For the third year running, our Munich start-up LucyBalu hosted the "Cat Model Contest". With even more challenges for the participants, this social media contest, which ran over two months, was quite the ride!

The Voting Process

More than 5,000 entries reached us. Cats of every shape, colour and breed were put forward as potential cover models. We were simply overwhelmed by the fantastic response. Every cat model who collected more than 100 likes for their photo made it through to the next round.

The Team Auditions

Then the auditions got underway – every participant could apply for a team of their choice. Team @sinascolorcats, Team @kickassyoga, Team @foto.maedchen or Team @what_eva_loves (shown in this order in the picture below). Everyone who had applied for the live shoot automatically joined Team @lucybalu. Depending on which team you applied to, you were then given a photo assignment.

The Photo Challenge

After another round of selection, each team was left with 25 cats. Of those, after a further challenge, 6 cats were chosen by the influencers.

The Community Voting

In the community voting, 8 cats were then chosen for the home shoot and 8 cats for the live shoot on 22–23 July in a photo studio in Munich.
Several thousand people took part. We were overwhelmed.

And so, after just two months, countless posts and many rounds of voting, we narrowed down more than 5,000 candidates to our 16 finalists.

The Final

With 16 finalists, the big day finally arrived on 22–23 July 2023!

While 8 cats struck their best poses in the comfort of their own homes, another 8 finalists came to visit us in Munich. HERE we introduce all 16 house tigers.
Both animal and human wellbeing were well taken care of.

The Finalists from the Live Shoot

In Munich, Aslan from @aslan_n_friends, Wuschl from @beatecats, Tigger from @caroskittycats, Fabius from @fabfab_theothercat, Lucky from @finja_lucky.blueeyes, Lucy from @floofy__lucy, Lio from @mizi.lio.cats and Milo from @myteam_mimi walked through the door one after another, ready to give it their all for the title. The photos of the 8 cats in the order mentioned:

We managed to take beautiful, one-of-a-kind photos with every single cat. The photos of our „homebodies" Oliver from @_littleoliver, O'Malley from @fergus_omalley , Hildegard from @hildegard_the_ragdoll, Honey from @honeyandfluffy_ragdollcats, Khaleesi from @khaleesi.und.ole, Miyu from @luramoona, Akira from @twofluffballs_ and Bella from @v.d.heyde150770 turned out simply wonderful, and really brought out each cat's individual character. The photos of the 8 cats in the order mentioned:

We at LucyBalu would love nothing more than to declare all 16 (and honestly, all the others too) winners – and to us, they truly are!

The Winner – Our LucyBalu Cat Model 2022

The vote for Cat Model 2022, who graced the cover of the entire September issue of „Geliebte Katze" magazine, went to OLIVER!!! 🥳

A little backstory about Oliver, as told to us by his owner after the win:

"Oliver was born in a basement on the streets of Kyiv – sadly, the situation for stray animals in Ukraine is difficult. He had a severe infection and an injured eye.
Either he or the eye could be saved, so the eye was removed.

It was 2020, during Covid, and I saw Oliver in an Instagram group – he was small, with trimmed whiskers, not fluffy at all, and one-eyed. :)

I fell in love with him. My husband and I wanted to take him in and look after him. We nursed him back to health, he grew stronger, became so fluffy, and very cheerful. :)

Before the war, Oliver and I travelled a lot around Ukraine. Oliver visited several cities and even went to the seaside.
The war has changed everything. We hardly go anywhere anymore, or take the forest walks that Oliver loves so much.

I truly dream that once the war is over, we'll be able to travel through Europe with the whole family, visit Germany, and meet everyone who made this wonderful competition happen.

We're grateful for it, because it was able to take our minds off the harsh everyday reality."

We're delighted that we got to share Oliver's story, and we'd also like to thank all the other fluffy participants – we're already looking forward to next year! 🐈💕