Greetings, cat lovers! We’re here to tell you that Cat Fancy, the very popular print magazine for cat fanciers, is now Catster. What does this mean? It means that you’ll still find all the wonderful things that you got with Cat Fancy, it’s just under a different name!
We here at Catster look forward to continuing to provide our readers with the most helpful information out there regarding cats and cat care. Our articles are written by a team of expert cat owners and cat lovers, including veterinary professionals, to ensure that the information you’re getting is accurate and up to date. Because after all, we all just want the best for our beloved feline friends!
But we haven’t forgotten about Cat Fancy completely, so join us as we reminisce about the magazine and discover how it became the Catster brand of today.
The History of Cat Fancy
The first Cat Fancy magazine was published in 1965, over half a century ago, by Leslie Slawson Smith. Issued monthly, Cat Fancy magazine provided readers with health and care tips for cats, as well as information about the best products for cats, cat stories from dedicated readers, cat photos, and much more. It laid the foundation for pet care magazines and was widely read all over the world.
Whether you were a fan of cats in general or a specific cat breed, one thing that many readers loved was each issue of Cat Fancy’s dedicated cover photo, feature, and poster of a specific cat breed, which was different each month. But the magazine didn’t just focus on purebred cats. There was also helpful information about mixed-breed, feral, and even wild cats.
Cat Fancy magazine even won 14 Certificates of Excellence and three Muse Medallions at the 17th Annual Cat Writers’ Association’s Awards Banquet. This is a true testament to the magazine’s reach and the quality of information provided.
The Transition to Catster
The final issue of Cat Fancy magazine was published in February 2015. That’s when the brand merged with the popular website Catster, created by Ted Rheingold and Steven Reading. Catster began in the early 2000s as a sister website to the popular Dogster. When Catster and Cat Fancy combined under the single name Catster, the magazine changed to Catster as well to reflect the merge. Along with the name change, the magazine was no longer published monthly, instead switching to being published bi-monthly.
The transition is due in part to people’s obsession with cats on the internet and the internet being more accessible to people as a convenient, go-to resource for cat care and entertainment. Cat Fancy and Catster both shared a similar mission, so the transition was easy, and today Catster is the longest-running print publication about cats.
Another benefit of Cat Fancy transitioning to Catster was that being a website as well as a print magazine helped cat lovers that may not have access to magazines be able to read and learn about caring for cats and be entertained by their crazy antics. Being online also enables the information to be updated as needed, in order to always remain current and accurate.
Catster Today
The mission of Catster today is the same as it always has been: to be the most helpful global resource for cat owners. We do this by ensuring that our articles are written by people that are knowledgeable about cats and cat care, whether that be cat owners or veterinarians.
Having cat owners as writers helps readers to know that we know what we’re talking about when it comes to the best cat products and what it’s like to live with a cat. (We’d say “own” a cat, but we all know that the jury is still out on who owns who when it comes to the cat-human relationship.)
We also understand that there is a lot of misinformation on the internet. Having veterinarians write and fact-check articles helps our readers know that we are only providing the most accurate and up-to-date medical and behavioral information about cats and their care.
What You’ll Find Here
With Catster, readers can find almost any information you can think of involving cats. You’ll find helpful tips for fostering kittens, what supplies are needed when bringing home a cat for the first time, and how to find the perfect cat for you and your family.
There is also information about socializing kittens, introducing a new cat to other pets, behavioral concerns in cats, and feline health conditions. And because a proper diet is one of the most important aspects of cat care, you’ll find a wide range of articles about cat food and cats’ dietary and eating habits.
You’ll also find information about purebred and mixed cat breeds of all kinds, from the energetic and intelligent Abyssinian, to the beautiful and curious Turkish Van. Even newer and lesser-known breeds such as the Bengal and Savannah are featured in our breed list. So if you’re trying to decide on a specific cat breed or just want to learn more about cat breeds in general, you’ll find it here.
And last but not least, you’ll even find entertainment here, from cat photos, to personal anecdotes, and even heartwarming stories about cats. It truly is a one-stop shop for all kinds of cat information!
A Lasting Legacy
Even though Cat Fancy magazine as most people knew it ended in 2015 after an almost 50-year run, its legacy lives on today through Catster.
As cats continue to grow in popularity as pets and as a source of internet entertainment, the great thing about the transition of Cat Fancy magazine to Catster is that more people all over the world now have access to accurate and up to date information about our feline friends, through the Catster website.
So whether you were a long-time reader and fan of Cat Fancy magazine or are just discovering Cat Fancy and Catster today, we hope that you’ll stick around with us on this journey to provide the best and most helpful information and care for cats everywhere. Your support means everything to us, and we couldn’t continue on this journey without your readership!