Oregon Classic Cat Show 2011!

As a mother of three FIV+ shelter cats, I have mixed feelings about the spirit of the Oregon Classic Cat Show. I went last year and had a ton of fun with my cat lady friend, Katrina. Though at the time Katrina and I both agreed that it would be better if all the cats were rescues and were up for adoption. Part of me feels that "showing" pure bred cats misses the whole spirit of being a cat owner.

At the same time, the cat show is fucking awesome. Rows and rows of lazy, pampered cats. These cats are all funky looking, to boot. It's rare for me to see pure breds and since I'm a huge fan of felines it's quite a treat.

These are not typical house cats. They have super distinctive features. Persians, Maine-Coons, British Short-Hairs, Scottish Folds, it goes on and on. The most fun was looking at these awesome (highly inbred) breeds and trying to figure out what my cats are made of. I think Bilton is a Turkish Van, The Bot is a Chinchilla and Bits is a Chocolate Lynx Point. Of course, they're "mutts" but that's my best guess for my three adopted baby boys.



This year I went to the Oregon Cat Classic with Shauna and Mikey. One of the most exciting moments for us was seeing this Colleen Donaghy lookalike. Mikey and Shauna posed in front of her so that we could document her fabulousness.


The set up was exactly the same as last year: rows and rows of cats in "cages" with the judging stages off to the sides. There are places to buy cat accessories in the corners of the expo center. (Also just like last year, next door the Gun Show was going on, which made for a funny mix of people in the parking lot.)

Judging:

My favorite cats:

The saddest magnet in the world:

You can bet your sweet bippy that I'll be going to the Oregon Classic Cat Show in 2012. Though, I'm thinking I'm going to wear a t-shirt that says "FIV+" and tally how many dirty looks I get from fancy cat snobs.

Boom like you mean it.

Cat Show!

On Saturday, the 6th my friend Katrina and I went to the Portland Classic Cat Show. Neither of us had any idea what to expect. I suspected it might be something like Best In Show, but maybe less regimented.




When we first pulled up, I mentioned that I had no idea that so many cat people drove Ford F-150’s and Dodge Rams. Turns out they don’t. There was a gun show right next door to the Cat Show; which made for some hilarious photo ops of big dudes walking past the Cat Show sign holding rifles. I tried to get my cell phone out in time to take pictures, but it was too late.

Speaking of the Cat Show sign, here’s Katrina posing next to it:

It doesn’t get much fancier than that. After seeing this sign, I worried that this might end up being a crapfest and that I’d be calling animal services by the end of the day. Then we walked in to the hall and I was proven wrong.


It just goes to show: never judge a cat show by it’s hastily spray painted sign. There were so many different kinds of cats that I'd only ever read about in my nerdy cat books. In fact, I finally got to see Sphynx kitties in real life!


There were a ton of Persians there as well, which made for some good cat ogling.




Then there was Ringo, my hands down favorite:

His owner was wearing a sweet Hawaiian shirt and had the shiniest mullet I’ve ever seen. I think it may have been a wig.

Overall, the Cat Show was a great success in that I was extremely happy and fascinated the entire time. I don’t really care about all the ribbons and the judging and the money that these people spend on their cats. If that’s how they want to fill their empty lives, that’s their deal. As long as their cats are healthy and happy, I can't really complain.

Brad and I were discussing how we should start a cat show for rescue cats only. Not really sure how that would work, or what the point would be, but it’s a nice idea.