21Cats and Decent Designs Launch 21Cats.Org, The Most Comprehensive Cat Care Site on the Web

Palo Alto, Calif., June 1, 2000 - In celebration of Adopt a Shelter Cat Month, 21Cats, a California public benefit nonprofit corporation, is proud to announce the launch of the most complete cat care and information site on the Internet, 21Cats.org.

"The goal of 21Cats.org is to create a community where cat-loving children and adults alike can come together and learn how to care for their feline friends, through extensive disease and care information, games, quizzes, contests, and news articles about what's happening in the world of cats," said Michele Giles, President and Alpha Cat of 21Cats.org. "There are 63 million cats in the United States alone, and therefore around 63 million cat owners with new stories every day about how they've learned to better communicate and care for their pets, and with questions on cat care, diagnosis and treatment. We want to be their primary source for reliable cat information when they need it, and in turn bring all of their best cat tails to the rest of the cat-loving world."

21Cats.org is one of the richest sources of cat information on the Internet, and will be the #1 bookmark on millions of cat lovers' browsers, in part due to extensive sections devoted to:

Cat Wellness Information

Visitors find it simple to locate information about cat health and disease on 21Cats.org, whether they're looking for warning signs of cat health problems, simple household remedies to common behavior problems, treatments and precautionary measures, or information on diseases and health-related issues that strike the cat community. 21Cats' extensive cat care and disease databases cover everything from fleas to food habits to FIP. 21Cats.org also makes it easy to keep up on the latest treatments and disease research so that cat lovers can help their vets make fully-informed decisions about what's best for their pets.

Cat Behavior and Training

21Cats contains comprehensive, easily-searched articles and stories that help thousands of owners each day better understand their cats' unspoken words. Dozens of articles and references on communicating with cats are designed to teach visitors how to understand the mysterious hidden meanings behind every type of meow and each subtle flick or lash of the tail. Cat psychology references help visitors understand how their cats think, and why the unique brains of cats require special approaches by humans who want to communicate effectively. Additionally, there is a bevy of information on 21Cats to help explain and solve most every problem behavior demonstrated by household cats, including overt aggression, poor litterbox etiquette, and excessive scratching or meowing.

Cat Acquisition Assistance

Whether a first time cat buyer or a veteran, most everyone who visits 21Cats.org learns something new about the best ways to find their dream pet and help make him or her a happy member of their home. There are articles on whether shelter cats, purebred cats, or pet store cats will make the best fit for any individual household, with detailed explanations about how these different environments can each lead to greatly different kitten health and mentality. Other sections of 21Cats.org are devoted to the different behaviors across breeds of cats. And a special section on the proper introduction of new cats into single- or multiple-pet homes can save years of tears and sleepless nights dealing with problem behaviors.

Cat Fun and Community

Despite the tremendous amount of information on the site, 21Cats.org revolves not around its millions of cat facts but rather around the hearts of millions of cats around the world and the people that love them. The site is filled to overflowing with cute cat pictures galore, and enough new pictures arrive each day in the Kitty Gallery for the Cat and Story of the Month contests to keep cat lovers clicking and cooing for hours. Dozens of cat-themed games and quizzes keep everyone on their toes, some designed to teach, some just for fun. And with new games, Kitty IQTests, and Cat and Story of the Month contests on the way all the time, there's always something fun to look forward to at 21Cats.org.

If it's chat or discussion you're looking for, the site hosts forums designed to bring users together to tell their tales, share smiles, and seek help from each other in tough times. And emailed questions to 21Cats are typically answered in less than 24 hours by a dedicated team of cat fanatics.

Cat Loss

We know that losing a pet can be one of the worst things a pet owner has to face. 21Cats.org's Virtual Pet Cemetary contains photos, poems and tributes to those cats who have moved on to the big catnip patch in the sky. Bereaved visitors often find that sharing their grief and memories with others by creating a tribute to their pet can be one of the best ways to help start the healing. This area also contains links to instant one-on-one online help for dealing with the grieving process that goes along with pet loss.

21Cats, a California public benefit nonprofit corporation, was founded with donated proceeds from the television game show, "Twenty-One", and dedicates its resources towards the betterment of life for cats and caring owners everywhere. Short-term goals include improving recognition and funding for disease research that is tackling potentially treatable cat diseases such as FIV, FIP and feline leukemia, which mercilessly kill millions of cats each year. In many cases, cures for cat diseases are within reach, but are not making their way to the forefront of medical research priorities because of lack of funding. 21Cats also aims to improve education nationwide and worldwide about the care and socialization of the millions of cats put to sleep each year, many simply because no information was available to help deal with simply-treated behavioral problems.

Long-term goals of 21Cats include establishing research grants and community grants to support both the assault on cat diseases and the effort to create quality shelters and clinics that will help control cat populations without the need for euthanasia.

Michele Giles, hostess of 21Cats.org adds, "Please visit our website for cats and their owners at http://www.21cats.org to find out what we are about. We are excited to begin on this journey to help cats and hope you will enjoy watching us grow. Please contact us if you have any questions or would like to link to us."