Cat Shows and Puppy News
Sorry for the long gap between postings – work has been rather busy, and my time has been rather limited. Given a choice between coming home and spending an hour on the computer, or spending an hour playing outside with puppies – well, you can guess which one usually wins 🙂
Speaking of the puppies, everyone (Teddy included) is doing fabulously. Hard to believe that it’s two weeks since his emergency surgery on Wednesday! He’ll be having his stiches out later on this week.
Alvin has decided that he’s actually a French Laphound, and to this end spends his every waking moment screaming for someone (anyone!) to come and pick him up, so he can be carried around like the little princeling he is.
Simon and Teddy, on the other hand, spend most of their spare time playing a game called “Pull My Leg”. This involves one of them crawling underneath the chair in the living room. Once in place, the other puppy grabs the leg of the hiding puppy in their teeth, and tries to pull them out from underneath the chair. Much loud, horrid sounding screeching then occurs, after which they giggle, switch places and do it all over again.
No wonder Alvin wants to keep as far away as possible from these two little hooligans!
They also discovered a nest of baby garter snakes in the garden, which led to much digging, followed by much excited running in circles and barking. A good time was had by all, and we’ve discovered that there’s an untapped puppy toy market to be had in garter snakes. Please note, however, that no snakes were actually harmed during these play sessions.
Oh, some sad news (sad for us, at least). Heart, who we thought was due last week, and who an ultrasound had shown to be carrying one puppy, has turned out to have NO puppies. No idea what happened there – she could have lost it some time after the initial ultrasound, or she could have re absorbed it (a phenomena fairly common in dogs during the early stages of their pregnancies). Either way, we’re quite disappointed, and we’ll have to try again next year with our fingers crossed even more tightly.
I spend Saturday at a cat show, as part of my work. I discovered a few things there, namely that:
a) if you thought dog shows were nutty, you’ve never been to a cat show
b) there’s literally NOTHING that you can’t put glitter or sequins on
c) cats can be walked on leashes, but they don’t necessarily enjoy it
d) cats in baby strollers – see above
d) did I mention the nuttiness?
Most of all, I discovered that cat show people are really friendly, and that they have a LOT that they could teach the CKC and the AKC about how to increase show entries. CCA cat shows, for example, routinely offer classes for altered pets – and why not? Lots of us have had to spay or neuter a dog just before they got those final few points, thus leaving them unable to complete their championship. Why not offer altered classes, and let them compete there for a special ‘altered’ championship?
CCA shows also offer classes for ‘Household Pets’ – ie; ordinary, un registered house cats. I learned that, while initially the “Household Pets” faced some discrimination from the purebred exhibitors (‘They’ll have diseases!’ ‘They’ll ruin our shows!’), over time they’ve come to be regarded as one of the most beneficial aspects of CCA shows. Many rescues have been adopted after being featured at CCA shows, and it’s another fun way to encourage the general public to start attending shows – some of whom have since gone on to purchase and show purebred cats in the more traditional classes. Wouldn’t it be great to see classes – even if just exhibition classes – offered for rescues at showcase shows like the Purina National? Why not allow breed rescues to do a “Parade of Rescues” in between groups? I think the general public would love it, and it would give rescues a great chance to show off their adoptable dogs.
My guide on Saturday was Chloe MccBeth, of Siberlynx Siberian Cattery of Toronto. Thanks to Chloe, I discovered one more thing – I want a Siberian Cat! Want want want! Beautiful, striking, playful and affectionate, these are some of the most adorable cats I have ever seen. Given enough time and a few drinks, I might even be talked into showing it – but I draw the line at wearing anything with sparkly sequins or glitter on it.
The baby strollers are another story.
