Cat Show

I had never been to a cat show before today. We volunteered, though, to help staff it for Feline Lifeline, who were provided space if they provided enough volunteers. We like this organization a lot—Debbie helped us out when we were overrun by feral kittens last year—and were glad to give a little time today.

Our jobs as ring stewards were to spray each cage with disinfectant and wipe it with a paper towel after every cat. There were hundreds of cats there, and each ring had cats all day. So each cage needed cleaning loads of times.

It was interesting, though. I had never heard of Sphinx or Singapura breeds; I was amazed at how many Persians there were (I still think they’re ugly and very ill-adapted for life as a cat, but they are apparently the most popular breed in the United States).

Numenius’ ring had a “housecat” class, with your ordinary overfed moggies well in evidence. I wish I’d been able to see more of it.

This is a subculture I knew absolutely nothing about. There was one man who looked exactly like his Persian; a woman who seemed anxious to the point of danger all day. But mostly they were an affable, chummy bunch…