Whether I’m using it for work, personal edification, or keeping in touch with people around the world, Twitter is by far my favorite social networking tool. I can’t tell you how useful I find it for up-to-the-minute news and information. If you have an interest, you’ll find someone who shares it and talks about it in 140-character bursts. Official accounts like Catster‘s will keep you informed about cat news, trends, and current affairs, for instance!
Love it! RT @MandoMiri: @catster Princess Claire showing her tongue for #HappyTongueOutTuesday pic.twitter.com/99xMJtmHgc
ÔÇö catster (@catster) July 29, 2014
Even if you have varied interests and maintain multiple lists dedicated to specific topics of interest, Twitter can also become a dull and predictable place. Sometimes you just need a cute kitten or cat photo to break the monotony. While there are plenty of Twitter accounts that post kitten pictures, the biggest problem you encounter is consistency.
Some accounts are active for a while, amassing huge numbers of followers before petering out. Others become huge and then start tweeting irrelevant or off-topic stuff. I’ve taken all these factors into consideration, and have gathered the best and most consistently active accounts on Twitter that you should follow when you need a kitten and cat photo fix.
1. Emergency Kittens
Pros: Regular posts of generic kitten and cat pictures. Updated just about every day.
Those innocent eyes! pic.twitter.com/jwOGAP9jeE
ÔÇö Emergency Kittens (@EmrgencyKittens) Aug. 7, 2014
Cons: Also regularly sprinkles in and retweets clickbait links to external sites with videos, many of which are not cat- or kitten-related. These seem to be posted repetitively, which is a definite drawback. For those of you who are not regular Twitter users, click the gear icon next to the “Following” button and click “Turn off retweets” in the drop-down menu.
2. Daily Dose of Kittens, aka, The Daily Kitten
Pros: If you turn off retweets, as described above, you’re going to get exactly what it says on the tin: a nice selection of cute cat and kitten pictures. This account works for me, because with rare exceptions there’s no messing around. The captions are kept very short and to the point. Even the non-feline pictures are cute and fun, and there are very few links tweeted.
Shopping with mom. pic.twitter.com/9bjkckesCG
ÔÇö DailyDose Of Kittens (@TheDaiIyKitten) Aug. 9, 2014
Cons: If you’re in it for the cat and kitten photos, you’ll want to turn off retweets. As a sibling account to The Daily Puppy, The Daily Kitten does a lot of retweeting of the other account’s material. While external links are rare, they are here as well. You’ll also see the occasional retweeted inspirational quote or zoo animal picture here. These first two accounts are somewhat generic; they’re serviceable if you just need cat and kitten pictures. Let’s look at some Twitter accounts with more unique content offerings!
3. Cats of Instagram
Pros: Because of proprietary issues, Instagram photos posted directly to Twitter do not display in Twitter. Cats of Instagram is genius because the account and its readership go to the trouble of uploading photos from Instagram into Twitter so that they will show up in your timeline. Further, whereas the first two accounts listed above are serviceable and fun, neither attribute images to their sources.
From @Nkemmi: “Scruffles loves sleeping in this position” #catsofinstagram pic.twitter.com/YbWnZj0gI1
ÔÇö Cats of Instagram (@catsofinstagram) July 22, 2014
Let’s face it, there are so many cat images out there, both stock photos and user-generated ones, it can be hard to keep track. Many cat and kitten Twitter accounts don’t even bother. Cats of Instagram consistently links to its sources. On the whole, these are real cats from real homes, and they’re all insanely precious.
From @babyzefsofresh: “he loves getting his picture taken; quite the little poser!” #catsofinstagram pic.twitter.com/v91gUASlkw
ÔÇö Cats of Instagram (@catsofinstagram) July 31, 2014
Cons: There really aren’t any. Cats of Instagram also shares information on cat causes, cat culture, and you’ll get the occasional profound declaration, like this one:
My favorite color is cats.
ÔÇö Cats of Instagram (@catsofinstagram) July 29, 2014
4. Why My Cat Is Sad
Pros: Tom Cox’s cat, Bear, is always sad about something, and Cox goes to great and amusing lengths to express just why that is. This Twitter account also has a fun community aspect; Cox and Bear often retweet followers with melancholy cats of their own.
My cat is sad because life has given him many, many lemons & he cannot use them to make lemonade because he is a cat. pic.twitter.com/zlYxYRy2aV
ÔÇö WHY MY CAT IS SAD (@MYSADCAT) May 3, 2014
Cons: Bear might seem perpetually morose, but don’t let it get you down. It’s really quite easy to remember that his “sadness” is a cleverly contrived Twitter fiction.
5. I Draw on Cats
Pros: This may be my favorite cat-picture Twitter account because of its creativity. Administered by Amanda Coffelt, this Twitter account chronicles the imagined adventures of Coffelt’s cat Bob and many of his pals. I Draw on Cats is exactly what it says: Coffelt superimposes sketches over pictures of cats, and allows followers to join in their fantastical escapades.
For the amazing #fireman and #firewomen out there. @dumagauper does her best to help out. pic.twitter.com/EuErIUChhJ
ÔÇö idraw_on_cats (@idraw_on_cats) Aug. 9, 2014
Cons: Are you kidding? What’s not to love about the imaginative energy behind Coffelt’s project? The sky is the limit, and sometimes, not even the sky prevents Bob and his friends from having amazing adventures!
What are your favorite cat and kitten accounts on Twitter?
Try these accounts out! If you have others that you depend on, let everyone know about them in the comments; they may resurface in a future roundup!
And follow Catster’s Twitter!
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