‘Show Day’ - a Cat’s Perspective
A tale of attending a cat show, from the eyes of a feline
“Every day I have been groomed this week, smelly powder, claws clipped, ears cleaned. Lots of fluffing up, it can only mean one thing!”
It’s the middle of the night on a Saturday morning and the lights go on.
It just has to be a show day!
Up get the humans, feed the crew, pack the car. I have run off. “It’s the middle of the night humans!” I am not going out this early, wake me up in a couple of hours please!
Too late, I am in mom’s arms and out the door, in the car in my spacious carrier.
The car starts and the radio goes on. Oh my! I love the song. I just have to sing a long to it, and I like it that much that I want to sing really loudly to it.
We’re six songs in now, and I don’t like the next one, so I have a power nap. Next song is my favourite and I sing along really loud to this one.
Goodness knows how many songs later, we have stopped, out of the car we go and into a pushchair, yes you heard a pushchair. No dignity at all!
We get to the hall and mommy says her name and is given an envelope. There better be catnip in there, to show gratefulness for my serenading this morning! I thought it was wonderful!
I am taken out of my buggy and put on a table. A complete stranger touches me all over and looks at my butt! See! My dignity - gone! Once the stranger says all is ok and signs the envelope, I am back in the buggy and away we go.
Mommy finds the pen number and starts with the vigorous wiping and cleaning of the pen. A lovely white blanket, white food and water bowl and a white litter tray goes in. How clean it looks!
I get put inside. Oh! Here comes a nice toy to play with! And some treats! This is lovely! Halfway through my treats and the brushing starts again, just in case any individual hair, that just may have been ruffled up in the car, looks out of place. It’s a wonder I have any fur left!
They sit with me for a while, and friends come to admire me saying how lovely I am. "Yeah yeah, where is the catnip toy please?!”
Couple of hours later, they take my food and treats away. Plus my toy! Well what am I supposed to do now?! Off they go to eat bacon and eggs and leave me all alone! I think I’ll just enjoy this peace and quiet for a while.
A little while later, two humans come to my pen with a table on glidey things. That looks fun! They open the pen and say good morning. How polite! They must like me. I proceed to tell them about being woken up at 4am, dragged out the house, the car journey and my incredible singing.
They then have a look in my mouth, turn my head to the side to check my nose, check my ears, make sure my tail has no faults and my patterns look okay. They mumble some things about how big I am and what beautiful eyes I have. But, still no catnip! This happens 2-3 times during the day. Where’s my catnip!
The humans finally come back a few hours later. They feed me, give me more treats…. and then I see it… I smell it… yes! It’s catnip!! Woohoo!! A new catnip toy just for meeeeeeee.
I can hear other cats, singing really loud, I don’t know why as there is no music on. I hear one cat shouting and having a hissy fit, bad human probably forgot his catnip! Don’t they know we need this?!
Then ribbons arrive. I hear the humans say what a clever boy I am and how proud they are. I feel very smug and I am rolling over to say thank you.
We do not always get ribbons, but mommy says it does not matter, as long as I enjoy my day, that’s what counts. She also says that no one needs a ribbon to know they take the best cat home. I know I’m the best because of how much catnip I get.
I get brushed a bit more in the afternoon. Sometimes, the humans sit and eat cake. But, apparently, I am not allowed any. I don’t care though, I have a very soggy catnip toy that I adore.
Sometimes little humans come and put their fingers in my pen. “That’s naughty you know!” I tell them. Even I know you should not do that, and I am a cat! Not all cats like strangers you know! I would not like to bring a fully formed tiny human to a show and take a tiny human missing a couple of fingers home, think of the mess! They are better keeping their fingers to themselves I tell them!
A little while later, noises come over some noisy thing, and I hear a human voice speaking. Everyone starts packing and aiming for the doors, but I am happy to stay, me and my toy.
Back in the buggy we go, back to the car.
I cannot be bothered to sing now, they did not appreciate it this morning so why should I waste my beautiful voice any further.
Sleep that’s what I will do, I have been up now for what feels like 140 hours. Think I will just go to sleep while the human drives the nosy thing on wheels.
A lovely long cat nap with dreams of my lovely catnip toy. Wow, what a day!
Sonny x