I finally got back on the road to bring you another travel post, and this might be my favorite one yet. The Wife and I went to … CAT CON! It was a two day event held in Pomona, we only went to day one, and it was just as ridiculous and amazing as you probably assume it was. Here is the story.

We took the two hour drive to Pomona and arrived to a parking garage full of people wearing cat themed t-shirts and a sea of cat ears (my wife was wearing hers, I “lost” mine). I was pleasantly surprised at the wealth of activities and seemingly endless lines of vendors for our viewing/mocking pleasure. So many products that no one really asked for. There was organic vegan cat food, robotic self-cleaning cat boxes, pet psychics, hundreds of t-shirts, and even a sing-along CD of cat themed music. Pictures for proof.

The only complaint I really have about the experience was the surprising lack of actual cats. There were really none to be found, except for at the adoption area. But, you will be happy to know that the adoption line was quite busy and we saw many cardboard carriers leaving the convention, taking furry companions to their new homes.

Now I know that this post is already overwhelming with just how incredible it was, BUT, there were two things that took this trip to another level of feline amazement that I was not prepared for.

Number one was the Friskies Infinity Room. Like some kind of Cat’s drugged out nirvana, they had a mirrored room with floating Friskies treats suspended in space around you which created a space of infinite cat treats floating through the endless depths of your soul. I made a gif of the experience below so you can see what I mean.

And finally, one of the best experiences not only of this trip, but possibly all year; The Costume Contest!

To say I had high hopes would be a lie, but whatever my wildest dreams of what the Costume Contest could be was absolutely blown out of the water. The host’s name was Nathan Kehn. He was charming, funny, and quite handsome. Like a poor convention’s Joel McHale. He apparently goes by Nathan, The Cat Lady.

The Judges were … to be honest, hit or miss. One of them just had an internet cat celebrity on her lap that I had never heard of. She did not say much. There was a lady in pink that also did not say much that had something to do with makeup, I think. There was a man that had a kind of ring leader outfit on that was funny at times, but also amusingly awkward at other times. But the best judge was this British woman wearing a simple cat costume that was absolutely hilarious. She was incredibly quick witted and very funny. Her name is Loppy the Cat and I really hope she becomes famous some day.

The real treasure of the convention though were the contestants. Here is a slideshow:

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BUT, I had to save the best for last. She came out of nowhere and I am still recovering from what I saw. I have no words. Here is the video, in all its glory.

The “Fashion Show” was well worth the price of admission for the entire convention. For those curious, the crazy cat lady with the black cats attached to her dress ended up winning the contest.

I cannot recommend this convention enough. My wife and I had an absolute blast and I am already thinking about my costume for next year. By the way, We walked away with enough swag that we can feed our cat for the next month, maybe two. He also has three new cat toys. He is the real winner of Cat Con.

As always, thanks for reading. Please share if you like this post and stay tuned for some interesting posts I have coming up soon.

~Chris Joy