Missed the first cat video festival? No worries, watch at home

By Deborah Netburn

Aug. 31, 2012 12 AM PT

&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;If you weren’t at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis on Thursday night, it’s official: You missed the first ever Internet Cat Video Film Festival, where 10,000 people gathered to enjoy the usually private experience of watching kitties acting funny with a crowd large enough to fill a concert hall.&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;But we have good news: The Walker has made its carefully culled &amp;lt;a href=”https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLC0B137D835A3C970”&amp;gt;screening list&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt; of cat videos available for online viewing.&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;You will laugh, you will cry, and even though the entire “festival” is only an hour long, you will marvel at the diversity of cat videos -- and at how much people love their cats.&amp;nbsp;&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Some highlights included a fat cat attempting to lose weight while walking on an underwater treadmill and one I particularly liked in which a group of comedians created distinctive screams to accompany about a dozen cat yawns. (You may have to see it to get it.)&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Keep a particular eye out for &amp;lt;a href=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q34z5dCmC4M”&amp;gt;”Henri 2, Paw de Deux,”&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt; a video about a French existentialist cat. It took home a Golden Kitty award for winning the people’s choice vote in an online tally before the festival got underway.&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;The whole point of the &amp;lt;a href=”http://arstechnica1.netblogpro.com/business/technology/la-fi-tn-internet-cat-video-film-festival-20120710,0,1797944.story”&amp;gt;Cat Video Film Festival&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt; was to experiment with the idea of watching cat videos in a communal setting, so you might try inviting some friends to enjoy your own cat video film festival with you.&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;If you’re anything like the 10,000 people who attended the actual festival, you will have a great time.&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;”Everyone was floating above the ground,” said Rachel Joyce, assistant director of public relations for the Walker, told the Los Angeles Times the day after the festival. “It was like people just neeed this.”&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;strong&amp;gt;ALSO:&amp;lt;/strong&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;a href=”http://arstechnica1.netblogpro.com/business/technology/la-fi-tn-internet-cat-video-film-festival-20120710,0,1797944.story”&amp;gt;Film festival to focus on Internet cat videos&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;a href=”http://arstechnica1.netblogpro.com/business/technology/la-fi-tn-blue-moon-friday-20120830,0,2507710.story”&amp;gt;Friday’s blue moon: What it means, how to see it online&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;a class=”runtimeTopic” href=”http://arstechnica1.netblogpro.com/business/technology/la-fi-tn-china-knocks-off-iphone-5-20120831,0,5657792.story”&amp;gt;China firm knocks off iPhone 5; oh wait, there is no iPhone 5 yet&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Follow Deborah Netburn on &amp;lt;a href=”https://twitter.com/#!/DeborahNetburn”&amp;gt;Twitter&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt; or &amp;lt;a href=”https://plus.google.com/u/0/109675776633752908527/posts”&amp;gt;Google+&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;

Missed the first cat video festival? No worries, watch at home

More to Read

More From the Los Angeles Times

Most Read in Business