When it comes to cats and cat topics, BJ Bangs is a pet blogger we love because of her commitment to cats and cat topics and cat rescue issues. Her blog’s subheading is “Paws for Reflection,” because it gave her the flexibility to take a different twist on her blog and the blog topics in the future if she wanted to pursue that.
What pets do you share your life with?
They’re all cats, she shared and started listing them:
- Clyde (19-year-old Tuxedo Cat who was my mom’s cat)
- Pink Collar (17-year-old gal who wears a spiffy hot pink collar and is undergoing acupuncture treatments for arthritis pain)
- Linus (12-year-old traditional Siamese who is all Velcro-cat)
- Little Yellow (8-year-old orange long-haired tabby who battles asthma and is also all Velcro)
- Lenny (5-year-old grey and white tabby who despite his jelly belly is all energy and play)
BJ shared, “I’d be remiss not to mention my kitties who have passed over the Rainbow Bridge. Tubby was not even three-years-old when he succumbed to FIP. Smokey Blue lived to be 18-years-old, and she too was a Velcro cat. My first cat, Victory, a Maine Coon look alike who was a gorgeous girl, and we met one fateful night outside a bar. She spent 18 years with me, and she was a gal with personality and attitude.”
What’s the most important or urgent topic you’re writing about? (and why?)
“At Paws for Reflection, we’re serious about cats, writing about cat health, rescue and cat news while advocating in behalf of cats. We delve into why cats are the absolute best soul mates, sprinkle in humor with lots of travel tips, photos and feline tales.” she said, adding that, “This makes Paws for Reflection a must-stop for cat information on the cat-crazed Internet.”
BJ is an award-winning blogger/journalist, communication professional/photographer.
“Right now we are working to promote the Feline Fix by Five initiative to prevent those ‘unexpected litters’ from ‘tween kitties. Reducing the teenagers from having kittens will have a revolutionary effect on reducing cat overpopulation.”
If a visitor stops by your blog, what will he or see read about? How are you and your blog making a difference?
“I absolutely love cats. I believe they are the most awesome creatures on earth. Cats are not little people, nor are they little dogs. They are cats with specific, unique traits,” she said. “Educating people about these wonderful pets and how they can become our soul-mates is a driving force that keeps me blogging and writing about cats.”
BJ also connects wtih initiatives like Feline Fix by Five gives purpose to blogging because educating millennials, veterinarians and others about early spay/neuter can reduce the explosive cat overpopulation issue and elevate the status of cats. “Millions of cats are euthanized each year due to so many cats entering the sheltering system,” she said.
“My goal is to be a force so these numbers can be reduced.”
BJ calls herself a “cat-vocate” and an educator. “The more information cat owners have about their felines, the better decisions they can make when it comes to giving their cats a long and healthy life. Today so many people reach to the Internet for information about their cats, I’m a resource for them to look for information about 10 signs your cat may have had a stroke; how many cats can come from one cat; the latest breakthroughs so FIP will no longer be a death sentence, why asthma is so difficult to diagnose in cats and more.”
Here are some of BJs favorite blog posts:
- Cats scratching and kneading is a way of communicating, but what are they telling us?
- Static Electricity in cat’s fur easily charged
- FIP Research hopeful, it may no longer be a death sentence
- How many cats can come about from one cat? Take pause before throwing out the numbers
- Feline Fix by Five could be revolutionary in reducing cat overpopulation
Why do you blog and do what you do in the pet/animal world? How does blogging impact your life (and the lives of the pets you write about?)
“I blog because I love cats. I started blogging about four years ago as a way to establish myself as a credible cat writer and obtain freelance writing opportunities for prestigious national cat magazines.”
She also wanted to become a better cat parent, and learn how to better care for her feline family. “During my time as a cat parent, I’ve dealt with a host of feline health challenges, and blogging has given me a way to better understand what I should be asking or looking for when going to the veterinarian’s office. If I were not blogging, I might not be taking my 17-year-old Pink Collar for monthly acupuncture treatments.”
Paws for Reflection is not just a blog about cats, she said, it’s a lifestyle.
It’s what I want my life to be. I love cats and want to connect with others who have the same love for their pets. “I’ve always had animals and pets in my life. As a journalist, photographer, communication specialists and advocate, I wanted to take my professional background and meld it into a cause that I truly believe in – helping cats and educating readers on how they can take care of their cats. ”
As a blogger, dhr incorporated her personal experiences into many of her posts, and most of my photos are of my cats or other felines that 
she has personally encountered.
“This past year, I connected with Felines Fix by Five Months, and I am looking forward to not just blogging about the initiative, but also collaborating on projects to make the public understand the importance of early spay/neuter,” she said. “We are developing a strong team to make this a regional model, which can be revolutionary in reducing the horrific cat overpopulation issue.”
For her efforts in the Fix By Five initiative, she was recognized as the Winn Feline Foundation’s 2017 Media Appreciation Award. “I am so grateful and appreciative of receiving such a tremendous honor and be included with some of the best cat media professionals throughout the country. ”
