Cat Women descend on BarkWorld

Cat Women attend BarkWorld

Last weekend I had a chance to attend Barkworld, a national pet social media conference in Atlanta, GA. While the name leans towards dogs, cat bloggers and writers were welcome--and did we make our meow presence known! Even one hotel staffer wore monkey ears to celebrate with us (see below).

Deb Barnes, Jonathon (hotel staff) Christine Michaels, and Debbie Glovatsky

This was an opportunity to meet a number of companies ranging from pet food retailers, dog nutritionists and trainers, to educators, and much more.  My purpose for attending was twofold. As a blogger my goal is to reach new audiences to educate them about the unique essence of cats and overturn stereotypes and therefore increase the adoption of cats. (Hence the strategic decision to purchase the t-shirt in the photo). I picked up some helpful techniques to improve my skills and approach. 

Second,  I came for inspiration to increase awareness and funding for my nonprofit, Pawsitively Humane, Inc which aims to get to the root of the problem of homeless pets--education.  You can read more highlights at www.pawsitivelyhumane.org.  We'll be hosting some giveaway contests on this site!

Deb Barnes and Christine Michaels at Westin Hotel in Buckhead, GA for BarkWorld

BarkWorld was also a great way to reconnect with my fellow cat (and bunny) bloggers, Deb Barnes, Debbie Glovatsky, Vicki Stringham Cook, Kate Benjamin, Ingrid King and Dr. Lori Huston.These are women authors, writers and bloggers that I admire not only for their brilliant work but also their genuine desire to help others.



Deb Barnes as exhibitor for her book Chronicles of Zee and  Zoey



We had fun after the serious business

Animal welfare education and rescue and blogging is a tremendous amount of work. Starting a nonprofit meant foregoing vacation this year but I was more than thrilled to combine work and a little fun at this important conference while reaching goals--giving a voice to homeless pets.

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