Photos: Fancy felines at the 44th East of Eden Cat Fancier’s in Monterey

By Nic Coury

Feb. 22, 2020 3:01 PM PT

Bobby San Miguel holds up his Bengal named Orestes with one hand under its chest.

Carol Barton’s multi-decade run of showing cats might not have happened if not for a rainy day.

Barton, now in her 70s, is the current entry clerk and co-show manager for the East of Eden Cat Fanciers in Monterey, Calif. This weekend, the show celebrates its 44th year and she has been involved since four years after the show’s inception. She currently lives in Pacific Grove with her husband and their five cats.

In January 1977, Barton’s sister was going to take her horseback riding for her birthday, but it kept raining.

“She told me it wasn’t going to stop raining and mentioned there was a cat show at the {Monterey] fairgrounds,” Barton says. They met for brunch first.

Barton had always had cats as pets but never considered showing them until that day.

“There were all these household cats that were not pedigree cats, but had ribbons all over their freakin’ cages!” she says. “I thought, ‘Well, my cats are as good as those cats! Why can’t I show my cats?’ ”

As they left the showroom, Barton saw a flier for the upcoming East of Eden show.

Bobbi Temple holds her Highlander cat named Troy Sloane.

“I entered four cats that first year and ended up getting two finalists,” Barton says. “My sister-in-law thought the whole thing was silly. Two weeks later, I was at a club meeting joining up.”

The East of Eden show, while smaller in size compared to other shows around the world — this year there are 65 entrants showing over 100 cats — is one of the oldest remaining clubs that is still putting on shows in the International Cat Assn.

“The people who come to this show generally come back, because it’s known as the fun show,” Barton says with a laugh. “These are my friends. These are my peeps. I’ve known some of these people for 30 or 40 years.”

Barton says one of the club’s newer goals is to address the demographic of participants, as it is generally an older crowd with the trope of the “crazy cat lady.”

“We are aiming to get younger people in the club.”

While many of the show’s regulars are professional breeders with pedigree cats, Barton says anyone with a household pet is more than welcome to enter.