A total waste of time and money. If you are going there to actually see cats, you won't. They had barely any and kept them in a hidden side area where you have to pay extra for a VIP ticket to see a handful of supposedly "famous" cats. By the middle of they day they also ran out of cats in the adoption village so there were like less than 12 to even view at this whole ridiculous event. This convention was really just a excuse for people to sell cat jewelry and kitty litter. VERY DISAPPOINTING. read more

As vendor I was treated rudely and do to Catcon management and The Reefs truly epic fail with the logistics I lost a lot of money. The inability of the two organizations to properly execute the event was inexcusable, especially given they had projected ,PRIOR to the event, that attention was expected to be double the previous year. Ticket holders not being able to get in or BACK in hurt them as well as the vendors sales-most of us are small business owners who spent a GREAT DEAL OF MONEY to be in the show and at the show. And the guest spent a great deal of time and money to be at the show. To date not a single apology or consideration has been given to the vendors. read more

This event is terribly unorganized! Firstly, the line for prepaid tickets and on site ticket sales are the same. That is inane! What is the point of buying your tickets in advance then? The purpose should be so that you can easily walk in and have your tickets scanned without undue hassle, but someone here obviously didn't get that concept. Secondly, the wait to get in is horrendous. Right now the line is wrapping around the building and the staff won't let any more people in because they're at capacity. I think it's incredibly greedy and irresponsible for the event organizers to oversell tickets this way. This show is only open until 5:00 pm. So if you show up in the afternoon and are forced to wait hours in line then you may only get to see the show for a hour or so. I realize waiting is a part of life, but not like this. To me, a wait that's this long and this difficult is effectively like having no ticket at all. You wouldn't buy a ticket to Disneyland, for example, just to have the gatekeeper say, "Well we're full right now so we won't let you in for a few hours". That's bull! And so is this convention. read more

Aww, I'm bummed to see so many bad review for CatCon! However, I'm glad we went on Sunday because it seems like it was less crazy. We arrived around 11 AM, about an hour after it opened, and walked straight up to the ticket/will call counter. Yes, it was crowded inside, but there was plenty of room to navigate and look around. My friend heard that it was supposedly super hot inside, and yes, there were times when it got a little warm, but it wasn't that bad at all. There was tons of cute stuff to buy, as well as some freebies for your cat. Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately, for my wallet), I don't have a cat so I was able to resist making a lot of purchases. I would say that maybe half of the booths were clothing, accessories, etc for people, a quarter was stuff actually for your cat and another quarter were organizations, rescues and things like that. The only actual cats I saw were in the adoption area, so I wish there were more actual kitties around for petting, but I guess they're not particularly social and probably harder to corral than say, dogs. Speaking of dogs, who's up for DogConLA next year?? Anyone?? read more

admission fee of $43 was one thing but bottom line was that there was very little actually for cats. There were some vendors sporting their wares for cats such as automatic feeders and water, cat boxes and a few cat trees, catnip, toys and liter. Then there was vendors selling buttons and pins, junk and more junk. There was a few artists to paint your pet but nothing in the way of cat health, true cat nutrition, breeds of cats, showing of cats, no fund raising for cats that I could see other than one woman who saves cats with deformities and major health problems which was great but when asked how many cats do you currently have we were told "We don't discuss that". Kinda figured if the woman has 3 properties she must have a nice setup and quite a few rescues...Anyhow, it is nice that she saves some even though they don't find homes for any of them. Bottom line, one would think that CatCon would try and target benefiting cats and I didn't find that to be quite the case. They did have some cats for adoption and hopefully all found homes. Visit your local shelters and adopt, you money will be well spent. read more

My wife was super excited to check out CatCon as we love our cats and are always looking for toys, gadgets, furniture anything to for our little furry kids. This event was a total disappointment for that, it was full of vendors selling cat theme t-shirts, jewelry, accessories, stuff for cat fanatics NOT for cats. There were a few vendors show casing Cat trees and actual stuff for cats but I would say that only was 15% of the booths in this Convention. Would have been fine at $15/ticket to enter a cat themed flea market but at $35 I left there feeling really ripped off. So hope this review helps if you are on the fence on going, don't say no one warned you. We wished we did a little more research beforehand. read more

I attended for the first time last year and adored it, unfortunately this year did not meet expectations, parking was a nightmare, most of the structure closed off and people stuck in long lines trying to find a space( and we were there at 9am) .... most vendors were art/t shirts, not many cat products and prices were increased; it would have been great to have water available as there was only one concession stand and water was $5!!! I left disappointed as we were refused entry to the free event to see Catwoman because we were told they had let too many people in. I had recommended this event to all my friends but I will not attend next year read more

We've now been to CatCon twice (2017 and 2018) and will not be participating again in the future. The entire event shows a lack of planning and a lack of respect for its customers, and there are very few activities available - so you're literally just paying to get into a big room full of vendors, most of whom are simply reselling stuff they found by searching Etsy/Storenvy for "cat." (Not joking - you can literally source entire booths' inventories this way.) Entry, even if you have prepaid tickets, is done by lining up around the building single-file in the heat and waiting for the groups ahead of you to clear the check-in booth. Since the booth has multiple stations manned by multiple staff, why not just situate it outside the (wait for it) multiple entrances to the venue and allow people to queue up ballgame-style? The con floor is badly laid out (some exhibitor booths are sprawling, while some are almost impossibly squished into the intervening spaces, making entry for more than a few people at a time impossible). Most of the aisles are quite narrow - I'd actually describe many of them as alleys - and they're easily blocked by people with strollers or wheelchairs, there being plenty of both present. The adoption area and any booth with a prize wheel or free swag will have huge lines, further clogging up the aisles, and they move interminably - the wait times are far beyond being worth it. The only food or drink available on the premises are the built-in "food court" (a small booth built into the back wall, woefully unequipped to deal with an event of this magnitude) and one or two carts located in the outer walkways. The seminar area has seating for maybe 30 people; the rest area has seating for maybe 6-7. We tried to get into the fashion competition, which was held in a small auditorium with (you guessed it) more inadequate seating. A number of people resorted to standing at the entryway, but even that less-than-ideal view was blocked by an employee recording the show with a humongous, full-sized broadcast setup (the kind of rig you sit in to control the camera) right in the middle of the floor. I can't comment on the celebricat meet-and-greets, since the ticket prices are frankly guffaw-worthy. There are always a few vendors who sell their own amazing artwork and crafts, and there are always a few people who show up in awesome costumes. This is the only justification I can think of to spend your money or your time on this event; other than that, unfortunately, CatCon is just another overbooked, minimal-effort pop-culture cash grab. Highly not recommended. read more

Last year wasn't bad. This year was horrible. You pay $32 to wait in lines, look at crummy, overpriced apparel vendors and if you're lucky, touch some cats. Plus, all the cats are extremely stressed out from people poking or harassing them that it was hard connecting with one to adopt. And, by the time it was noon, most of the cats were adopted. None of the cages or kitten rooms were refilled either - which was odd, considering that the Pasadena Humane Society, and surrounding Humane Societies, have so many cats that need adopting. The organizers wasted an opportunity to get more cats homes. And honestly, wasted a lot of people's time; those who got there in the afternoon and wanted to adopt, were out of luck. Ultimately, I was really disappointed; it was a complete waste of time and money. Only upside was that it was held at the Pasadena Convention Center this year. Still, not a real cat expo or convention at all. Just a cheap corporate event aimed at American consumerism. Way too much hype and publicity for such a subpar event. I didn't attend any of the "seminars," but heard generally negative things from others. If you actually love cats and want to learn about different breeds and/or help organizations, go to the REAL cat conventions - such as, the Orange County Pet Expo/Cat Shows or the Fairplex Pomona Pet Expo. Not conventions dominated by cat-themed apparel. Pathetic. Not going next year. Avoid! Tacky cat shopping at best. read more

This was one of the worst experiences ever. Bought prepaid tickets and was made to wait in line in the hot sun with no shade for 45 minutes while the people who bought tickets there got to go right in. Nothing interesting inside. A complete waste of time and money. The Pasadena event staff were rude. The people running Cat Con should go to a real Cat Show and learn something. No samples of Rachel Rays food as advertised. Pass on this event save your money... I feel like I have heat stroke from standing in hot sun for so long. I want my money back.... read more

CatCon is truly a magical place. I've vended the past two years, and its glorious. I love the community that is created in such a small amount of time. The camaraderie between vendors and management is strong, I mean, sure, there have been some hiccups, but that's to be expected with the development of a 20k attendee event. I CAN'T WAIT FOR CATCON 2017! I'm excited to see what the Pasadena Convention Center is like. I had a fine time, I liked my booth, its position, the attendees, and of course the kitties. I found management to be very helpful, and responsive to my needs. I participated in the FURR-ocious Fashion Face-off, which was a blast, and I'm stoked to see it returning this year. I adopted Johnny from CatCon, a sweet, sad-face diluted orange calico, soft as a bunny. Johnny had been rescued from an animal hoarder, in cages with 72 other kitties. His shelter mugshot was the saddest mew ever. Johnny now lives the farm cat life up in Arcata, Ca. Many thanks to Best Friends Animal Rescue for helping him find a furrever home. I love this event. I love everything it represents. I am a small fry vendor from Northern California, I am DEF not a corporation, or owned by PetCo, or whatever. I hand screen print fresh, fashionable patches, linens, and prints. Come by and say hi to me! Bad Cat Pomegranate will be at TT24 in the CatCon Village. www.badcatpomegranate.com read more

I went last year and it was at the Reef and was so disappointed. The vendors were great (although I would have like more actual cat products not just clothes and art). I was hoping they would change venues but they didn't so I decided not to go this year and from what I have been reading on social media, I'm so glad I didn't. I really really hope they pick a different place next year, I would love to attend again. LA or Pasadena convention centers are fantastic options. Yes, they cost more but they could always get more corporate sponsors or raise prices a little if they provide an event people are happy with. read more

I love CatCon! It has been so fun to go the last two years and I am really excited for the new venue this year. I love seeing Lil Bub and all the other celebrity cats in person, and the vendors are really great with such nice things -- I have to have a CatCon budget for my wishlist! It is just so nice to have a place to celebrate with like-minded cat people. I can't wait for this year's Con! read more

I vascillated between giving this event 3 or 2 stars and decided on 2.5. This was my first year attending. I waited until Sunday to buy a ticket online (not being 100% certain I would go) only to find that after the show started on Saturday you had to buy your tickets at the box office for a higher price. In addition to the admission fee the "meet and greet" events were an extra $100 and all were sold out days before the event. I arrived an hour before the event opened and I had no trouble finding the parking and there was no line to get into the garage. After buying my ticket I waited about 40 minutes in line (fortunately in the shade; it was hot) for Kitten Lady's free 1-hour event. It was fun to see all the feline stuff people were wearing--lots of cat themed shirts, dresses and of course, cat ear headbands. I even saw a couple of people dressed like cats. I perused the exhibit halls that had a lot of cat themed items, although I bought very little. Prices were high and a lot of it was cat art, jewelry and clothing (like a cat dress for $50) but much fewer actual items for cats and most were way overpriced. I'm sure you could buy similar items on eBay or amazon for a lot less. I had heard there were a lot of pet food samples of but I only saw one and you had to listen to a sales pitch to get it so I didn't bother. There was an adoption event but since I wasn't there to acquire another cat I didn't visit it. I then saw the free "Men and Cats: A Love Story" panel discussion. Lil BUB was there with his dad Mike Bridavsky, along with Jonathan Zurbel (dad of Samson a.k.a. Catstradamus), Chris Poole (Cole and Marmalade's dad) and Gilles Marini (Penelope's dad). When it came time to have a bit of lunch the only vendor onsite was a little outdoor place where a bottle of water was $5 (it was larger than 16 oz., but still). Not surprisingly, there was no line. Fortunately across the street there were a number of food vendors set up; I'm not sure if they were there specifically for the event, but I had a couple of tasty samosas and a mango lassi from the Indian food vendor (again no line but everyone seemed to want sushi burritos which I'm sorry to say sounds rather nauseating--LOL). I then decided to find the ASPCA booth to sign up for fostering. The Civic Center event staff were completely clueless; they had no idea when they were standing outside the auditorium what event was taking place inside. I asked one of the CatCon staff at the Information Desk where the ASPCA was since it wasn't listed in the program and even they didn't know. I ended up finding out at the exhibitor booth desk. Overall, I think it was rather unorganized. Some of the aisles in between the booths were narrow given how many people were there, yet there were giant open spaces so they could have spread them out more. Overall I don't think I would go again. In my opinion, the price was pretty steep--$13 to park, $35 to buy your ticket at the event (vs. $20 + a small service fee before Saturday morning), it was $10 for lunch, plus gas for a 60-mile round trip and any other purchases you might care to make. That seems like a lot for a couple of hours of events and the chance to see overpriced vendors. I met a woman who brought her daughter from TEXAS and they attended both days including multiple meet and greets and managed to get in a day at Disneyland so they made a mini vacation out of it. They were happy but that was a lot of money. read more

Horribly organized. Don't bother trying to get a booth, even though they have plenty available most likely they will decide to have empty space instead of filling in with a booth they decide falls into into a category of items sold that has already filled up just to get your nonrefundable application fee. When you inquire about getting booth they will even ask you what you sell so they know before you even fill out the application you will already be turned down. Now the fact that I had spent months including sending messages prior to the early bird discount deadline in the beginng of JANUARY and was unable to get a response until this week makes it even worse that they pulled this stunt. For such an amazing event that brought 10,000 people last year they sure dropped the ball on getting this year's cat con going. Tickets are not available yet and they claimed booth applications were available last fall, but they were not. Don't bother going like last year everything will be sold out in less then a day because they can't be bothered to get a better number of booths. read more