WAIPACAT OF THEYEAR★ 2026 ★

The serious bit

Competition terms and conditions

Waipa Cat of the Year 2026. In short: own your photos, keep entries friendly, one entry per cat, and the judges have the final say.

  1. 1. The competition

    • Waipa Cat of the Year 2026 is the inaugural running of a local competition presented by Moggy Manor, 3 Stone Vets and King Tide (together, the organisers).
    • Entries open 8 September 2026 and close 12 October 2026. The top 10 finalists are announced and public voting opens on 17 October 2026. Voting closes 31 October 2026 and the winner is announced 1 November 2026.
    • Entry is free. There is no purchase necessary at any stage.
    • Competition updates, including the shortlist and the result, are published on the Moggy Manor Cattery Facebook page and emailed to everyone who has entered. It is the entrant's responsibility to make sure the email address given is correct.
    • By entering, you accept these terms.

  2. 2. Who can enter

    • Entrants must be 18 years or older. If you are under 18, ask a parent or guardian to enter on your behalf.
    • The cat must live in the Waipa district.
    • One entry per cat. If the same cat is entered more than once, the organisers will keep the first valid entry and remove the rest.
    • You must be the cat's owner, or have the owner's permission to enter it.
    • Immediate family of the organisers may enter, but their cats are not eligible to win a prize. Sorry.

  3. 3. Entries

    • You must own the rights to any photo or video you submit, or have permission from the person who does.
    • Do not submit anything that features another person without their consent, or anything you did not create.
    • Keep it friendly. Entries that are offensive, cruel, defamatory, or that show an animal being mistreated will be rejected.
    • The organisers may reject or remove any entry at their discretion, and may edit or crop images for presentation.
    • Entries must be received by 11.59pm on 12 October 2026. Late entries will not be accepted.

  4. 4. Judging

    • A panel appointed by the organisers will shortlist 10 finalists from all valid entries.
    • Judging is subjective and based on personality, photograph or video quality, and the story behind the cat.
    • The judges' decision on the shortlist is final. No correspondence will be entered into, however strongly your cat feels about it.

  5. 5. Public voting

    • Voting on the 10 finalists runs from 17 October to 31 October 2026.
    • One vote per person. Voting is free.
    • The organisers use reasonable measures to detect duplicate, automated or fraudulent voting, and may disqualify votes, or an entry, where they believe voting has been manipulated.
    • The organisers may confirm the final result at their discretion, including where the vote count is affected by fraudulent activity or a technical fault.

  6. 6. Prizes

    • Winner: free stays at Moggy Manor at any time during the 12 months following 1 November 2026, $250 cash, a gold collar, and a feature in the local paper. The collar is gold in colour and is not made of gold.
    • Runner-up: $100 cash. Third place: $50 cash.
    • Moggy Manor stays are subject to availability and to Moggy Manor's standard boarding conditions, including vaccination requirements. Book early over school holidays. The stays are for the winning cat only and cannot be transferred to another animal or another owner.
    • Prizes are not transferable and there is no cash alternative to the non-cash elements.
    • If a winner cannot be contacted within 14 days of the announcement, or declines the prize, the organisers may award it to the next placed entry.
    • The organisers may substitute a prize of equal or greater value if a prize becomes unavailable for reasons outside their control.

  7. 7. Publicity and use of your entry

    • By entering, you grant the organisers a non-exclusive, royalty-free licence to publish, reproduce and share your cat's name, photo or video, your first name, your town, and your entry text, for the purposes of running and promoting Waipa Cat of the Year.
    • This includes use on this website, on social media, in the local paper and in sponsor promotional material relating to the competition.
    • You will not be paid for this use. You keep the copyright in your photo or video.
    • If you would prefer your surname or contact details never appear anywhere publicly, that is fine, and it is already how we intend to run it.

  8. 8. Privacy

    • The organisers collect your name, email address, town and optionally your phone number so they can run the competition and contact you about your entry.
    • Your contact details will not be sold, and will not be used for unrelated marketing without your consent.
    • Your details are handled in line with the Privacy Act 2020. You can ask to see the information held about you, ask for it to be corrected, or ask for your entry to be withdrawn, by emailing info@3stonevets.co.nz.
    • Entry data will be deleted within 12 months of the competition ending, apart from published finalist material.

  9. 9. General

    • The organisers are not liable for entries that are lost, delayed or corrupted in transmission, or for technical faults outside their reasonable control.
    • The organisers may amend these terms or cancel the competition if something outside their control makes it necessary. Any change will be posted on this page.
    • This competition is governed by New Zealand law and the New Zealand courts have exclusive jurisdiction.
    • Nothing in these terms limits any right you have under the Consumer Guarantees Act 1993 or the Fair Trading Act 1986 that cannot be excluded by agreement.

Questions about any of this go to info@3stonevets.co.nz.

Right, enter my cat