The Milking Cat's Journey
The site originally accepted submissions from creators of all ages, but pushing themselves to create new original pieces every week became increasingly stressful for the three editors, especially when they would rarely receive outside submissions and didn’t have very many viewers.
When COVID-19 hit in March of 2020, the three editors decided that it would be the perfect time to take the site to the next level to fight quarantine boredom not only for them, but for teenagers all around the world as well. The Milking Cat rebranded as a “by teens, for teens” (although they have always found that label to be cringey) comedy website, and opened up new staff positions to create a more reliable workflow and provide more opportunities for funny teens.
The Milking Cat was founded in 2018 when then high school sophomore Benji Elkins wanted to start a humor magazine to rival his school’s regular student newspaper. Alas, he was not allowed to, so instead, he decided to simply start the comedy journal on his own.
He reached out to childhood friend, illustrator, and poop joke enthusiast Dan Soslowsky and friend from summer camp and self-proclaimed “big comedy guy” Noah Stern. The pitches, sent on January 3rd, 2019, can be seen below in all of their glory. The website would be named The Milking Cat, referencing a scene from the 2000 film Meet the Parents where Ben Stiller lies about milking a cat. And just like that, the website was born.
Soon enough, The Milking Cat became the first and only comedy site to be featured in The New York Times' Top 70 Plus Places to Publish Teenage Writing and Art. From there, they launched The Milking Cat Summer Comedy Competition and secured sponsorships from popular humor magazines and comedian Sebastian Maniscalco. They have also interviewed comedians Sebastian Maniscalco, David Cross, and Brent Forrester!
From sports to politics to riffs on classic literature, readers of all kinds can find comedic pieces that fit their specific interests. We triple-dog-dare you to pick any piece at random, and no matter which you stumble upon, you will find something thoughtful, well-written, and (hopefully) funny!
Milking Cat Staff
