Fur Flies as Cat People Show Off Their Felines : CAT PEOPLE: Purring Good Time in Anaheim
Fluffy, curly, sleek and hairless they will come, the ratters and the mutants, the supreme grand champions and the glamour pusses--as well as the big names: Ruffy, Sir Rufus Velvetpaw and Britanya’s Lord E, I’m Naked!
In all, 350 purebred, newly bred and ordinary household cats--from as far away as France--will be at the Anaheim Convention Center on Saturday and Sunday for one of the country’s largest cat shows, the International Cat Show put on by the International Cat Assn. and its member club, the Garden Cat Club of New York.
Last January, the Garden Cat Club (motto: “When the Garden Cat Club Meows, New York Listens”) put on what has been called “possibly the biggest ever” cat show for tens of thousands of cheering spectators in New York City’s Madison Square Garden.
This weekend, anywhere from 8,000 to 25,000 visitors are expected to watch the 12-ring cat beauty pageant, hear lectures on topics such as cat acupuncture and health maintenance organizations for cats or shop at the cat supermarket--for products and services including cat workout videos and cat portraiture.
“Cats are the new No. 1 man’s best friend,” proclaimed the show’s producer Vicky Markstein, an IBM research scientist from Austin, Tex. She was referring to recent research by the Washington, D.C.-based Pet Food Institute showing that more cats (50 million) than dogs (49 million) now abide in American homes. The majority (75%) of cat owners have more than one, she noted. “In urban areas, cats are the pet of choice,” she said.
For their West Coast debut, however, the International Cat Assn. members may have booked the show in enemy territory. Complaints in certain neighborhoods have led the host city, Anaheim, to restrict residents to three cats. This week neighboring Santa Ana limited its residents to six cats. Los Angeles allows only three.
One reason local breeders advertise only their phone numbers is that so many West Coast cities have cat limits and the breeders, who ordinarily have more than the limit, are afraid of being cited, according to show manager Mary Haffner of Carson.
Even the Quality Inn, where nearly 100 cat owners have reserved rooms for the show, normally does not allow cats. “This is a new experience,” said Greg Clinton, front office manager. Single people have requested extra beds with plastic sheets so the cat could sleep next to them and one owner asked if the chef would create a special meal or heat food for the cat, he said.
No Cat Food in the Kitchen
“We try to be accommodating,” Clinton said. But, he added, “we avoid having cat food in the kitchen.”
The hotel stipulated that cat people keep their cats in cages and pay for any damage. And, he said, “they’re bringing their own kitty litter.”
One of the early arrivals was Lucille Regan, a breeder from Cassopolis, Mich., who will give cat grooming demonstrations at the show. She checked in with Sweetalker, a blue-eyed white Persian cat that weighs 14 pounds and has fur eight inches long.
“Everybody wants a Persian,” she said. “But if they don’t start combing them from the day they bring them home, within six weeks, it mats into felt, a terrible, thick felt.”
Regan, who was planning to fly in a few more cats for the show, grooms her pets every day. Two days before a show, she clips the ear fur and toenails of her cats and shampoos, conditions and blow dries their fur--an hourlong task. “Each one responds to a different shampoo,” she explained. “Sweetalker is a Prell cat. Others like Finesse.” She said she uses an Elizabeth Arden creme rinse at $12 a jar.
Carol Richards of San Antonio, Tex., brought three of the four Sphynx kittens that will likely become the show’s main attraction. Like all new breeds, the Sphynx originally started as a mutation, said Markstein, who owns the fourth. They are friendly, hairless cats that feel to the touch like hot deerskin.
The hairless cats cannot go outside, Richards said, because they can get sunburned “just like a human.” On the plus side, they never get fleas, she noted. “If a flea jumped on, he’d say, ‘I hate to eat and run, but there’s no place to hide.’ ”
There are fewer than 10 Sphynx cats in the United States, Richards said. “They are literally priceless.” They are also not for sale, she added.
In addition to the Sphynx, six other new breeds--including the American Curl, a curly-eared cat bred in Buena Park, and household cats will be competing for ribbons and trophies.
“He who has the cat that meets the standard for the breed the closest wins,” explained Mark Coleman, an engineer from Newark, Del., who will serve as one of the judges. “Taillessness scores heavily in the Manx. There are 40 points (out of a total 100) just for the coat alone in the Cornish Rex. . . .”
He said he specializes in judging Oriental shorthairs and Siamese. Though some judges disqualify Siamese cats with crossed eyes or kinked tails, Coleman said, “we don’t say because you have a kink in your tail you’re a bad cat.”
A computerized tally of scores Sunday afternoon will determine the Best of the Best--the show’s top award given to the single most exemplary cat from all the breeds represented.
The Real Competition
What’s really at stake are the owners’ egos, Markstein said. “The need to win is just as strong as in any competitive situation,” she said, comparing cat shows to athletic meets and bridge matches. Though Coleman said he has never seen a case of fraud in a cat show, Markstein said judges are trained to be on the lookout for evidence of cheating--what might be called the soft underbelly of the cat world.
“In Siamese,” she said, “they can give female hormones to males so they don’t develop jowls.” The drug epinephrine will dilate pupils and hide crossed eyes, she said. Drug testing, however, is too expensive and judges confront suspects quietly, she said.
Also, she said many Persians are owned by beauticians who dye them if they are the wrong color. Some put astringent in Persians ears to keep them lowered, a desired trait.
Markstein said veterinarians have a list of operations that cannot be performed on show animals, such as operating on tails, pulling fangs from Persians, or operating on undescended testicles. Declawing is allowed “but not condoned” in association shows, Markstein said.
Rather than competition, though, the association aims to promote responsible, educated cat ownership, raise funds for research in veterinary medicine and bring cat people together, Markstein said. Twenty-five cents from each ticket ($6 adults, $4 juniors and seniors) will go to Actors and Others for Animals, the North Hollywood-based animal rights organization. Other proceeds will sponsor such cat-beneficial research as studies on feline leukemia virus and feline infectious peritonitis, Markstein said.
Unlike dog people, who may meet socially through hunting or walking, cat people hardly ever get to know one another except at shows. “This is one way to get them together,” Markstein said. “They can talk cats, cats, cats all weekend. And they do.”
The show’s “Feline Seminar Schedule” includes talks by an animal behaviorist on “cat communication,” an expert from UC Davis on pet-assisted therapy and representatives of Pets for Senior Citizens, a North Hollywood-based organization that provides discounted pet services, transportation or counseling about their pets’ problems for seniors.
A representative of Professional Pet Care, based in Pismo Beach, will explain its new animal health maintenance organization. In Orange County where the HMO is starting, an annual $35 fee will provide pet owners a 25% discount on all veterinary services with more than a dozen Orange County veterinarians.
A particular problem of today’s urban cat is obesity, Markstein said. Products offered by nearly 50 vendors will include cat exercise toys and exercise videos. Also for sale will be gold cat jewelry inlaid with gems (at prices up to $1,000), cat furniture, cat calendars and cat T-shirts.
Attending the show will be Supreme Grand Champion Anona Diamond in the Ruff, better known as Ruffy, the 1986 International Cat and Kitten of the Year.
Last year, owner Jim Costello of Signal Hill spent $25,000 flying himself and Ruffy, a sanguine-looking, orange-colored Persian, to nearly every cat show in the country--a practice called “campaigning.” He said he spent more time with Ruffy than with his family.
Ruffy will not compete this weekend, Costello said. “He’s retired.”
