Sunday, May 15, 2011

nothing average about Average Joe

The Average Joe Cat Show is an annual fundraising event hosted by Purrfect Pals, an amazingly awesome local cat shelter and sanctuary. I had the pleasure of attending yesterday's show! It was a blast to see so many cats and so many cat people together!

There were many elements to the show. In the main hall, vendors lined the outside walls. In the middle were rows and rows of show cats. This show was quite different from a regular cat show. These are regular house cats (kittypets) who are entered into many different categories, such as: longest whiskers, loudest purr, most average, prettiest eyes, softest fur in the west, etc. Many of the show cats were from various rescue groups and were available for adoption!

The judges roamed the hall looking over each cat. (Two of the judges can be seen in the above picture, they are in the judges robes.) There were also people's choice awards given out. Tickets could be purchased and placed in the cups above each cat's cage. The cats with the most tickets won the category.

Another room held a silent auction. I bid on two items but was outbid before it was over. The third room was the most dangerous, the kitty adoption room! A big room full of beautiful kitty's that are ready to go home! And sure enough, I almost came home with another cat, Ivan, more on that later! I didn't hear the final adoption number, but about midway through the show, it was announced that 12 cats had been adopted so far that day! Yeah! 

There were numerous cats walking around on leashes! Maybe next year I can bring Theo!





Some kitties were scared.








kitty loves!

love the fluffy! 





Purrfect Pals hosts an annual auction fundraiser (The Black Cat Ball). One of the items that brings in a lot of money is getting your cat's picture on some private label bottles of wine. That would be pretty cool!

This cat looked like a larger version of Theo!



Laura, trying to resist the suggestion to adopt!

beauty!

sleepy beauty!

There were many vendors set up giving out samples and information about their offerings. We left with three bags of loot!

The Feral Cat Spay and Neuter Project was selling these t-shirts!

A wall plaque available in the silent auction.

One of the vendors, Animal Comforts, makes these amazing cat beds. I was tempted to get one for Willow, but I feared if I gave her one she would never leave it and I would never see her again!

These figurines reminded me of my mom's collection of porcelain dog figurines. I was tempted to buy her a cat figurine and send it to her just to see what would happen!

Part of the Average Joe Cat Show involves a photograph competition. The photos were listed on the Average Joe website and people vote on the photos in each category ($1 per vote). The winning photos were displayed at the show.

Max could have won this category easily.

This one looks just like my Willow!

Now, the adoptable kitties room. It was very difficult to leave the show without adding another to our hobby cattery.

Kittens galore!



Many adoptable sweet kitties.

A teenage mom-kitty and her foster mom, whose name I didn't catch.

One of the teenage mom's kittens, available for adoption!

Meet Ivan Inder, a very sweet 10 year old boy who stole my heart. He's available for adoption, his details can be found here.

gorgeous blue eyes!

curious and active.

ready for a nap after a long day.

take me home!

Both Laura and I were very drawn to Ivan. We might have taken him home with us except a note on his cage stated he doesn't like other cats. I am wondering if this is really true, since he seemed very easy going in an energetic room full of other cats and people. I'm having a hard time letting go of sweet Ivan. He's been looking for a new home too long, since August 15 2010. 

The 2011 Average Joe Cat Show was a delightful way to spend the day. I hope Purrfect Pals raised a lot of money from this event and I hope many kitties found their forever homes. Thanks to the significant number of volunteers who helped make the event a success! Also thanks to Purrfect Pals for serving the kitties of our community, I love what you do! 

I'm already looking forward to next year's show!

4 comments:

  1. What a fantastic show! We hope they were very successful in their fundraising.

    Our local shelter doesn't put on a cat show but they do have cats available for adoption during the national Canadian show each February. The best part about that show is the house cat judging, and that's where the mom hangs out most of the time when she goes!

    BTW, if Ivan isn't adopted yet, maybe it would be worth it to find out a bit more? A former co-worker of our human's adopted a "feral" mom cat she had fostered, was told by the shelter manager that she'd never make a house cat. No truth to that at all, though they are certain things she won't stand for, like being picked up. But she's a wonderful addition to their home and fit right in with the existing 3 cats. We all know a shelter purrsonality isn't necessarily our true purrsonality!

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  2. Nice reporting job! Do not know how you made it out of there empty-handed. Maybe you can check up on Ivan if no one still wants him. I was told my cat ZEKE was feral and should be put down--but he is really not so--just a little rowdy. greg

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  3. Thanks for sharing all the photos from that cool cat show! My Mommeh loves going to cat shows and always brings back some new toy or treat for us!

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  4. cats cats cats!! LOve them all! meow rawr!

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