Who Won the Catster Purrrific Photo Contest in 2018?

The grand-prize winner will receive a year’s worth of cat litter and a bag of cleanprotein kibble from Precious Cat. 

CONTEST BROUGHT TO YOU BY: 

We had so much fun with our first-ever Purrrific Photo Contest! We received 
thousands of entries and though we loved each and every one of them, with 
the help of Catster readers, we pounced on a few lucky winners! Let’s meet them right here:

Grand Prize Winner — Callie

CATEGORY: I Fits, I Sits — Callie

This 4½-year-old calico tabby domestic shorthair absolutely loves humans and greets everyone at the door. Her favorite activity is sitting on people’s laps. Although she’s only about 7½ pounds, she is “a little piggy who loves to eat,” according to her human. She’s also known as Calliebaby because she feels fine with the whine. Callie’s human, Doris Houng, is passionate about feline nutrition, behavior and health. (We all can get behind that!) She devotes a significant amount of time caring for her cats and preparing fresh, homemade raw food. Thanks to her husband, Jonny Ai, who grew up with cats, she is now a cat lady!

Callie was adopted from a Petco store that partnered with Small Miracles Cat and Dog Rescue. Doris and Jonny already had a cat and weren’t looking to adopt a second one. (We’ve all been there!) But when they met Callie, it was love at first meow. When Callie and Doris made eye contact from several feet away, Callie called out to Doris and from that moment, their fate was sealed.

Callie has two furry siblings: Coco and Koda. Coco is a 9-year-old tortoiseshell domestic shorthair who struggles with anxiety. Doris and Jonny work hard to make her feel safe, and Coco rewards them with a healthy amount of tortitude and sweetness. Koda is an almost-2-year-old brown tabby-and-white domestic shorthair. He is a clingy baby to his people and a bratty little brother to Coco and Callie.

After adopting Callie, Doris and Jonny started volunteering with Small Miracles Cat and Dog Rescue, caring for adoptable cats at a Petco store every other Sunday.

Follow Callie, Coco and Koda on Instagram at @cocoandthepuffs and on Facebook at cocoandthepuffs. “I got this shot with my smartphone. Callie looked so satisfied with the cardboard box — despite the many comfy, padded cat beds and furniture around the house. I try to capture as many moments as possible when our three cats show off their personalities. Callie was just being SO Callie sitting in the box. And the green lettering really brought out the color of her eyes!” — Doris

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CATEGORY: Friends Fur Ever — Simba, Toby, Gizmo & Skye

These four adorable boys are now 3 months old and the epitome of kittenhood — adventurous and full of energy. Some of their favorite activities include bounding up and down the stairs and climbing up the curtains. Gray-and-white Skye is bold and mischievous. If the kittens are up to no good, it’s a pretty good bet that Skye is leading the pack! Simba and Toby are the ginger twins. Simba is friendly but skittish, while Toby is the ultimate lap cat. Little Gizmo the tabby was the runt of the litter. He’s smaller than his brothers, but he has no trouble keeping up with them.

For quite some time, their human, Pam Petrone, had been feeding a feral calico named Miss Daisy who showed up at her back door almost daily. Because it was winter, Pam bought her an insulated cat shelter. Before long, Pam realized Miss Daisy was pregnant. She managed to coax the soon-to-be mama for a few indoor visits, but they never lasted long. Then the day before a major snowstorm, Miss Daisy showed up again and walked right in the house with no coaxing. Pam had prepared a birthing box for her, but Miss Daisy chose a living room chair where Pam had put a large cat bed. Pam stayed with her most of the night, finally going to bed at 3 a.m. When she woke up a few hours later, she immediately went to check on Miss Daisy. There she was, contentedly nursing her little ones!

Pam is retired and is now a full-time cat mom. Three young adult male cats also share her home: Squeak, a big, solid-black “panther”; Roscoe, a red-and-white tabby; and Nigel, a fluffy, semi-longhair buff-colored boy. She loves cats and has had them in her life for as long as she can remember. When she’s not taking care of her kitties, she enjoys taking photos of them. “I took the opportunity to photograph the kittens when they were all together in one spot after one of their play sessions. They tired themselves out and piled on top of one another for a nap. — Pam

CATEGORY: Friends Fur Ever — Jeter and Bernie

Jeter and Bernie, both 5 years old, are clearly BFFs. Black-and-white Jeter’s favorite activities include playing with his catnip banana, watching Cat TV on YouTube and lying in the sink or in his basket. He also loves it when his favorite human uncle holds him like a baby. Gray-and-white Bernie enjoys opening cabinet doors and drawers, jumping on top of doors and playing with pipe cleaners. Also a fan of YouTube, he prefers Bird TV, and he loves it when his favorite little human comes to visit and play with him.

Jeter and Bernie’s human is Leann Dawes. Although the boys were adopted separately, it’s like they’ve been together since the beginning. Leann had reached out to rescue group SOS Pets about fostering a kitten so her cat Maris would have a playmate. When she met Jeter, he was grooming all of his siblings and just “talking” away. Leann fell in love with his big ears and heart nose and ended up adopting him. Bernie was part of a hoarding case (along with his son and daughter) and was rescued, along with 10 other cats and kittens, by Victory 4 the Voiceless Animals in Staten Island, New York, which works in conjunction with SOS Pets, where Leann also happens to volunteer. She had seen videos of Bernie being an awesome, loving dad to his son and daughter. When she would see him at SOS Pets while volunteering, Bernie was always “talking” up a storm, trying to open the door and just being a little love. Every week Leanne would say, “Next week, if Bernie is there, I’m going to adopt him.” You don’t need to guess what happened! When Bernie came home, he was a perfect fit.

Their brother, Maris, came into Leann’s life when she went to an adoption event with a friend. Although she had no intention of adopting a kitten, she ended up coming home with one. And who can blame her? When she heard Maris’ little meow and reached down to pick him up, he immediately crawled up the back of her neck and fell asleep on her shoulder. He started to cry when she put him back with his siblings. Needless to say, it was love at first sight. The sweetest and most independent of her three boys, Maris loves to play with his “bear bear” toy, sleep on Leann’s head or behind her on the back of the couch.

Leann loves volunteering for SOS Pets. After seeing the group’s dedication for rescuing cats and kittens and making sure they go to the best homes possible, she knew it was the perfect place for her. She is also an avid supporter of Carrie Cats, Rocky’s Legacy and Dozers Heart Rescue.

Follow Bernie, Jeter and Maris on Instagram at Maristhecat.

“I was watching TV with Jeter lying on the couch next to me. Bernie decided to jump up and started talking to Jeter, then started grooming him. When they were done grooming each other, they both continued to lie there hugging each other. I couldn’t resist how cute they looked and had to take a picture of the two of them.” — Leann

CATEGORY: Cattitude — Khan

Khan is a 4-year-old flamepoint Ragdoll mix with special needs. He loves to play fetch, snuggle with his feline and canine siblings, and chase his laser pointer.

Khan’s human is Grace Brenner, who knew what she wanted for Christmas 2017. She decided to rescue a special-needs cat, wanting to do some good in the world for the holiday season. When she saw Khan on Petfinder.com, she knew he was the one and adopted him from a no-kill shelter in Baltimore.

Sweet Khan had been waiting for about a year to be adopted — no one wanted him because of his advanced dental disease. He had extremely severe stomatitis, and when he came into Grace’s care, he was very thin and in so much pain he couldn’t even play or groom himself. Their wonderful vet at Clocktower Animal Hospital performed a full extraction of his teeth, and his stomatitis went into remission. Grace says the look of happiness and relief on Khan’s face when he realized that his days of pain were over was the best gift she could have received. Unfortunately, after beating stomatitis, Khan developed asthma, but he’s a fighter. He doesn’t let his condition keep him down and has learned to use his inhaler like a champ. (You go, Khan!) Grace says she has never known a cat to be as brave and kind as Khan.

Khan shares his home with two other rescue cats: Jafar, a 7-year-old Persian mix, and Gita, a 4-year-old black domestic shorthair. Jafar is gentle and sweet, while Gita is sassy and the official queen of the house. Khan also has a canine sibling: Chow mix Meshki, who is 3 years old. Meshki was badly abused before she was adopted two years ago and still suffers from anxiety issues. She loves all the cats, but Khan is her best friend, and he helps with her anxiety. He nuzzles up to her, making her feel safe and happy. They even enjoy playing fetch together! Khan doesn’t care that Meshki is a dog. To him, they’re simply the best of friends.

Animal rescue is very important to Grace, and she volunteers her time and donates money to several rescue groups, including Homeward Trails Animal Rescue, Fancy Cats Rescue and the Chris Griffey Memorial Feline Fund, all located in Virginia. She loves helping special-needs animals in particular, which is how she ended up with such a big fur family (Jafar has hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and IBD; Gita also deals with IBD). She hopes that once Khan’s asthma is better under control she can train him and certify him as a therapy cat so he can continue his mission of spreading joy to all he meets.

Follow Khan and his furry siblings on Instagram at @meshki_and_her_cats. “Khan loves to stand on the edge of the sofa and watch the birds through the bay windows. He always looks like a tiny statue, so I snapped the shot while he was up there.” — Grace