THE CAT SHOW
I was a kid, and my daddy took me. This was odd, since he didn’t often take me places—that was left to my mother and grandmother who weren’t working a 60-hour a week job. But for some reason, he took me that time. We went over town by bus since he didn’t drive. All I really remember are the cats in their cages and how I wanted to pet every single one but couldn’t. I also remember drinking my first Coca Cola. The taste still reminds me of that day.
It’s been a while since I’ve been to a cat show. Definitely pre-COVID. I wouldn’t have gone to the Portland Cat Extravaganza & Adoption Event by LCWW Group either if it hadn’t been for my daughter-in-law Yukiko inviting me to share a vendor’s booth with her. It was a fun experience. I launched my new book, Cat House, and nearly sold out. She sold lots of her beautiful cat-themed cards and hand-cut Cataround stamps. Will we do LCWW again? I don’t think so.
Cat shows have changed a lot in the past fifty years. The biggest change is the admission of non-purebred/house cats as well as the inclusion of shelters and rescues among the vendors. When I read the promotional material for the LCWW, I felt encouraged.
LCWW is the new kid on the cat show block, competing with the standards like CFA and TICA. I’ve sold books at both those shows, so I was interested to see what this new company would do differently.
First, let me mention where I stand on the breeding and selling of cats. As a shelter volunteer, I see far too many homeless cats for me to be enthused about breeding. There are other objections as well. Often breeding produces a less healthy cat, with issues like proclivity for arthritis or breathing problems. Though many breeders are compassionate and caring people, some are not and treat their cats like property. Some breeds become popular because a celebrity has one, and many people buy the kittens but don’t fully understand the impact of that cat’s personality and needs. Then the cat ends up in shelters.
That said, I know that both CFA and TICA use their reputation as well as their finances to help non-breed cats through medical research and education. I assumed the same would be true of the new LCWW. Granted there were several shelter and rescue booths, but still I found myself disappointed. Some of the organizations had brought cats to adopt out. Nice idea but a terrible environment for the cats. The Expo Center is big, loud, and horribly lit. If I were a cat I’d be scared $#!*%ss. And several of them were. Not just crying and hiding, but huge pupils and licking of lips, both signs of extreme stress.
As for the cat contestants, I saw far too many people carting their cats around under their arms like sacks of laundry, so much so that I began to wonder if it wasn’t a required standard to carry them that way. Still, there were many loving and caring cat companions as well. A blind black floof of a cat named Ridley looked perfectly at home in his cohabitor’s arms. And here is a Bengal breeder introducing her Bengal katten to a pair of kids.
As I mentioned, I had a good time. I enjoyed pursuing the vendor booths and watching the cat judging. The show staff were excellent, helping with whatever needs arose. The attendance was reasonably diverse. There was a tattoo show going on next door, and many of those vendors dropped by to see us.
Still, “Adopt, don’t shop” continues to be my motto.
Pebbles enjoyed being in the limelight and was soon adopted from Humane Society of Southwest Washington.
