Cat Forum / Health and Behavior / February 2005
great weekend at the cat show
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Meghan Noecker - 16 Feb 2005 11:57 GMT I went to a cat show this past weekend. I was a vendor as I sell photo related products.
It was a nice show, lots of great people. I chatted with the rep from Royal Canin, and in that conversation, learned that she had collies. My mom helps me with the booth, and she had collies, so she went to chat with the lady. Turns out that the lady was good friends with a couple my mom was friends with. The lady died of cancer, so the husband gave away the collies, one of them going to my mom. She was a very special collie, and this lady at the cat show was the owner of my mom's collie's father. Small world :)
Then there were the raffles. They had a cat tree being raffled. I took one look at and knew it was perfect for Maynard. It has 3 levels, and done in such a way that an elderly cat can get all the way to the top without help. I bought 3 tickets and waited most impatiently til Sunday afternoon for that drawing. They drew my ticket! Woohoo! It was hard stuffing it in the van, especially with all my vendor stuff, but I am the happy winner of an awesome cat tree.
And the best part of the weekend. I went over the check out the shelter display. At the previous show last month, I had a drawing for a free photo session, and the lady from the shelter won. So, I was over there talking to her and looked at the cats available for adoption. She had 3 adults and 3 kittens there. There was a huge male who caught my eye. It was his face. Such a nice face and expression. And a nice looking cat, though I couldn't see him all since he was sleeping in his litter box. And he seemed pretty friendly and mellow. I mentioned him to my mom, so she went over to check them out. She really liked the one female, but commented that the male was rolling and purring and pushing his face into the edge of the cage to be petted. So, back over I went.
I didn't know it til Sunday, but my mom had already mentioned to others that I was in love with the cat. I hadn't even considered it since we already have 3 cats and 2 dogs, and as I mentioned, we are over the legal limit. But the shelter doesn't keep track of that like the pound. So, I am now the proud owner of another cat :)
The shelter lady was great. Since he is si huge, and we will be going to her place soon for the photo shoot, she loaned us the regular carrier. They normall give out the cardboard ones, but that would be bad for a huge cat with an hour drive. I was going to call home and ask somebody to drive up with my own carrier.
He is 3-4 years old, male, neutered, extremely sweet, and wonderful. He was listed as a himi mix, but he looks like a very large balinese, with a couple extra white markings (a couple back toes, and a white tear on his face). Otherwise, he looks exactly like Kira, a blue point balinese, just larger.
He's been very agreeable, did well with all the introductions. He has purred several times and rubs up against us. He's still nervous, but more relaxed than when he first arrived. He's rolling around playing with a catnip toy right now.
 Signature -- Meghan & the Zoo Crew Equine and Pet Photography http://www.zoocrewphoto.com
Karen Chuplis - 16 Feb 2005 12:43 GMT > I went to a cat show this past weekend. I was a vendor as I sell photo > related products. [quoted text clipped - 56 lines] > Equine and Pet Photography > http://www.zoocrewphoto.com Wow. That is one thing I've never brought home from a catshow. Pics!
Meghan Noecker - 18 Feb 2005 13:05 GMT >Wow. That is one thing I've never brought home from a catshow. Pics! Here he is:
http://www.zoocrewphoto.com/jayjay.htm
I hope to have better pictures of him next week. He has gorgeous blue eyes that don't show up in the digital photos.
I posted this under another topic too, so you may see it twice.
He's really sweet. I didn't realize just how big he was until I saw him next to my other cats. Now, they look tiny.
The shelter lady called him a himilayan mix, but he looks almost identical to my balinese. He has a couple white toes and a white tear on his face and his face is thicker. Otherwise, he likes like a balinese, only maine coon size (but not as heavy as a maine coon). His coat isn't as thick as a persian, but is a little thicker than my balinese. I can feel a small mat on his chest, so he will need more grooming than Kira, but not as much as a persian.
He is really sweet, and usually comes when called, even though he doesn't know his name yet. He comes to here kitty kitty and/or a hand motion.
I'm still learning about his personality and temperment as he relaxes. The first day, he only meowed at the doors and windows, but now he meows when he wants on the counter to eat. He either doesn't want to jump, or he has been trained to stay off the counters. He specifically looks at the counter, then at me, and meows. He also talks a little when I pet him.
He is afraid of the dogs, but getting more confident. He doesn't back down, but isn't agressive. He has swatted a couple times when the dogs got too close, but has not growled or hissed once. The cats have hissed at him, but he just sits there calmly and doesn't react to them. He really is quite mellow.
He has found some hiding places, the first being in the ceiling. Fortunately, he came when called, and we were able to board up the opening, so he can't get back in there. The other hiding spots are acceptable. He seems to take a break when he needs it and comes back out when he is ready.
He has purred me for me several times and enjoys a good head rub. He did sit on my lap for a little earlier tonight (I put him there). Previusly, he squirmed immediately. He doesn't seem to be a lap cat (yet), but I hope that will change. He doesn't sit on the bed, except to stare at the window.
I am also really pleased at how the rest of the crew is taking it. I really expected Kira to be grumpy and have a bunch of hissy fits. But she has only hissed at him once, and that was when she got trapped between him and Chase. She would rather take on a stranger twice her size than go past Chase. Speaking of Chase, he is doing great,. He did a very pathetic whine that I think was supposed to be a tough sounding growl. And Maynard managed a few hisses when he though Jay Jay got too close to him. But everybody is doing great. They do approach and sniff him, but they don't seem bothered and and are going about their normal business.
Jenny, the dog, doesn't seem to be aware that we have another cat. She ran into him face to face the first night. He moved over, and she pushed on past. He looked rather insulted, and she never noticed.
Gracie seems surprised that she never noticed this cat before. She's very energetic, and does spook him more. And she must have gotten too close today as one eye was squinting today. But she knows to back down when Jay Jay assumes a defensive posture.
Strangely, one raccoon was seriously impressed with him, while he wasn't at all impressed with them. They were face to face through the sliding glass door. I have never seen the raccoons react to our cats before (other than the pschyo cat who used to chase them), but this huge raccoon pulled back with an expression like "whoa, what have then been feeding that one?!?" Jay Jay just looked at him, and back to pacing along the door.
 Signature -- Meghan & the Zoo Crew Equine and Pet Photography http://www.zoocrewphoto.com
Lesley Madigan - 16 Feb 2005 14:18 GMT > He is 3-4 years old, male, neutered, extremely sweet, and wonderful. > He was listed as a himi mix, but he looks like a very large balinese, [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > more relaxed than when he first arrived. He's rolling around playing > with a catnip toy right now. He sounds lovely!Pictures?
Lesley
Slave to the Fabulous Furballs
Mary - 16 Feb 2005 16:25 GMT > > He is 3-4 years old, male, neutered, extremely sweet, and wonderful. > > He was listed as a himi mix, but he looks like a very large balinese, [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > > He sounds lovely!Pictures? Yes! We love Kitty Porn here. ;)
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