The National Cat Show of the New Zealand Cat Fancy was held on the 3rd of June. I have had a lot of fun creating a video which I hope captures the excitement and the beautiful cats in this, the most important cat show of the year.

If you can’t see the video please watch it here.

I enjoy reading about the international cat associations I see online and was excited to read that the National Cat Show was being hosted locally. It took place during the recent public holiday, Queen’s Birthday Weekend and the opportunity to visit and film the cats was irresistible.

The National Cat Show 2018

We arrived early at the venue, the Wellington Indian Association, as we knew the show would be very popular and were lucky to get a good spot outside the front gates.

On the way to the entrance, I spotted some lovely personalised cat number plates. So, of course, we had to make a detour into the car park to take pictures. It did seem funny wandering around looking at bumpers, but I can tell you that cat lovers definitely wear their hearts on their number plates. The plates are featured in this post.

The Dominion Cat Club Inc. organised the event and the show was open to pedigree and domestic cats in a series of classes:

• Junior and Intermediate cats
• Seniors and Veterans
• NZ Bred cats and,
• Kittens in a variety of categories. (You can see some of the kitten judging in our video.)

Judging the Cats

All of the cats here, from the large Norwegian Forest Cat and Maine Coons to the characterful Oriental Shorthairs and the Devon and Cornish Rex breeds looked perfect to me but I’m not an experienced judge. They will look for perfection on a number of points.

In the video, I captured judges assessing candidates for different cat classes. The cats are patient while they are examined, held and picked up. Crowds gather around popular breeds as the judging takes place.

The judges came from New Zealand, across the Tasman Sea from Australia and from the USA. New Zealand Cat Fancy is very much on the worldwide cat radar to garner prestigious judges from America. Each cat in a ring was examined and the final selections made.

The finalists in each category were summoned to the stage for a final critique and praise before the prestigious ribbons were handed out. As a cat owner, this would be a proud moment for me if I was competing.

Cat cafe Neko Ngeru sponsored a rosette for the Companion Cat category which was won by a gorgeous ginger.

Of course, everyone had a favourite at the cat show. I spotted several breeds I would love to take home. These including engaging and delightful Tilly the companion cat.  Two black and white Oriental Shorthairs who are featured in the film were very vocal and delighted visitors.

Cat Themed Vendors

Although the display area was small, we were pleased to meet Neko Ngeru. They brought their unique range of cat-themed merchandise from the cafe.

We also met our sponsors, the designers behind MonkeeTree.com. It is an innovative indoor/outdoor cat modular climbing system. Monkee Tree designed and made the steps you can see in our video of the Neko Ngeru cat cafe grand opening and you can read our review.

Cat Evolution presented their stylish Meyou Cat Bed which can be spotted in the cat show video, and they also brought along the impressive Litter Robot.

One Last Frustration for a Cat Lover

In spite of many courteous signs asking visitors not to poke fingers into the cages, some people insisted on doing so, and this was frustrating to see.

A cat show cannot monitor every cage, much as they would like to. If you visit a cat show, please respect the cats and the owners’ requests. A ‘Pet Me’ cat, like our Therapy Cat friend Summer, will welcome your approach much more as she has strong people skills. Show cats will be more nervous, even if you smile.

We hope you enjoy our report and the video. It was a lot of fun to make the video and we would love to know your favourite part!

Marjorie for the
Dash Kitten Crew