The 19th annual Cat Fancier Association Cat Show will be held at the Araba Shriners Hall on today and Sunday, featuring breeds of kittens and adults from Abyssinian to Tonkinese.
Platinum Coast Cat Club CFA Allbread Cat Show manager Charlene Campbell said they did not have a cat show last year because of the economy.
“We worked hard to keep our admission price low,” she said. “We are doing everything we can to make it a fun family activity.”
The show will have four different categories, best cat in pedigree kittens, championship adults, house hold pet and premiership, which are cats who are spayed or neutered.
Campbell said 150 cats are entered for the show, which represents 25 different breeds. She said they also will show 36 different varieties of kittens that range in age from four to eight months.
“It is a little less than what we have had in the past, but it is still going to be a fun time,” she said.
Campbell said the cat show is ranked as a sporting type of a competition because all of the cats entered, besides household pets, compete for their national points.
She explained that every pedigreed cat is first judged by its color class and then by its sex.
Campbell said for example, all black Persian cats will be judged first. The male Persians will be judged against males and then against the females. She said the judge then will choose the best Persian for each group.
“At the very end he (the judge) picks his top 10 cats,” she said, which includes both short- and long-hair cats. Points are gained when the cats are chosen over the others in their categories.
“On Sunday we will be choosing the household pet king and queen,” Campbell said.
She said a final, top 10-best cat in all categories will be chosen three times a day on Saturday and Sunday.
There will be a wide variety of household pets being judged and the shelters also will be showing one of their cats that are up for adoption, Campbell said.
“We do this every year,” she said. “This is our opportunity to get out and introduce to the community different breeds of cats, help our shelters and get information and resources out there for feline health.”
She said part of the proceeds that are collected during the show will go towards the WINN Foundation.
“They are very instrumental,” she said in supplying grants to study different feline diseases that affect every cat.
Campbell said in the past they usually have approximately 750 people in attendance each day.
“We hope everyone comes out and supports us so we can have another show next year,” Campbell said. She said this year they did not have enough room to set up the agility competition, but hopes to add it to the cat show again next year.
Campbell said it is a lot of fun to watch the cats go through a bunch of different mazes and jump over various things.
“We look forward to having that next year,” she said.
The show also will have cat toys and climbing posts for sale. Prizes and raffles also will be available.
Tickets are $5 for adults and free for children 12 years old and younger. Campbell said they also have a family rate of $20, which she said helps provide an affordable, funny family activity.
The doors will open at 9 a.m. both days with judging starting at 10 a.m.
The cat show will be held at the Araba Shriners Hall located at 2010 Hanson Street on July 24 and 25 from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. For more information call Charlene Campbell at (239) 772-5399.