A Look Back at 2018 for Lola The Rescued Cat | Lola The Rescued Cat
Wednesday, January 2, 2019

A Look Back at 2018 for Lola The Rescued Cat

Now that 2018 has come to a close, it’s time to reflect on another year in our lives. ( I had planned on having this post completed a few days ago, but never quite got around to finishing it.)  It’s hard to believe that I have now been blogging for four years!  When I look back at my first posts (and cringe), it’s amazing to me how much the blog has grown and improved because of how much I have learned along the way. 


2018 review of Lola The Rescued Cat


All in all, it was another whirlwind year for Lola, Lexy, and me. It was full of new opportunities, collaborations, successes, and new friends. As I did last year, I’m going to start by sharing our top 10 posts of the year. 


Our Top 10 Posts of 2019


1. Five Ways to Get Your Cat to Drink More Water 




2018 review of Lola The Rescued Cat



2. How Pets Save Billions on Health Care Costs


2018 review of Lola The Rescued Cat

This post came in at number two last year as well! 

3. Be Disaster Prepared With the Sleepypod Go Bag

2018 review of Lola The Rescued Cat

4. My Cat Fainted and She Couldn’t Get Up! Vaso Vagal Syncope in Cats

2018 review of Lola The Rescued Cat


This post was number five last year! 

5. MYLAP Pet Bed Makes Your Pet Feel Like You’re Never Far Away

2018 review of Lola The Rescued Cat



6. Lola on the Road: Rahway Kitty Hall (Rahway, NJ) 


2018 review of Lola The Rescued Cat


7. Why Lexy Writes to Save Lives - #RememberMeThursday 


2018 review of Lola The Rescued Cat

8. Catnip Nation’s June Report: What’s Happening With the Cats at Google? 


2018 review of Lola The Rescued Cat

9. Kids Bond With Cats Through Books – Paws to Read at Tabby’s Place

2018 review of Lola The Rescued Cat


10. 4 Reasons Your Cat Needs a Water Fountain

2018 review of Lola The Rescued Cat


Tabby’s Place was in our top 10 last year, and our top 5 the year before! I always enjoy visiting and writing about the wonderful things the sanctuary does. Last year our sponsored post for Sleepypod was number five, and this year another Sleepypod post came in at number three! I’m very pleased that two health related posts made the top ten because I’ve been trying to improve on the "Education" piece of my tagline. And I’m really happy that posts about Remember Me Thursday, Catnip Nation, MYLAP pet bed, and Rahway Kitty Hall made the cut. These posts were possible because of connections I made with other cat loving people whose goal is to also give cats the best lives they deserve. 


Relationships and New Friends


During 2018 I continued to make new collaborations and form relationships – and make a few new friends along the way. I had the pleasure of speaking with Sally Williams about The Brody Fund and her passion for helping pets and their parents. Remember Me Thursday is a movement I’ve been supporting for the last few years. This year I partnered with Helen Woodward Animal Center with my good friend Rachel, the Mama of Three Chatty Cats, to host their first blog hop for this important day, which was a success! Marcie and Christina of HWAC gave us beautiful cat-themed necklaces for Christmas as a token of their appreciation for our participation. And of course my relationship with Tina Traster of Catnip Nation  continued. (I can't wait to see the completed documentary!)




2018 review of Lola The Rescued Cat
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At Cat Camp NYC I connected with Tammy Olley, creator of MYLAP pet bed. When Tammy told me her personal story, I had to share it with my readers. I also met Dr. Lynn Bahr of Dezi & Roo. Lexy was very happy when we tried out their original Hide and Sneak toy! I’m looking forward to collaborating with both ladies in the future. 


Ambassadorship and Awards! 


The most exciting thing that happened this year was being chosen as an Ambassador for the 10th Annual BlogPaws conference! I was surprised and honored when I received the email telling me I was chosen as the cat focused General Ambassador. I had the best time networking with the cat focused attendees, brands and sponsors. 

For the first time ever I was a finalist in two Nose to Nose categories! Your Cat Will Travel in Style and Safety with the Sleepypod Mobile Pet Bed was a finalist in the Best Written Pet Blog Post (Sponsored) and It’s Lexy’s Seventh Gotcha Day was a finalist in the Best Written Pet Blog Post category. (I hope Lexy was very proud of herself!) 




I also won a Certificate of Excellence from the Cat Writers’ Association for A Haven for Cats on Long Island – The Patricia H. Ladew Foundation 



New Writing Opportunities 


In addition to some sponsored reviews, the opportunity to write for Waggle which will hopefully continue in 2019. 

And I’m thrilled to be a contributing writer for Jackson Galaxy’s Cat Pawsitive Pro Program! I finished my first semester this fall and will begin my second semester this spring. The CPP team is just awesome! After my first semester, they gave me this beautiful plaque. 




When I met Jackson at an event recently, I got to chat with him briefly and he was so very grateful for all the work everyone does for the program. Jackson personally sent holiday cards to the CPP team, which pretty much blew me away! 


A New Column


I embarked on a new adventure this year!  After visiting Catsbury Park Cat Café and Tea House I decided to start my “Lola on the Road” series where I visit cat cafes and share my experiences with you. So far my travels have taken me to Brooklyn, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Texas, and Michigan, and I’m not ready to stop! I have plans to visit Connecticut and Pennsylvania this spring and summer. 






A Few More Interesting Tidbits


As I was going through my analytics, I decided to share a few more facts about the blog over the year. 
  • Our highest page views were in the month of September (which coincides with Remember Me Thursday.) 
  • The top five social networks that brought the most traffic were Facebook, Pinterest, Stumble Upon, Blogger and Twitter. 
  • The top five keyword searches were Amazon, you helped your friends be great, cat toys, cat trees, and I and love and you. (You helped your friends be great? That's Interesting.) 
  • The top five countries with the most visitors are the USA, Canada, France, UK, and Hungary. 
  • The top five cities with the most visitors were New York, Paris, Ashburn, Budapest, and Santa Clara. 


I hope you enjoyed our recap. Many thanks to all of you who have been along for the ride. Your comments mean the world to me and give me incentive to keep going. What would you like to see more of on the blog next year? 

Dawn 






Would you like to comment?

  1. The cat cafe posts are fun - and I luv seeing Lola and Lexy!

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  2. Wow, you accomplished a LOT last year! Great job!

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  3. That was a fun look back, you've sure got lots of good things going on!

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  4. Concatulations, that's a lot of accomplishments ! Purrs

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  5. There's a new cat cafe in Charlotte NC too.
    I enjoyed Lola on the Road- and all the others once I found you. So glad I did.

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  6. a may bee knot sew much post ree lated commint 😊

    stopping bye with a new yeerz toon
    wood sure bee nice if this waz joon
    coz oh everee thing we bee a wishin…
    weed bee ona boat N due in sum fishin

    happee new yeer frum de frozen tun dra ~ !!

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  7. Congratulations on a successful year of achievement.

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  8. And I met you in 2018 too, with Sue from The Island Cats at the Ferndale Catfe Lounge. Here's to an even better 2019!

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  9. Wow, it was quite the year! And we purr 2019 is even better!

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  10. You all had a busy year. Those were all good posts, but all your posts are excellent. Wishing you all a happy and healthy new year! XO

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  11. What an exciting year you've had!!! I predict a lot more great things for you lovely ladies in 2019!

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  12. Wow! You had a wonderful 2018 and I have a feeling 2019 will be just as amazing.

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  13. What an amazing year you had, Lola, Lexy and Dawn! We are so thankful for your blog, and even more thankful for YOU. Thanks for being such awesome pals. Happy New Year!

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  14. what a fun look back at a great 2018 helping cats....can't wait to see what happens in 2019

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  15. You should be very proud. You’ve done so much in 2018 with your blog! I always love seeing L & L and hearing about their lives.

    Happy New Year!

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  16. Looks like you had a great 2018! I’m so happy to have been a small part of it with RememberMe Thursday. I’m so happy you asked me to join you with hosting the wonderful blog hop. And I’m happy that you’re on the CPP writing team, too! And btw, I LOVE your Lola on the Road series!! Here’s looking forward to a great 2019!!!

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  17. Congratulations you've had such an incredible year, you must be so proud of your accomplishments! I bet you're excited for all the challenges and adventures of the coming year. Your series on cat cafes sounds fab, you're going to have a blast hanging out with all the kitties!!

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  18. Wow. These are great posts. I love the preparedness post. So important. And keeping hydrated. Extremely important, especially if cats are fed a dry food.

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  19. Congratulations on a successful year! I look at what you've accomplished and I'm simply amazed.

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  20. I love reading the success of other blogs and you really did accomplish a lot last year and hopefully this year will just be as awesome, Happy 2019

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  21. What a great year in review! We haven't finished ours yet can you believe it *eyeroll *

    Happy 2019 to all three of you.

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  22. I'm glad you had a great year! Also excited that we will be working together - a little jealous you got to meet Jackson! LOL. Hope we can meet up in February.

    I also got a lot of traffic from StumbleUpon and was sad to see it go. This year I'm trying to focus on Pinterest to make up for some of the lost traffic from SU.

    Happy 2019!

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  23. Congratulations on a successful 2018. I hope 2019 brings you more of the same. I love reading about Lola’s and Lexy’s adventures.

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  24. I'm really looking forward to seeing more of your Lola on the Road series! Loved your in depth recap and I really like our rescue and advocacy focus on your blog. Nice that you made all those connections to collaborate with in 2019. And Oh my Cat! Jackson Galaxy sent the CPP team holiday cards, how cool is that! Very stoked myself to be on board!
    Wishing you and the girls a successful 2019 xx

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  25. It seems like you had a very successful year in 2018. I really love your new series, it is so inspiring to see the various cat cafes, and of course I love reading Lola's and Lexy's perspectives.

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  26. What an epic round-up of 2018, and we love the cat cafe series, it's amazing!

    Here's wishing mew a blessed 2019, Happy New Year!

    Bestest Purrs

    Wing Commander Basil & The B Team xox

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  27. I love that you highlighted your top 10 posts of 2018! And Con"cat"ulations on the amazing award, recognitions, and new ventures! Sounds like 2018 certainly was epic and that 2019 is going to be an exciting one for sure!

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  28. It looks like you had a wonderful year! I didn't know you visited kitty hall in Rahway, I've been there and used to live nearby. :)

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  29. You've had a very busy and productive year in 2018 and I hope 2019 is everything and more for you. I'm so glad we became friends and am looking forward to our continued friendship and collaboration. I may be visiting New York this summer!

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  30. I am happy I found you. I have enjoyed your every post since I have.

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  31. There is so much good in your last year, way more than ours I suspect. We are aiming for our fun this year to come from writing books that sell and raise money for cats and companions in need, and to raise a smile along the way else wheres the point?
    Have a lovely productive and fun 2019
    PS, I wonder if the do life size models of Mrs H that I can sit on? If they do I shall have on in each room so I can get a food order sorted, pronto :)
    Purrs
    ERin

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  32. Happy Gotcha Day, Lola and family! You are so lucky to have each other, and I am always happy to see you. You help save many lives! jeaniedannheim (at) ymail (dot) com

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