Friskies opens public voting for the best cat video of the year

Now you have a whole new reason to spend time watching cat videos. It’s up to you and cat lovers nationwide to vote for your favorite cat videos to determine the winners of the 2013 “The Friskies,” the major award for best cat videos of the year. Voting is open now at www.TheFriskies.com.

From thousands of entries, Friskies and the contest judges selected 20 semi-finalists to compete for a spot as one of 12 finalists. The top four category winners and one fan favorite will be awarded $25,000 in total cash prizes and gold-plated “catuette” trophies at The Friskies Award Show on October 15. The show will be hosted by comedian and cat owner Michael Ian Black, and broadcast online at www.TheFriskies.com.

“In America, the vote is always in the hands of the people,” said comedian, cat owner and The Friskies host Michael Ian Black. “Take advantage of that right and vote for your favorite internet cat videos at www.TheFriskies.com. It’s time to give back to those cats and their owners who create the videos that get you through work, public transportation and family parties. It just may be the most important thing you do. And you should do it every day.”

Voting is open now through September 16 at www.TheFriskies.com. Voters may exercise their right once a day. The 20 semi-finalists include five entries in each of four categories: Catventure, Cat Comedy, Rescue Cat, and Pursuit of Food or Treat. Friskies asks voters to consider the following judging criteria when voting:

• Originality and overall artistic impression
• Audience appeal and entertainment quality
• Sense that there’s a story being told
• Portraying cat’s perspective 

“The semi-finalists’ videos showcase amazing variety, and they highlight the personalities of cats and their owners in artistic ways that are fun to watch over and over,” said Shawn Brain, Friskies assistant brand manager.

“Every vote counts and the public will be 100 percent responsible for choosing the 12 finalists to travel to New York City for The Friskies Award Show for the opportunity to win each $5,000 category prize and the coveted fan favorite. Voters can check back daily to see which videos are in the lead and watch and share their favorites at www.TheFriskies.com.”

While votes help choose the winners; views, votes and shares also help Friskies’ 20 cat charity partners work toward their goal of earning 250,000 cans of Friskies. As part of the “Share to Care” program, Friskies Facebook fans can help boost the total donation beyond 250,000 cans during the voting period.

For every video vote at www.TheFriskies.com, Friskies will donate one additional can of cat food to the cat charity partners, up to 25,000 cans. To date, the community has helped the 20 charities earn more than 40,000 additional cans of Friskies.