Cat Shows

Right Chuck, that probably is the ONLY advantage of having a purebred (or so called purebred). I'm convinced that the purbreds have a whole lot of health problems than I'd ever want to contend with again. All future kitties will be the who knows what's in it cat:) :) - my 2 tabbies of unknown origins are the best - not that I don't love my Siameseeses cause I do, but I hope I never have another one like Spencer (the throwup Master of the Universe):D :D

I think a lot of people really like to have a conversation piece. The Sphinx is an example, the totally hairless cat, the ultimate in an attention getter where ever you go. Lots of people like that attention. Those poor Persians - they just can't breath properly, like the Pugs and Pekinese dogs, they snort and act like they just can't get enough air and their eyes run all the time.

Marius' Mom, and her mom (Marius' Grandmom?), and I went to the cat show at Pleasanton this Saturday . It was wonderful. I had a blast. Recommend it highly to cat lovers.

Bought a 2-cat cat tent for my fur-babies. :rolleyes: (Cassy loves it, won't let Livvy in it. Such a gentleman! :rolleyes: Cats!) Also bought myself a tee-shirt -- dark slate blue with a front that's been worked to resemble a 'stained glass' effect with a view of a cat-patterned material peeking through.

I was particularly intrigued watching the judging. There was one judge who was particularly informative, funny, and clear-voiced whose sessions I made a point to sit in on. I'm still not clear on all the points they look for, but enjoyed watching all the lovely fur-babies.

Joked with Marius' Mom (MM) that I'd fallen in love with 400+ fur-babies. There was an adoption area where we almost lost MM: there was a senior cat who totally captivated her. We started teasing her that she should've brought a larger vehicle. We worked up to her driving a bus down the freeway with all the adoptible cats in it. I think we started a dream in her! If she gets a bus, watch out world!

More later ...

I saw a LOT of cat related goodies that were adorable, but the budget only goes so far...

One precious goody was a cat sized 'lazy-boy recliner'. For all the work that had to go into it, it was relatively inexpensive. Tons of cat toys, some GORGEOUS cat trees made out of driftwood. The vendor said they were designed to be placed in picture windows. The cats would love lounging there and passers by would be stunned by their beauty. (Maybe it's just as well we car-pooled. Marius probably wouldn't appreciate an older sibling and my budget would be staggered by another cat tree, albeit a breath-taking one!)
Cat toys by the dozens, grooming aids, fashion wear (some for cats, more for props for cat display areas, and tons for cat lovers...)

The display areas were rather a surprise for me. I'd expected the decorations, but was surprised that in some cases they were so elaborate you couldn't see the cat(s) inside them. There was also more of a range than I'd expected: some cats were in their travel cases (decorated), most were in show supplied cages with a wide range of decoration levels, and some had very elaborate personal show cages. MM was particularly taken with one that was wood and glass and looked like an enormous jewelry box with a living jewel inside. (I was more taken with the two-level hammock that the living jewel was lounging on inside the case ... Takes all kinds, right?)

There was constant mewing and noise. I'm not sure how anyone heard when/where they were to deliver their cats to which judging area. Reluctantly, I feel my fur-babies would hate this atmosphere. (I wanna ribbon for Cassy and for Livvy. (Excuse me, immature outburst here.)) But for cats exposed at a young age and with a temperment more mellow than my furry hot-heads, it seemed to range from phlegmatic to active enjoyment being there. (Okay, worst moment of the day: one fur-baby just hated it there and had a hissy fit. His/her daddy held him and said "Bad, bad cat" in such an angry tone... He got lots of glares from the surrounding humans and his kitty. Other than that I found the people friendly, knowledgeable, and delighted to talk "cat talk".)

I had a blast (you couldn't tell, could you?) and recommend it highly to all cat-lovers.

Amberlee - sounds like you guys really had fun - those cat shows are a real blast. Next cat show I think I'll go by myself - my daughter likes them, but not like me. She's always ready to leave way before me. I love to watch the judging and I especially hang around the Siamese cat area. I always come home with a new goodie for the babies - last time it was a new donut bed and a new Sweat Shirt for me. Glad you guys had fun, we have one coming up in April - why don't you and Marius's Mom fly up - we would have a ball - got an extra bedroom:) :)

OMG...the cat show was such and eye-opener for me, and I can tell ya that Amberlee is such a sweetheart!!! We had a blast!! Good recap on the show, girl!! LOL LOL We were entertained for a good 6 hours there, and the surprising thing is that it was a pretty small show...not like the huge ones that will have every breed of cat. I would really like to go to a big show to see what the difference is, and see all of the breeds. In any case, we'll definitely go to another show when one comes around!!
I was really surprised at seeing some of the cats "in person". A lot of them like the Bengals and the oriental shorthairs and Abbys(did you know they came in 4 colors??!!) were a lot smaller than I imaged them to be...of course, I've only seen pics of them. So, it was really neat to see what they looked like close up. Amberlee is right...I was so taken with some of the cats that was there with the SFO Persian rescue (they have all kinds of cats along with persians). There was this absolutely sweet himilayan cutie that I would have taken in a heartbeat. We also fell in absolute LOVE with the ragdoll kitties! Oh! So gorgeous!!! There was this lady that was showing ragdolls, and she was very nice. My mom and I talked to her a few times, and she laughed when she saw us walking by her kitties again! LOL LOL I said I had to have one last look before we left!
I always imagined people involved in show would be a little snooty, and granted...I did see some people that were like that, I also met some really nice people that were showing (like the lady with the ragdolls), and there were quite a few people that were really informative if you asked questions. So, all in all, my first cat show experience was a positive one, and you could tell the people showing their cats really loved them! I told Amberlee that I should enter my Marius in the HHP (house hold pet) competition! LOL LOL
There were lots of neat little booths with cat products and collectibles, and I gave in and splurged and bought a "cat lamp" candle holder and a really nice soft bed for my baby. Those cat trees that Amberlee mentioned were absolutely gorgeous! The prices were really reasonable too! I collected quite a few cards and stuff, so I'll post any URLs that I may have from my collection for ya'll to look at!!
Anyway, I should get off of here for now...but I just had to drop in and say hello and tell you all that that cat show was a blast and I'd definitely go again!!! Ya gotta come out for a visit Purrley!!:) Miss you!

Amberlee and Wolflady,

Did you see those pvc pipe hamock things?? What did you think of them?

The cat hammock inside the "cat jewel case" was one of those pvc ones. I found it fascinating. And the cat using it seemed to adore it! Didn't see any for sale though ...

:o Thanks MM, for the compliment. You and your mother are both delights. (Didn't see ANYTHING to make me doubt that PT people are simply WONDERFUL! (And is anybody here going to disagree?)) :D

Hi all! I just wanted to post a few of the URLs that I collected at the cat show in Pleasanton.

http://www.members.aol.com/happycatsling/happycat.html there were 2 kinds, one for the window, and one that was a stand alone sling. My cat has a window one that he just loves! These are pretty reasonably priced as well.

http://www.claudiasanchez.com I love this woman's cat artwork! It's so colorful!

http://www.catscratchingtree.com This is the website for those beautiful cat scratching posts that Amberlee mentioned that are made out of driftwood. I thought the prices were really good, and I would have gotten one if I had the money. I think the prices for these are even better then those carpeted ones you find in Drs Foster & Smith and in pet stores...

http://www.meowtique.com A fun place for whimsical cat gifts

http://www.topcatsbymail.com More fun cat things. I bought a cat candle lamp from the exhibitor. It's really neat...it's a crouching cat with the candle holder being in its back, and when you light the candle...the green jewel eyes glow. It's really a neat item!

Happy browsing!:)

Amberlee,

My best friend and I are going to make one of those! I'll let you all know how it turns out...