Cat show makes history
The Cat of the Day for the SOPA show was taken home by a beautiful, young, red Oriental female bred by Melissa Myburgh.
A CAT show was held at Hillcrest High School on Saturday, 11 July and well-attended by feline exhibitors from KZN and Gauteng.
A first of its kind in KwaZulu-Natal, this initiative was a combination of four separate shows hosted by the Siamese, Oriental and Peterbald Alliance (SOPA, affiliated to the Cat Federation of Southern Africa) and the African Independent Cat Association (AICA). Many breeds were entered into the show, such as Maine Coon, Ragdoll, Siamese, Oriental, Peterbald, Sphynx, Bambino, Persian, Cornish Rex, Norwegian Forest Cat and, of course, the household domestic pet was also there. Beautifully-presented and meticulously-groomed, the cats competed for four consecutive Cat of the Day titles.
Nicole Barratt from the KwaZulu-Natal Cat Club said the public was enthusiastic as usual in choosing their own favourite cat of the day.
“The Publics’ Favourite award was won by Crescendo Don Giovanni, a stunning Norwegian Forest Cat neutered male owned by Alistair Hughes and bred by Bev Smullen.
“The Cat of the Day for the SOPA show was taken home by Siori Her Name is Alice, a beautiful, young, red Oriental female bred by Melissa Myburgh on home turf right here in Durban. The winning domestic pet for the day was a stunning white medium-hair male owned by Judy May. Not only pedigreed cats get to compete,” she said.
The Cat of the Day for the Independent Club, SACATS, was an entire litter of Sphynx kittens bred by Kathy Hoole (Durban) – this was the first time worldwide that a litter has ever won a Best In Show title.
A stunning Ragdoll – Esperanza Rags Leah (owned by Zaheda Essay and bred by Empangeni-based breeder, Breeze Swartzberg) – took home the title for AICA as well as the best-decorated cage award. This exhibitor is brand new to the show scene and showed so much enthusiasm for her cats despite a very long day.
“Following that, another stunning Ragdoll, Junior II Amelong, aka Jojo (an imported male, owned by Breeze Swartzberg) took it home for the Oriental, Siamese and Related Breeds Group show,” added Barratt.
Should you wish to get involved in showing your cat, contact Nicole Barratt from the KwaZulu-Natal Cat Club on 084 677 2743 or kznccmarketing@gmail.com. The next cat show will be the regional finale for the organisation, KZN Top Cat, to be held on 26 September at Assagay Hotel, where the best cats from this year’s show season will be invited to compete for the coveted KZN Top Cat award.
