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Feline fanciers on the prowl at CatConLA’s sophomore outing

Lizzy Greene and Addison Rieke play with kittens at the SPCA-LA adoption booth at CatConLa. The cat adoptions will also take place Sunday. Adoptions take place on site so new owners can leave with their new furry creatures.
(Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times)
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The line of people waiting to enter CatConLA had wrapped around the corner by 10:15 a.m. Saturday, and few attendees were without cat-inspired attire – from simple cat ears to complete costumes.

Two floors of the Reef, a downtown exhibition space, were filled with vendors selling products a cat owner might need, such as a food bowl that is activated by a cat’s microchip so that owners of multiple cats do not have to worry about one greedy pet eating all the others’ food.

For the record:

7:50 p.m. June 27, 2016The caption with the photograph on this article misspells Addison Riecke’s last name as Rieke.

And then there were the not-as-necessary but just as popular items like “business catual” bow ties for cats.

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T-shirts and other outerwear for proud cat owners seemed to be everywhere at the event, which returned to Los Angeles this weekend for the second year in a row. One that read “Show me your kitties” was among the most popular items at the Cats of Instagram booth, creator Eli Omidi said.

Although this was Omidi’s second year at CatConLA, this is the first time he has sold merchandise. If sales go well, he said he will consider opening a standalone store.

Actress Julie Newmar, the original Catwoman from the ’60s television series “Batman” met fans and signed photos and books in the Reef’s Cloud Room.

“Batman” was one of Athena Stamos’ favorite TV shows as a child, so the now 34-year-old Stamos arrived dressed as Catwoman ready to meet Newmar. Her friend, Linda Trujillo, 42, did not grow up a Catwoman fan, but when Stamos decided to go in costume, Trujillo said, “If you’re dressing up, I’m dressing up.”

Trujillo arrived in pink from head to paw as Catwoman’s sidekick, Pussycat.

The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Los Angeles had five rooms where attendees looking to adopt cats or kittens could play with them and decide if one was a good fit. Before taking a cat home, CatCon attendees were required fill out an application.

Local adoption counselors want to ensure the cats will be part of the family, be properly cared for and live indoors, where they’re unlikely to be hit by a car or get sick, said Ana Bustilloz, director of communications and marketing.

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Heather Love, 41, came to CatConLA as a volunteer for Rachael Ray Nutrish Food for Cats, which partnered with BuzzFeed for this year’s convention.

Love, whose cat recently died, adopted a pet that she will call Lola, after bonding with the kitten.

“I just couldn’t resist,” she said.

At Nutrish’s booth, attendees sat while artist Grant Pominville drew portraits of them in the likeness of cats, or their “cat-icatures.” The drawings were free and took about 15 minutes to complete. Many of the subjects were children, brand manager Chris Achenbac said.

When attendees were not buying cat products or trying to resist adopting a cat, they were at the Kat Von D beauty bar being made over with cat-eye inspired eyeliner or being challenged to think like a cat to escape the Animal Planet escape room.

Saturday’s CanConLA also included a meet-and-greet with celebrity cat Lil Bub, several speakers and a seminar on how to train cats.

CatConLA 2016, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday at the Reef, 1933 S. Broadway. Tickets are $25 (children ages 5 to 12 can attend for $15 a day). Additional information and advance tickets are available at catconla.com.

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alex.golden@latimes.com

Twitter:alexgoldennews

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