A Look Back at 2018 for Lola The Rescued Cat

Now that 2018 has come to a close, it’s time to reflect on another year in our lives. ( I had planned on having this post completed a few days ago, but never quite got around to finishing it.)  It’s hard to believe that I have now been blogging for four years!  When I look back at my first posts (and cringe), it’s amazing to me how much the blog has grown and improved because of how much I have learned along the way. 

All in all, it was another whirlwind year for Lola, Lexy, and me. It was full of new opportunities, collaborations, successes, and new friends. As I did last year, I’m going to start by sharing our top 10 posts of the year. 

Our Top 10 Posts of 2019

1. Five Ways to Get Your Cat to Drink More Water 

2. How Pets Save Billions on Health Care Costs

This post came in at number two last year as well! 

3. Be Disaster Prepared With the Sleepypod Go Bag

4. My Cat Fainted and She Couldn’t Get Up! Vaso Vagal Syncope in Cats

This post was number five last year! 

5. MYLAP Pet Bed Makes Your Pet Feel Like You’re Never Far Away

6. Lola on the Road: Rahway Kitty Hall (Rahway, NJ) 

7. Why Lexy Writes to Save Lives - #RememberMeThursday 

8. Catnip Nation’s June Report: What’s Happening With the Cats at Google? 

9. Kids Bond With Cats Through Books – Paws to Read at Tabby’s Place

10. 4 Reasons Your Cat Needs a Water Fountain

Tabby’s Place was in our top 10 last year, and our top 5 the year before! I always enjoy visiting and writing about the wonderful things the sanctuary does. Last year our sponsored post for Sleepypod was number five, and this year another Sleepypod post came in at number three! I’m very pleased that two health related posts made the top ten because I’ve been trying to improve on the "Education" piece of my tagline. And I’m really happy that posts about Remember Me Thursday, Catnip Nation, MYLAP pet bed, and Rahway Kitty Hall made the cut. These posts were possible because of connections I made with other cat loving people whose goal is to also give cats the best lives they deserve. 

Relationships and New Friends

During 2018 I continued to make new collaborations and form relationships – and make a few new friends along the way. I had the pleasure of speaking with Sally Williams about The Brody Fund and her passion for helping pets and their parents. Remember Me Thursday is a movement I’ve been supporting for the last few years. This year I partnered with Helen Woodward Animal Center with my good friend Rachel, the Mama of Three Chatty Cats, to host their first blog hop for this important day, which was a success! Marcie and Christina of HWAC gave us beautiful cat-themed necklaces for Christmas as a token of their appreciation for our participation. And of course my relationship with Tina Traster of Catnip Nation  continued. (I can't wait to see the completed documentary!)

Pin Us!

At Cat Camp NYC I connected with Tammy Olley, creator of MYLAP pet bed. When Tammy told me her personal story, I had to share it with my readers. I also met Dr. Lynn Bahr of Dezi & Roo. Lexy was very happy when we tried out their original Hide and Sneak toy! I’m looking forward to collaborating with both ladies in the future. 

Ambassadorship and Awards! 

The most exciting thing that happened this year was being chosen as an Ambassador for the 10th Annual BlogPaws conference! I was surprised and honored when I received the email telling me I was chosen as the cat focused General Ambassador. I had the best time networking with the cat focused attendees, brands and sponsors. 

For the first time ever I was a finalist in two Nose to Nose categories! Your Cat Will Travel in Style and Safety with the Sleepypod Mobile Pet Bed was a finalist in the Best Written Pet Blog Post (Sponsored) and It’s Lexy’s Seventh Gotcha Day was a finalist in the Best Written Pet Blog Post category. (I hope Lexy was very proud of herself!) 

I also won a Certificate of Excellence from the Cat Writers’ Association for A Haven for Cats on Long Island – The Patricia H. Ladew Foundation 

New Writing Opportunities 

In addition to some sponsored reviews, the opportunity to write for Waggle which will hopefully continue in 2019. 

And I’m thrilled to be a contributing writer for Jackson Galaxy’s Cat Pawsitive Pro Program! I finished my first semester this fall and will begin my second semester this spring. The CPP team is just awesome! After my first semester, they gave me this beautiful plaque. 

When I met Jackson at an event recently, I got to chat with him briefly and he was so very grateful for all the work everyone does for the program. Jackson personally sent holiday cards to the CPP team, which pretty much blew me away! 

A New Column

I embarked on a new adventure this year!  After visiting Catsbury Park Cat Café and Tea House I decided to start my “Lola on the Road” series where I visit cat cafes and share my experiences with you. So far my travels have taken me to Brooklyn, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Texas, and Michigan, and I’m not ready to stop! I have plans to visit Connecticut and Pennsylvania this spring and summer. 

A Few More Interesting Tidbits

As I was going through my analytics, I decided to share a few more facts about the blog over the year. 

• Our highest page views were in the month of September (which coincides with Remember Me Thursday.) 
• The top five social networks that brought the most traffic were Facebook, Pinterest, Stumble Upon, Blogger and Twitter. 
• The top five keyword searches were Amazon, you helped your friends be great, cat toys, cat trees, and I and love and you. (You helped your friends be great? That's Interesting.) 
• The top five countries with the most visitors are the USA, Canada, France, UK, and Hungary. 
• The top five cities with the most visitors were New York, Paris, Ashburn, Budapest, and Santa Clara. 

I hope you enjoyed our recap. Many thanks to all of you who have been along for the ride. Your comments mean the world to me and give me incentive to keep going. What would you like to see more of on the blog next year? 

Dawn