I love a good cat show and convention, and here on the blog, I've written about several that I have attended. I hadn't attended one since July 2019 when I met up with some of my best cat-blogging friends for a weekend in Chicago. When I heard that Loving Cats Worldwide was having a show in my county, complete with a Shopping Village and Rescue Alley, I knew I had to go. I was granted a press pass to the event, and I went to enjoy a day surrounded by people who love cats as much as I do.
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The Shopping Village
As soon as I walked in I felt I was back where I belonged - immersed in the cat world. Catstravanganza has something for everyone. I started by making my rounds through the shopping village. The vendors were fantastic, and there were many cat-themed items, including slippers, socks, kitchenware, art, clothing, purses and much more.
And of course, there were plenty of items to bring home to your favorite feline.
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Several local rescues were on site, including Cat Assistance, FURRR 911, Katie's Kats Island Rescue, Meowsquad, Only Mine Coons Rescue, Rock n' Rescue, and SPCA of Westchester. The rescue area was packed with people so I couldn't get photos of the cats available for adoption. And I didn't want to get in the way of cats finding their forever families. I did have the opportunity to speak with Maria from Meowsquad. We talked about fostering and she also gave me some great advice on finding a good match for Lexy. Thanks, Maria!
If you've been following my blog for a while, you'll know my favorite thing about attending cat shows is making connections, which I really missed! I met Dan from Bodega Cats of New York who I knew from Instagram. I hope to write about them on the blog soon.
I also chatted for a while with Janice of Zinzie Pie. Zinzie Pie manufactures the Save My Pet ID Tags. Stay tuned to the blog to learn more about them as well. Janice will be at another show this summer, which I'm hoping to attend.
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I had the pleasure of speaking with Rev. Sarah Bowen for quite a while. Rev. Bowen, an Animal Chaplain, is on the leadership team of the Compassionate Consortium and is an animal loss bereavement companion. She wrote a book on pet loss and grief titled Sacred Sendoffs: An Animal Chaplin's Advice for Surviving Animal Loss, Making Life Meaningful & Healing the Planet. We spoke for a while about pet loss, grief, and my idea for a book.
Rev. Bowen and her team had a mew-morial tree to honor the memory of cats who have transitioned. I tied a yellow ribbon on the tree in honor of Lola.
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I plan to connect with Rev. Bowen and share more information about her work with our readers.
The Competition
Cats compete in the Loving Cats World Wide (LCWW) Internation Cat Competition for points to earn titles from Champion to Ultimate Grand Champion. The judges allocate points across different categories depending on the breed. All cats are entered into one of the following categories; Kittens, Juniors, Adults, Alters, Pre-champions, Household Pet Kittens, and Household Pets.
The judges were very engaging with the audience, explaining the cat breed, judging criteria, and what they saw in each cat. I learned a lot! And I loved seeing many beautiful cats.
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For a complete list of their 2023-2024 International and Regional winners, click here
LCWW also scheduled presentations on various topics of interest everyone. These included The Cornish Rex Breed, Raw Feeding, and Feral to Family.
Where to Find a Show Near You
Catstravaganza is a worldwide show. Their next stops are the UK, California, and Florida. You can find the full schedule here. Tickets vary depending on the venue and generally run between $21 - $25. You can upgrade to a Lifetime Superfan Pass Upgrade for $75. With this pass you get access to all events forever, skip the line, priority seating, plus more perks. To purchase tickets click the ticket link on the event page for your city.
About Catstravaganza and Loving Cats Worldwide
Catstravaganza is brought to us by Loving Cats Worldwide, the Meserve Foundation and Dr. Elsey's. They are a bunch of cat-crazed individuals doing their part to increase the visibility of all cats. They're driven to support the rescue and rehoming of cats and to educate on proper cat ownership.
Loving Cats Worldwide is a groundbreaking Independent Cat Organization that aims to increase the visibility of all cats, educating everyone to do their part with the overwhelming rescue situation, preserving our breeds and protecting our ethical breeders, all the while organizing ground-breaking interactive Cat Extravaganzas in a city near you.
I had a fabulous time at the show! Not only did I start connecting with brands and other cat lovers, I ran into my holistic vet, Dr. Wilson of Integrative Mobile Veterinary Care. Dr. Wilson treated Lola for several months at home before she passed. I will be forever grateful to her for everything she did for us.
Have you ever been to a cat show? I'd love to hear about it in the comments. And if you can catch a Catstravaganza show I'd love to hear about that, too.
Dawn
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Dearest Dawn,
ReplyDeleteThat no doubt was a fantastic event and especially for any cat lover!
Well written and also great photos!
Hugs,
Mariette + Kitties
That looks like a lot of fun! You won't think us too biased if we say that our favourite was the Abyssinian cat?
ReplyDeletePurrs,
The Chans
I must have a shirt that reads "Semi-Feral"!
ReplyDeleteThat looks like a lot of fun. XO
ReplyDeleteThat looks like an amazing even and I know you had a blast!
ReplyDeleteWhat an amazing event!!! I sure would love to go to something like that.
ReplyDeleteThat looked like a fantastic event!
ReplyDeleteLooks like there was lots to see and enjoy!
ReplyDeleteWOW, that Bengal is amazing! But do the kitties have fun, too, haha?
ReplyDeleteMiss Dawn it sure lookss like you had a pawtastick time at THE Cat Show! BellaSita meowed shee nevurr been at a Cat Show....bet shee wuud love it tho'!
ReplyDelete***purrss*** BellaDharma an ((hugss)) BellaSita Mum
That looks like a fabulous show, we're glad you had such a good time there! Back when I was able to go places we went to a couple of cat shows in another city. They had a household pet division too. We got lots of cool cat toys there, and I got the lucky black cat sweatshirt with a four leaf clover sweatshirt that was so popular for awhile. It was originated by a printer in TN and he was there. I still have it though it's now too small. One day I hope to cut out the design part and have someone use a fancy stitch to sew it onto another shirt large enough to fit.
ReplyDeleteWow, never ever been to any 'cat show', but this appears to be amazing in every way (thank you for all the information). Plan to check to see if possibly there will be one of their events in my city, and also share with some cat friends in other cities who may not see your post here. Great photos too of all the participants, and anxiously awaiting all your posts-to-come with more detail on many of them. Thanks, Dawn.
ReplyDeleteI attended that show locally here! I went as an attendee the first year and then as an vendor (with Cat lady Alley) last year! Get a press pass and come out this way! :-)
ReplyDeleteSuper cool! That's so close to us. We're sorry we missed it, because we can see from your report that is was awesome!
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