A Cat Show and More

Maine Coons playing it cool

I’m sorry I’m so late with my Sunday Selfies hosted by Cat On My Head post but I spent the weekend at a local cat show. The weekend started out with a horrible thunderstorm. Of course I drove through the worst of it. I thought it was like God emptying his buckets of water on me. Then he added scary lightning bolts to accentuate the storm. Eventually I made it to the Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines. We have a guest selfie today. He'll appear at the end.

Have you ever been to a cat show? Regardless of the association that backs them, cat shows serve many purposes. First of all they help to promote the pedigreed cat. It’s a great place to learn about the many different breeds. You might have a chance to visit with the breeders themselves to learn about the breed and any kittens they have available for purchase. I was surprised to see two new breeds, the Toybob and the Kurilian Bobtail.

  

Toybob

Kurilian Bobtail and a Maine Coon

Then there are the vendors. You might find just about anything related to cats at a show. At this show, the annual Cat-n-Around Cat Club show (an American Cat Fancier's Association club), vendors included cat supplies (toys galore, beds, show tents, grooming tools, bowls and more toys!), a booth with bows, collars and leashes, a cat furniture booth, a cleaning products booth and my sister’s booth of amazing artwork that features . . . cats!

 

Many clubs also have a raffle to help raise money. In most cases, if they make a profit, the money is donated to a needy cat-related organization. Cat shows help to raise awareness of cat issues. At this show a local rescue, Happy Tails Ranch and Rescue, had a booth where they sold baskets to raise money and had some adoptable kittens for people to fawn over. They didn’t adopt them out at the show but rather took applications for possible rescues. That way they can check references before adopting out any animals.

And my favorite part of the show is the Household Pet class where mixed breed cats and pedigreed cats that don’t qualify for the championship classes can compete for the highest honors. At this show one particular cat stood out to me. His name was Sunshine. He was a bright light on a dreary weekend.

Sunshine

Sunshine originally came from a Missouri rescue. He’d had a virus that took his eyesight. Yes, he was totally blind but still qualified for the Household Pet class because he was a friendly guy, well groomed and otherwise healthy. That’s all we ask of our Household Pet competitors. Oh, and the judges have to like them. I don’t know how well Sunshine did overall but in the one ring I was able to watch he took the Best Cat award. He made me smile and he wasn’t even my cat!

Yes, I think it was a good weekend spent with friends and cats. Much better than a weekend mowing my lawn. And my Iowa State Cyclones won!