At the cat show,
judges determine which cats are the best in three categories: the
best outside cat, the best indoors cat and the best kitten.
Jennifer Schahl had
an orange tabby tomcat that she had entered in the outside category.
Cheddar was Jennifer's cat's name. Cheddar is just over a year old.
He was adopted from Logan County's animal shelter. He quietly
awaited his turn to be judged.
Camillia Bone and her
sister Brittney Bone brought two long-haired cats named Otis and
Milo. They also did not seem to mind that they were sitting in cages
in front of an audience of people. Both Otis and Milo are 7 years
old.
Faith Crawford
brought a calico cat to be judged. Kelly is a big, indoor cat, 3
years old. She didn't appear to be excited about what was going on.
There were lots of
other cats in the hall. Taylor was a big black-and-white cat that
Jenie Maxheimer brought. There was a tortoise shell cat. There were
also kittens.
The interesting thing
about all of these felines was that none of them was the least bit
finicky. They were a bunch of cool cats.
Cats are normally not
that easy-going in front of a lot of strange people. If they are
left to themselves, cats can be extremely laid-back. You often find
cats perched off by themselves, asleep in the sun. But when you
bring a lot of people around a cat, the cat is up and alert, and the
cat is ready to pounce on things if it needs to. That's just how it
is around cats. Cats are also nosey and very curious, especially
when they sense that something is going on. Kittens are particularly
playful and curious.
What was up with
these cats? Why did they not exhibit these typical nervous feline
behaviors? The 4-H club girls had worked with the cats. The
competition takes a lot of work, and the cats received a lot of
tender loving care. The cats had to pass certain criteria to even be
able to sit in the hall and participate.