FAQ

Why join Cats.com?

Joining Cats.com enables you to be part of our growing, vibrant community of cat lovers. When you join you will be able to ask and answer questions, post comments, and create your own network of cat lovers who share your interests.

How do I use the site?

Searching for information Cats.com was designed to make searching for information quick and easy, and there are multiple ways to find what you’re looking for.

Browse the home page – The home page is constantly updating recently posted questions and articles. You can also see which questions, articles, and topics have been most popular within the community.

Question Box - At the top of every page, you will find a box labeled "ask a question". Type in your question or keywords about a topic and then click on the GO button. Related questions, articles, and topics will be displayed. Since this box is at the top of every page, you can get information quickly and easily from anywhere.

Category Column – On the left column of every page is a list of categories. You can go to a specific category, and see popular questions and articles that are related to that category.

^NEW!Asking questions At the end of each search, if you did not find the answer you are looking for, you will have an opportunity to post your question to the community. Just fill in the boxes, and click on the Post Question button. The community will submit answers to your specific question. It is important to use the main keywords associated with your question in the title/subject area. Please view search results before posting a new question - the answer you are looking for may have already been posted on Cats.com.

Cats.com gives you the option of receiving an email whenever someone posts an answer or comment to your question. Just go to Edit Profile to manage how often you’d like to be notified. In addition, when you post your question you have the option of notifying your contacts that you’ve posted a question to ensure that they see it. You can notify all of them, or just specific custom groups of contacts that you have created. Note: You need to be a logged-in member to ask questions.

^NEW!Question GuidelinesIf you follow some guidelines when writing questions, you will help the search function work better on Cats.com for you and others. You want other users to find your question if they have a similar one, and you want experts to find your question so they can answer it! For Question Title put either a small version of your question, or the topic of your question. For example, "Why is my cat hissing?" is a good title, "Hissing" would be fine as well. Then in the Question Message you should provide details about this behavior. In this example, you'd want to explain what/who the cat is hissing at, and what their other behavior is like, because this will help the experts answer your question.

Answering questions If you see an interesting question and you want to submit an answer, just click on the question title, and you will be able to see the question and all answers that have been posted so far. At the bottom of the list, you will be able to click on the "add your answer" button. Just fill in the box, and click "post answer", and you’re all set! Note: You need to be a logged-in member to answer questions.

Posting comments Cats.com allows members to post comments to the individual answers to questions. This enables the community to have a discussion about a specific issue or idea that may have been brought up or to thank someone for their response. At the end of each answer, there is a link to "Comment on this Answer". To comment, just fill in the box and click the "Post Comment" button.

You will also be able to make comments on articles by clicking the link at the bottom of each article. Note: You need to be a logged-in member to post comments.

Rating questions and comments As you read through answers and comments, you will have the opportunity to rate how helpful the answers or comments to the questions are. In the space under the poster’s avatar, there is a +/- button. Clicking on it will either add or subtract points from the answer, displaying the rating below the button. These points will also factor into the member’s overall paw rating. Note: You need to be a logged-in member to rate answers and comments.

^NEW!Reporting questions, answers and comments Each type of post on Cats.com contains a button called "Report this" by which you can report "bad content" to the moderator. The following items qualify at "bad content":

• Call out for friends (i.e. "Will you be my friend on Cats.com?")
• Rude, insulting comments or any abuse to any user
• Inappropriate language or subjects
• Content irrelevant to Cats.com
• Content with illegible characters or in all CAPS

Please make sure to report the specific item that you think should not be on the site, rather than the whole question.

Misc. FAQ’s

Why should I fill out my profile? Filling out your profile enables you to more easily connect with other members who have similar interests, are local to you, or have a similar breed of cats. Of course you control what, and how much, information you share.

How do I edit my profile? Click on the "My Account" button at the top of any page. You will have options to edit your profile.

How do I change my password? Click on the "My Account" button at the top of any page. You will have options to change your password.

How do I manage my contacts? Click on the "My Account" button at the top of any page. You will find options for inviting, adding, and deleting contacts. When you add contacts you will have the opportunity to categorize them in ways that are useful to you. There are three customizable categories that you can use to organize your friends so you can find them easily. You’ll also find information on how to import email addresses from other email accounts.

How do I manage my notifications? Click on the "My Account" button at the top of any page. You will find options for managing what, and how much communication you get from us.

How do I know if someone answered my question?

There are two ways to determine whether someone has answered your question.

The first is by clicking on your username at the top of the page which links to your pfofile. There will be a list of all of your questions and you can look at their answers. From this page you can also see all of your answers.

The second way is to set your notifications to receive an email when someone answers or leaves a comment to your question. Click on the "My Account" button at the top of any page. You will find options for managing what, and how much communication you get from us.

^NEW!Why did my question/answer/comment disappear? If something you posted on the site disappeared, it might have been reported as bad content. Once reported the moderator will review the content and delete it if it is or has the following qualities: a call-out for friend request, an irrelevant comment, is rude in tone, is written in all CAPS, or if it is a repeat post. If the moderator has to delete your content a handful of times, you may be expelled from the site.

^NEW!My paw rating went down! Why? In conjunction with the question above about content disappearing, your paw rating will drop when your content is deleted by the moderator. Normally you'll lose 1-2 points per deleted post. If you continue to post irrelevant or rude content to the site, you will lose 5 points for each post that is deleted. If you are making posts to simply raise your paw points, those also will be discovered, deleted and you will lose a significant amount of points.

^NEW!How do I delete or terminate my account? You can have your account made inactive on Cats.com if you no longer wish to use it. Currently, the name will still exist displaying previous content (questions, answers etc) but no one will have access to it. We are implementing an "inactive role" into our system. For now, your profile information will be deleted, your friends will be deleted, and your account will be labeled inactive. In the future, all posts of inactive users may be grouped together. Please send a message to the Cats.com moderator, with your zipcode (for verification purposes) at: Catsdotcom if you wish to make your account innactive.

How is the paw rating system determined? Members are ranked based on their interaction on the site; by posting questions, answers, and comments, as well as having their answers and comments being rated highly by other members. Each member will be assigned a "paw" that will be color coded to signify their ranking within the community.

Points are allocated in the following way:

For posting:
Questions = 1 point
Answers = 2 points
Comments = 1 point
Giving feedback:
For rating answers and comments (Using the +/- button)
Every 10 = 1 point

Receiving feedback: Every time someone rates your answers or comments (Using the +/- button)
Every 10 positives = 1 point

Membership levels that you will see throughout the site:

Grey paw = 0 - 50 points
Red Paw = 51 – 150 points
Orange Paw = 151 – 300 points
Green Paw = 300 - 599 points
Magenta Paw = 600 - 1499 points
Purple Paw = 1500 - 4999 points
Blue Paw = 5000 - 9999 points
Brown Paw = 10000 - 24999 points
Black Paw = 25000+ points

Additional user designations you will see throughout the site:
Experts – People with specific expertise on a topic. They may be veterinarians, vet techs, people who own or work in shelters, etc.
Admins – Cats.com people who administer the site.

Member benefits:

Grey paw = Access to experts, friends, private messaging and valuable resources of the Cats.com community!
Red Paw = Entrance into a drawing (occurs every 3 months) for a $25 gift certificate*
Orange Paw = Entrance into a drawing (occurs every 3 months) for a $25 gift certificate*
Green Paw = Entrance into a drawing (occurs every 3 months) for a $25 gift certificate*
Magenta Paw = Entrance into a drawing (occurs every 3 months) for a $50 gift certificate*
Purple Paw = Entrance into a drawing (occurs every 3 months) for a $50 gift certificate*
Blue Paw = Entrance into a drawing (occurs every 3 months) for a $50 gift certificate*
Brown Paw = Entrance into a drawing (occurs every 3 months) for a $75 gift certificate*
Black Paw = Entrance into a drawing (occurs every 3 months) for a $75 gift certificate*

*There have to be at least 3 people eligible for each drawing in order for it to occur. For now, the gift certificate will be to pet supply stores. You can be disqualified from drawing if within that time period you have been found to be adding content for points or submitting repeat posts, or anything else that violates the Cats.com Terms and Conditions

Why does my answer or comment say "Awaiting Moderation"? Answers or comments that contain a handful of links are blocked by our system until an editor approves them. This is a safety precaution. Visit "Contact Us" if your answer doesn't get approved within 24 hours.

How do I find other members? Click on the "My Account" button at the top of any page. From there you will find options for searching other members. You can search by state, categories, or breeds to find members that may share your interests.

How do I communicate with other members? Click on the "My Account" button at the top of any page. As stated above, you will be able to find other members. If you find someone you would like to contact, add them as a contact. If they accept, you will be able to send them messages through the "Manage Friends" page.

Feedback We welcome your feedback and will use it to make Cats.com better for our members. Just click on the Contact Us link at the bottom of the page.