My Meow MeetUp Experience

If you love cats as much as I do, you can’t get enough of them…right? That’s why I love attending cat conferences and exhibitions. A couple of weeks ago, I met up with several of my cat blogging friends in Chicago to attend Meow MeetUp…the Midwest’s biggest cat-themed expo and festival. What a fun time I had!

And I wasn’t alone. According to Lauren Mieli of the Catnip Times, the event organizer, over 4000 people from 27 different states enjoyed the 2-day event. That’s about twice as many attendees as last year.

The convention hall was filled with vendors selling cat-related items, cat shelters and rescue groups, and other fun and interesting things to see and do. For instance, you could get a cattoo…a temporary cat tattoo…or see some different breeds of cats that were brought by the Cat Fanciers Association.

I’ve never had a problem spending money on cat things. The problem I had at Meow MeetUp was not buying everything I saw. I’ve been looking for artwork to hang in one of my bathrooms, and I found these adorable black cat prints from Leeza Works, one of the vendors there.

They’re now hanging in the bathroom (and yes, they are hanging straight even though this photo makes them look crooked).

One of the things I really liked about Meow MeetUp is that they offered a number of informative and educational presentations and demonstrations.

I really enjoyed the session by Dr. Daphne Thompson, a Chicago-area veterinarian, on acupuncture and other alternative therapies for cats. She showed us several acupuncture pressure points that we can try on our own cats.

Chicago radio personality and certified animal behaviorist, Steve Dale, had a couple of presentations that I found very worthwhile…one on helping cats live fear free and another on ways to enrich the lives of indoor cats.

Linda Roberts, a Chicago area animal communicator, talked about what animal communication is, and shared stories of some of her experiences communicating with animals. Other sessions included discussions about feline leukemia, ways to help community cats, understanding pet loss grief, and clicker training demonstrations.

There were also some fun activities like kitty yoga (I didn’t participate, but it sure looked like fun…doing yoga while having kittens crawl all over you) and a paint your pet portrait session.

There was a cat café with a French theme. The Meowter Space Bar and Lounge was available if you wanted a cocktail.

And of course there were cats…lots of cats!

There was a shoulder-riding cat.

And a stroller-riding cat.

This is Moe Grey the cat…one of the celebrity cats attending the expo. He’s an Instagram star…helping homeless cats and dogs find their forever homes.

And there were people pretending to be cats.

Another celebrity cat that was there is one that I’m sure most of you will recognize. It’s Summer!

I attended Summer’s Meet and Greet…where she rang her bell…gave high fives…and looked like the fashion diva that she is.

A local rescue group, Almost Home, had an Adoption Lounge where there were quite a few cats and kittens looking for their forever homes, including these three cuties.

I heard that 18 cats and kittens were adopted during the 2 day event. I hope these three found their forever homes.

Saturday night there was an After Party at a local bar. There was a live band, food and cat-themed drinks like a meowgarita…which by the way, did not spare the tequila!

Photo courtesy of Jenny Carlson, As the World Purrs

We sat outside enjoying the good weather, good company and our drinks. Recognize anyone?

I have to say, Meow MeetUp was very well organized and a whole lotta fun. ”Paws Up!” to Lauren Mieli and her team for putting on such a great event. I can’t wait to go next year!

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