2017 Was A Busy Year For Lola The Rescued Cat!

As 2017 comes to an end it’s time to reflect on the year that has passed and give thanks for the many blessings that have come my way. I’ve started this post over two or three times, writing it in Lola and Lexy’s voice (since they did our look back last year.) But this year it seems to flow better coming from me (much to their dismay. Sorry, girls!)

2017 was a whirlwind for the blog and I was blessed to receive many opportunities and form collaborative relationships . First, I’d like to start by sharing our top 10 posts of the year.

1.  Catnip Nation: A Documentary About Feral Cats and the People Who Take Care of Them

2. How Pets Save Billions on Health Care Costs: 

3.  Catnip Nation’s August Report: A Long Island Feral Colony is in Danger 

4.  Catnip Heaven With Kitty Kick Stix

5. Your Cat Will Travel in Style and Safety with the Sleepypod Mobile Pet Bed 

6. Four Reasons BlogPaws Made Me Cry

              

7. Pet Animal Welfare Society - Blog the Change for Animals #BtC4A 

This is Thomas, and my friend and I fell in love with him.
He is now in his forever home. 

8. Tabby’s Place – Blog the Change for Animals #BtC4A 

9. It’s the Year of the Cat! Celebrate with Wellness® Complete Health Cat Food #HealthyMeetsHappy

10. Feed Your Cat Holistic Health Extension for a Healthy Life 

The Tabby’s Place post was in our top five last year, earning the number three position, and I’m so happy that people are still reading it. Our “About Us” page was also among the top viewed pages in 2017 and actually came in at number three. (I’m glad I revamped it!)

2017 marked a period of growth for Lola The Rescued Cat and was my busiest yet. I participated in three sponsored posts for food (Two for Wellness -here and here- and one for Hill’s), as well as two sponsored posts for BlogPaws. For BlogPaws I wrote about what I’ve learned that improved my blog, as well as why I choose to write (most of) my blog in my cat’s voice. I also had the opportunity to write a guest post on the BlogPaws blog about how to turn your blog into a book. 

I was thrilled in April when I won two Certificates of Excellence from the Cat Writer’s Association. Stressed by the Vet? Try a Cat Friendly Practice and my Tabby’s Place post were both recognized. I had submitted entries to the annual Communication Contest in the past, but those entries but did not score high enough to win a certificate. I worked hard to produce content that was better than what I had submitted in the past, and it paid off. 

Lola at the vet.

The biggest, and most exciting, event this year was our re-branding! I attended a workshop on branding at the BlogPaws conference in Myrtle Beach and walked away inspired to make big changes. I absolutely love the new look (thank you, Debbie Glovatsky!) and I really think it helps the blog stand out more. It was a fun process, and I learned a lot about myself and my readers through it. 

My new and improved logo.

In addition to all of the above I was able to continue to do one of my favorite things - visit and write about shelters. Of course I visited Tabby's Place (which you can read about here and here. And stay tuned for an exciting story about them coming in the near future!) I also got to visit The Patricia H. Ladew Foundation - a cage free sanctuary on Long Island and Best Friends' NYC Pet Adoption Center in Manhattan. Best of all, I got a tour of Pet Animal Welfare Society with blogging friends Kevin and Tracey of Animal Shelter Volunteer Life. It was great meeting them in person for the first time and seeing first hand the love and dedication they show to PAWS as an organization and the cats that call PAWS home. 

This is Gabe, one of Tracey's favorites. I believe he now
has a forever home. 

In addition to visiting shelters, I was so excited to tour Alley Cat Allies' Atlantic City Boardwalk Cats Project. This was definitely a huge highlight of the year! I was so impressed with the program and I commend the devoted volunteers who not only go above and beyond to give the cats exceptional care, but provide them with an outpouring of kindness and love as well. 

Volunteer Frank Hoopes and Groucho, who I got to pet!

There are always brands that bloggers aspire to work with, and two of those brands for me were Sleepypod and Petsafe, both of whom I was over the moon to be involved with this year. My Sleepypod giveaway was my most successful to date. 

Forming relationships with Tina Traster of Catnip Nation and Dr. Susan Whittred of Patricia H. Ladew Foundation (both of whom I met at Cat Camp NYC) were other highlights of the year. I'm glad I've been able to get the word out about the wonderful work they do for cats. I will have more information about Dr. Susan's work with the Paw Project coming in 2018, and Tina will continue to share information about Catnip Nation's work. 

Writing this post makes me realize just how much time and effort I have put into this blog. Sometimes I feel like I don't write enough quality content, but taking a retrospective look at the past year tells me differently. Sometimes I feel like throwing in the towel, but I'm very glad that I haven't. 

And of course, a big thank you to my boyfriend, Will, for posing for photos that I don't want to pose for! 

My biggest thank you goes to every single one of you who takes the time to read my blog, and to those who have the time to comment. Without your support I wouldn't have the determination to continue. And if you've actually read this entire very long post, many thanks. I didn't intend for it to be so long, but it was actually cathartic to write. 

Oh, did I mention I met Jackson Galaxy this year? I didn't? Well, I did! 

Happy New Year from our house to yours. May 2018 bring you happiness and abundance in all ways. 

Dawn