cat's sense of smell is than a human's sense of smell?

Do you know how many times faster a cat's heart beats than a human's heart?

Do you know what a group of adult cats is called?

Press "Read More" to find out the answers!


Wednesday, January 4, 2012

January Cat Quiz and More

It's January: a new month with new stuff! Be sure to check out all the new things we've added for this month. For example, there's a new cat quiz. You can find this in the side column or in the "Cat Quizzes" tab. You can also take some of the old monthly quizzes under that tab, too. There is no limit to the number of times you take the quizzes so don't feel bad if you don't do so well the first time.There is also a new monthly poll. This is posted in the side column and also under the "Just for Fun" tab. Be sure to answer this poll!
AND there's a new "What is this cat thinking?" competition! Who can think of the most creative saying for the cat in the picture? Post a comment or send an email to everythingcat101@gmail.com with your answer to enter the contest and you could WIN! Good luck!
Check back often for more new things coming this month!

Monday, January 2, 2012

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year, cat lovers! We'd like to thank all of you for the success of EverythingCat101 last year--we couldn't have done it without you!
We're proud to say that we've reached our goal of over 2,000 pageviews! Thanks so much!
We'd like to outline some of the big events of last year. So here they are...

September 30, 2011--EverythingCat101 was published!

October 29, 2011--National Cat Day! We posted stories about cats that were rescued.

November 11, 2011--We announced the beginning of our Monday Mews episodes!

December 3, 2011--The snowcat contest began! And speaking of that contest, it's still going on! Send your submissions to everythingcat101@gmail.com and you could win!

December 27, 2011--We finished the "Your New Kitten" page. Check it out for information on getting cats, introducing cats, and keeping cats.

We sure had a busy year, and we're looking forward to another one! May 2012 be a great year for you and your cats. :) Happy New Year!