This is amazing lighting. The sweep of the wiskers the glow of the eye. Simple and marvelous. I might crop a bit on the left - perhaps just to the left of the middle of the face. There feels like too much darkness and low detail on the left side of the frame. This one will be added to my favorites! 9
There is a very similar picture to this in the competition except they had lots of the cat in it. Yours has done exactly what I suggested would improve theirs. Get in tight.
It's a cat. Right? I like your bold take on the subject but the way s/he is framed makes it a bit confusing. Maybe if there was more light on the nose it would help define the cat's face more.
Wow. Cat shots don't normally do it for me, but this is very good. Tons of mood and good light. Maybe a tad bit brighter would work better? For a NG article - I'm not so sure, but I'll give you the benefit of the doubt. 9.