When I strolled into the Dulles Expo Center for the Cat Extravaganza & Rescue Awareness Event on Saturday, I discovered it changed into a cat-lovers paradise. Spanning the room was a handful of regional rescue groups with litters of kittens, details about embracing or cultivating cats, and supplier tables stacked high with feathery wands and sachets of catnip. The crowd came dressed for the event: One man’s t-shirt stated his DILF status (“Damn I Love Felines”), a females searched through her Pusheen-formed bag, and numerous individuals wore their finest cat ears.
But the occasion’s piece de resistance? A circle of 5 rings in the center of the hall, where judges with microphones scored expensive felines according to each breed’s requirements. Organized by Loving Cats Worldwide, I was drawn to the event by a news release’s guarantee to “see the most beautiful cats in the world strut the catwalk.”
Having never ever been to a cat program prior to, I thought of a majestic affair comparable to the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show—just this program would be a lot more royal, thanks to the high-and-mighty mindset of cats. Instead, I was amazed to discover the occasion was rather casual and inviting. Like me, the majority of the guests I spoke to had actually never ever been to a cat program. According to Damian Hilton, among the organizers, that is mainly the point.
“[We] wanted to move away from the boring, slow, kind of ‘old lady’ cat show and build it into something that gets a bigger attendance and is more interactive,” said Hilton. “So, unlike other shows where they take the cat and score it without any explanation to the crowd, we’re trying to be more inclusive.”
In the rings, the judges scored each cat according to the breed’s “standards.” When I asked among the judges about how these requirements were picked, she said they’re meant to “preserve the essence of the breed,” which judges typically consider themselves the “checks and balances” of the breeding world. Should a cat can be found in with a bad bite or little nostrils and labored breathing, the judge said she likely would not position them.
So, how precisely does one judge a cat? (Cat enthusiasts understand that felines are already skilled in evaluating people.)
“The first thing I do is I kind of flirt with them a little bit,” said Tammy Ardolf, among the judges. Unlike a dog reveal where handlers parade the animals around on a leash, the judges merely hold or have fun with the cat on a table, often connecting with a plume toy while explaining what makes each breed unique.
In addition to the pedigreed classes, there was likewise a “household pet” classification. People had the ability to enter their family cat, despite pedigree, and felines were evaluated on how healthy and happy they appeared. Walking past each ring, I typically captured bits of radiant commentary from the cooing judges: “Just look at those lemon eyes,” “It’s like he has a translucent dusting of gold all over his body, isn’t it?” and, “She understands she’s expensive, doesn’t she?
Although I strolled into the exposition as a cat breed neophyte, listening to the judges taught me about the variety of felines out there. I now understand that lykois appear like small monsters, ragdolls are simply as sweet as they appear, Devon rexes look like little pixies and fairies, Selkirk rexes appear like they’re using sheep’s clothes, and Bengal cats are essentially mini leopards that sleep on your sofa.
As assured, there was likewise a brief catwalk. However, in spite of the name, the cats didn’t really do much walking. Instead, Steven Meserve, the creator and CEO of Loving Cats Worldwide, brought each feline up and down the red carpet.
“These shows have generally been done in private and there really hasn’t been a lot of visibility around it,” said Meserve. “Ninety percent of the people that come into our events are like, ‘We had no idea this existed.’”
