Fantastic felines fill show

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By Jody Ferres | Monday, January 22, 2007 12:27 AM CST | () comments

Photos by John Schultz/QUAD-CITY TIMES “Look, Mom, I’ve got my head stuck in a fish.” Brianna Berthiaume, 5, of Moline, shows off to her mom by sticking her head in “Cleo the Catfish” cathouse, during the annual Quad-City Cat Club’s Cat Show at the Moline Holiday Inn.

Cat judge Chuck Gradowski from Eden, NY., judges a cat in the Short Hair American Curl breed during the Quad-City Cat Clubs’ annual Cat Show held at the Holiday Inn in Moline

This weekend was the “purrfect” opportunity for a little competition.

Almost 200 felines filled the Moline Holiday Inn on Saturday and Sunday for a show sponsored by the Quad-City Cat Club. From long-haired Persians to Egyptian Maus, cats traveled from as far as California and Washington, D.C., to be judged in the annual Quad-City Cat Club Cat Show.

Show manager Dale Belanger believes that the quality of judges the local show gets is what has been boosting show numbers the last couple of years.

“Every judge has their ideal standard of a cat, and if yours falls under that, you’re probably going to travel as much as you can to be judged by that same judge,” Belanger said.

For some cat enthusiasts, traveling eight or nine hours every weekend for a show isn’t out of the ordinary. The Quad-City Cat Club is part of the national Cat Fanciers Association, the largest cat registration in the country.

Cats are shown in three categories: kittens, champions and premier champions. Belanger said each of the 38 breeds of cats present have different standards the judge looks for, such as eye and ear placement and length of the tail.

Robert and Debbie Rosas, of Kansas City, Mo., have been making the 365-mile trip for the past five years.

“We really like the fact that the show is connected to a hotel,” said Robert Rosas, who travels almost every weekend to a show. “It’s fairly unique to have a facility like that. It makes it so much easier for us, so we don’t have to haul everything back and forth for the weekend.”

With so many prize-winning felines in one spot, the show attracts about 2,500 local spectators, including Davenport resident Bob Heline and his grandson, Travis.

“Even though we have outdoor cats, it’s fun to see how precise some of these cats are before they go up to the ring,” Heline said. “These animals are so beautiful.”

Travis, 11, was intrigued by the “fluffy cats.”

“They have so much fur. I think I’d get way too hot if that were me,” he said. “The owners must brush the cats so much since their fur just shines.”

Owners don’t usually allow spectators to pet the animals due to germs and the possible of spreading germs from cat to cat.

The city desk can be contacted at (563) 383-2450 or newsroom@qctimes.com.

It was a rule of thumb Moline 5-year-old Brianna Hahn had to learn the hard way.

“I wanted to snuggle with her,” Brianna said, pointing to a Himalayan kitten. “She looked so snuggly, but I got in trouble.”

The city desk can be contacted at (563) 383-2450 or newsroom@qctimes.com.