Iowa, we’ve finally arrived. After receiving over 500 cats and thousands of votes over weeks of polls, it is finally time to crown the winner of the Des Moines Register’s Iowa’s Cutest Cat contest.
A sincere thank you, first of all, to the hundreds of cat owners who took the time to share your wonderful kitties with us. Getting to know your cats through photos and anecdotes has been a true joy. The only thing we’ve loved more than meeting your cats is how clear it is that these Hawkeye State cats are very, very loved.
Alright, we know why you’re all here. Meet Iowa’s Cutest Cat!
Tonks Goldsmith is Iowa’s Cutest Cat
Congratulations to Tonks Goldsmith, the winner of the Register’s Iowa’s Cutest Cat contest! Tonks, 6, was submitted by her human Julie Goldsmith alongside other Iowa’s Cutest Cat contestants Scooby and Sonny. Tonks is the oldest of the bunch, and Julie, in her submission, said, “Thank you for considering our cool cats – we love them so much!” That love was very reflected in the polls; Tonks received over 6,000 votes in the final round alone!
As our contest winner, Tonks will be featured in her own article in the Des Moines Register.
See all of the cute cats of Iowa
Here’s the breakdown of Tonks’ path to victory. For Round 1 of voting, we had over 500 cats submitted. We then broke all the cute cats down into four groups, with each group having its own poll to vote in. The top 12 vote-getters in each group automatically advanced to the Round of 64. We then took the top remaining 16 vote-getters across all groups to round our bracket out.
The final bracket here shows how voting played out. Tonks followed a truly Cinderella-esque path to victory, advancing through the bracket as the 15-seed in the Sylvester Division to win it all! Also impressive? Her opponent in the finals Chicken, who won the Cat in the Hat Division as a 7-seed.
One more time, Iowa, thank you so meow-ch for your enthusiastic response to this contest!
Gabriela Velasquez is an audience engagement specialist for the USA TODAY Network, working primarily with the Des Moines Register and Sioux Falls Argus-Leader. She thinks her cat Aayla is the cutest cat in the universe.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa’s Cutest Cat contest crowns its winner. Did your favorite win?
Reporting by Gabriela Velasquez, Des Moines Register / Des Moines Register
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Gabriela Velasquez, Des Moines Register | USA TODAY Network
