Cats, Off-Off-Off-Off Broadway

It was another cat-filled day here in the nation’s heartland.

Today was the actual 4H Cat Show, as opposed to the Pre-Show that we did back in April.  But it was held in the same echoing space as the last time and featured most of the same people and cats, and thus there was a certain familiarity to it.

We spent a good portion of Friday night setting the place up – arranging tables, putting cages on top of them and chairs in front of them – and were back bright and early this morning to finish the process. 

We only brought one cat with us this time, though.  Mithra has made it abundantly clear that she does not like this arrangement, and between the cat show and the general stress of having to live with Midgie she has developed some kind of kitty-rot that has turned her chin purple and requires us to goop it with antibiotic cream and shove further antibiotics down her throat.  Adding yet another cat show on top of this seemed unwarranted.  So Tabitha was reduced to showing just Midgie, which worked out fine.

I spent most of the morning manning the food booth, selling moderately unhealthy things to willing customers in the way of these events.  It was fun.

But eventually they called Midgie’s number (5829) and Tabitha whisked her off to the judging ring, where she received a red ribbon for coming in fourth in a group of five cats.  It’s nice to get ribbons.

Fortunately for our prize-winning chances, there was also the Showmanship section.  This actually depends on the kid more than the cat, since it requires them to hold onto the cat at a judging table and answer various questions about cat lore and trivia.  Parents are kept at a distance, so I have no idea what exactly the questions were, but apparently Tabitha did quite well with them.  She won top prize for showmanship in the middle-school category and received a trophy worthy of the Super Bowl.

As soon as we find a shelf with enough airspace above it, we will put it on display.

Good work, Tabitha.  I’m proud of you.