The Supreme

[Reynard]

I've sort of finally emerged from a state of semi-comatose hibernation. A 20-ish-plus hour day does that to one. Didn't do much yesterday beyond putting stuff away and cuddling the furry ones. 

It was absolutely fantastic to meet you all - and it seems I've ended up on the other side of a camera lens for once. I'd have loved to have joined you in Weatherspoons, but when I've got a cat at a show, I prefer to stay close by.

Am also thrilled that you all enjoyed meeting my special little girl.

Having said that, you all seemed amazed at how petite she was. But she is sooooo soft and huggable and that comes up quite regularly in her judges critiques.

She came second in her class for the third Supreme in a row; twice to the same cat and once to the other cat's sister. But winning the decorated pen competition was just super. I had such fun making all the bits and pieces and it all came together in the end.

I think Witty had to help out as they paged twice I think towards mid afternoon for the owner of the cat behind Pearl's pen, saying to please return as their cat was in distress. We could hear the poor baby over by the orientals.

Yes, well I was by the pen anyway - just ended up checking whether Sue Sue was OK, but she was fine when I looked. Her meowmy and daddy are good friends of mine. It seems it was just Sue Sue being Sue Sue. But not putting food, water or litter in the pens, that's just plain wrong. Pearl always has everything even if she doesn't need it.

I arrived home safely at 9:30; no snow, just a bit of a gale and freezing cold. It was really raw when I stopped off at Boxworth services.

Was great day all-round. I did some shopping for my two, getting them some Royal Canin Outdoor 30 and some of that Fish 4 Cats stuff.

My big success of the day was buying some of Witty's 'nip. I have never seen Josh go as crazy.

If there's any in the auction, I will be bidding high!

Glad the catnip wend down well with Josh, Amy. But the stall sold everything I had (toys and loose catnip) so none left for the auction I'm afraid. The only patch of catnip I've got left is the one that Wally the Widdler keeps peeing on, but I don't think you'd be wanting that......

[Kittybabe (Ruth)]

I think Witty had to help out as they paged twice I think towards mid afternoon for the owner of the cat behind Pearl's pen, saying to please return as their cat was in distress. We could hear the poor baby over by the orientals.

[alisonandarchie]

We heard owners being called many times to  pens that did not have water etc

[Mojo]

at least it wasn't the cat lol 

[candyshandy]

My friend's cat (who is also called Candy!) is of superb show quality and he has no problems with his breathing etc.  He is on the winners page on the supreme website, 3rd one down.

He is lovely  In fact all the last three were. I loved the coat on the white one the judge kept ruffling. There were just a couple in the pens who looked a little dubious. I also saw a couple of pens with no water in 

Yes - the amount of 'announcements' telling the owners of cat number whatever to give their cats water/litter etc was absolutely disgraceful.

I couldn't believe how many times we heard that! There was one that said there was no water, water bowl or litter tray! 

There was one earlier - I think  before the public were in saying can the owner of car reg XXXX please go and collect your child as it is on its own in the car!!!!

[ems]

My friend's cat (who is also called Candy!) is of superb show quality and he has no problems with his breathing etc.  He is on the winners page on the supreme website, 3rd one down.

He is lovely  In fact all the last three were. I loved the coat on the white one the judge kept ruffling. There were just a couple in the pens who looked a little dubious. I also saw a couple of pens with no water in 

Yes - the amount of 'announcements' telling the owners of cat number whatever to give their cats water/litter etc was absolutely disgraceful.

I couldn't believe how many times we heard that! There was one that said there was no water, water bowl or litter tray! 

[candyshandy]

My friend's cat (who is also called Candy!) is of superb show quality and he has no problems with his breathing etc.  He is on the winners page on the supreme website, 3rd one down.

He is lovely  In fact all the last three were. I loved the coat on the white one the judge kept ruffling. There were just a couple in the pens who looked a little dubious. I also saw a couple of pens with no water in 

Yes - the amount of 'announcements' telling the owners of cat number whatever to give their cats water/litter etc was absolutely disgraceful.

[Corporal Smokey]

My friend's cat (who is also called Candy!) is of superb show quality and he has no problems with his breathing etc.  He is on the winners page on the supreme website, 3rd one down.

He is lovely  In fact all the last three were. I loved the coat on the white one the judge kept ruffling. There were just a couple in the pens who looked a little dubious. I also saw a couple of pens with no water in 

[candyshandy]

Have to say the downside for me was the persians. I was really glad that Candice's friend won as I'm sure that cat is well loved and looked after but on the whole there were some worryingly high noses.

I got chatting to a wonderful pair of ladies in a queue, one of which has a rescue which specialises in pure breeds. She said she had asked one of the breeders why the noses were so extreme and the breeder said it's because the judges don't take a second look at the open faced variety 

TBH its not the high noses that are the problem its whether the nostrils themselves are wide enough.

Some judges do not necessarily require an extreme look but a long nose is considered a fault.

Bam Bam isn't extreme but he does have a higher nose than my others which means there are certain judges I won't put him under because they prefer the extreme look.

My friend's cat (who is also called Candy!) is of superb show quality and he has no problems with his breathing etc.  He is on the winners page on the supreme website, 3rd one down.

http://www.supremecatshow.org/

[Dawn F]

I was soooooo disappointed to miss it - Amber (who sleeps between mine and  oh pillows) was sneezing all Friday night, not just the odd one but 30 or 40 in a row and pawing at her nose, rang the vet on saturday morning hoping to get a quick appointment but the best they could do was 11.15 and not at my local but the High Wycombe site  can't believe it missed it - I've had my ticket for weeks - to cap it all the vet said she didn't think there was anything wrong with her

[alisonandarchie]

Dawn your hair looked great close up

[Cheesecat]

Really? I cut it myself because it was getting on my nerves and I was too lazy/skint to book an appointment. It may not look very nice closer up 

[tigerbaby]

Dawn - cheesecat, can I just say that... I LOVE YOUR HAIR!

[Gill (sneakiefeline)]

The pen looks stunning.......and so many of you there.....maybe next year 

[MrsR]

Thought of you all yesterday

[Cheesecat]

Glad to see Rosella was captured on camera too! 

I wish the supreme wasn't just once a year.. I could go back next week 

[Kittybabe (Ruth)]

I am officially in love with Snowshoes    I was completely smitten!!

Anyway, Pav and I had a wonderful time, what a great day out. The journey wasn't too bad, pretty much smooth sailing. We met up with the gang after we'd drooled over the NFCs and the Maine Coons (the winner of the show is truly beautiful  )

Here are some pics:

Rosella your memory is good

Me, Sally (in front) Rosella, Candice (standing), Alison (enthralled with her phone) and Den


Phil, Dawn, Ali, John and Ems


The pen which Witty spent ages decorating (and well worth it since she won  ) and Witty


The gorgeous Pearl (who gave me lots of love  ) lounging on her cushion


All in all it was a fab day! It was great meeting those I'd never met before and those I got to see again.

[Cheesecat]

Ahhh I didn't think they'd update the supreme website so quick. The Burmese I saw on stage was the Supreme Adult winner. Gorgeous kitty 

[Corporal Smokey]

Sorry all, was too tired when I got home to look at the internet. It was great to meet you all and yes that was me in the pic with my oh.

We had a fab time, got a few freebies and got to snuggle a Selkirk Rex who looked just like Josh with a perm! 

Have to say the downside for me was the persians. I was really glad that Candice's friend won as I'm sure that cat is well loved and looked after but on the whole there were some worryingly high noses.

I got chatting to a wonderful pair of ladies in a queue, one of which has a rescue which specialises in pure breeds. She said she had asked one of the breeders why the noses were so extreme and the breeder said it's because the judges don't take a second look at the open faced variety 

We heard Witty's pen announced as winner and I got some strange looks as I whooped loudly! Well done Pearl too 

My big success of the day was buying some of Witty's 'nip. I have never seen Josh go as crazy.

If there's any in the auction, I will be bidding high!

[Susanne (urbantigers)]

The overall winner (ped)

http://www.supremecatshow.org/

And the other winners (best of variety and non ped) can be seen by clicking on "2008" at the top and then "winners"

I loved the bombay and the mau.

[puggy1975 Zoe]

I am just back from The Supreme Cat Show.

Me and hubby just flew down from Glasgow the night before and stayed overnight. First time i have ever been to a cat show and loved it. defo go next year again, and bought my we babies loads. Also got them a drinkwell platinum and other toys and stuff. got on the plane and there was no way it was fitting in the overhead lockers thankfully it just fitted under the seat. Ollie and Tyler seem to love it. Well thats the christmas presents for the cats sorted

cant wait for next year lol

Zoe Ollie and Tyler

[Gill (sneakiefeline)]

I will get to meet everyone soon I hope and Witty should be close to home now I hope.......cant wait to see more photos 

[alisonandarchie]

Yes it was Pav Gill and it was lovely to meet up with her and Ruth.

Think Den is going to put some photos on and Rosella will be in them

Yes we were so excited about Witty

[Gill (sneakiefeline)]

Wow so many of you and was that really Ruth and Pav? If I had known that Pav was going to be there that may have dragged me down the motorway........sorry no offence to all of you who I would love to meet but Pav has been so especially kind to me this year and would love to thank her in person.

Now I notice that the happy snapper wasnt in any of the pictures 

Sad Susanne didnt meet up with you all, I missed her last year too!

Now looking at Pearls cage..............she (Witty) did it yessssssssssssssssssss  All that hard work paid off, well done 

And what was Pearl second in?

Sounds like you all had a great time and some cats did very well 

[alisonandarchie]

Oh Susan what a shame we were not able to meet up

[Yvonne]

Forgot to ask - were there any Manx at the show?

[Susanne (urbantigers)]

Having met the gorgeous Mosi man in his home environment I would definitely agree with that comment! I think thats the one downside of meeting cats in pens, like the Devon Rex cats or the big fluffy Persians, I would love to know what they feel like but sadly can't touch! You can't really see a cats personality when they are confined to a small space either. Thats not to say I didn't REALLY enjoy doing my fair share of cooing at every cat I saw 

You know, every show I've been to, I've felt that the somails dont' really sell themselves, so to speak.  I think it's because that when you have lots of cats together in a small space, those with the wow factor - be it size, unusual coloruing, extreme features or whatever - are the ones that stand out.  And the more moderate cats tend to fade into the background a bit.  I have to be honest and say that somalis have never really stood out at shows for me.  That's partly because there aren't a lof of them about of course, so not that many in any given show, but I know that they are really special cats and I think more people would take notice of them if they knew what they were like in a home environment.  I'm sort of glad that they aren't too popular because that means that backstreet breeders dont' breed somalis, but I do sometimes wish there were a few more out there in shows.

actually, looking at the photos - I think I saw Phil!  I dont' think I recognised him with his hair cut, but now that I see the photos I think I saw him! 

[Yvonne]

Really envious of you all

Love the pictures so nice to put a face to the names

[Cheesecat]

They are best seen in a home environment where you can see the bushy tail, feel the silky fur and appreciate their personality. 

Having met the gorgeous Mosi man in his home environment I would definitely agree with that comment! I think thats the one downside of meeting cats in pens, like the Devon Rex cats or the big fluffy Persians, I would love to know what they feel like but sadly can't touch! You can't really see a cats personality when they are confined to a small space either. Thats not to say I didn't REALLY enjoy doing my fair share of cooing at every cat I saw 

Phil said he saw you and turned to me to ask if it was definitely you, but when he turned back he couldn't see where you/your lookalike had gone! It is a real shame we didn't bump into each other, I did try looking arounf when I wasn't engrossed in shopping or cats, its weird really because I kept seeing the same set of random unknown people over and over all day but didn't see you!

We got 16 of the Bozita too - ours love the pate, we bought a bag of Burns to try too - judging by the taste tast ours LOVE it - bargain of the day was buying 1.5kg of this dry food with high content of fish - should have been £10 normally, show price of £5 and the man sold it to me and Ali for £3 as he didn't want to take it back to the car!

We got 40l of Oko plus cats best, Phil had to carry that to the car, I would have had no chance with that! Our car was ages off, don't know how you managed carrying stuff to the train Susanne, did the shuttle bus not stop at the station as well as the car parks then?

The only monorail i've heard of is the one from birmingham airport to the train station, not sure if they've extended that to the NEC too?

[Susanne (urbantigers)]

Yeah he was on his own, looked like he was looking for his mum or dad to be honest, we stopped and had a chat with him and he calmed down a bit then. It fits that it was his first show. 

He was very handsome 

He's only 4 months 

[ems]

Yeah he was on his own, looked like he was looking for his mum or dad to be honest, we stopped and had a chat with him and he calmed down a bit then. It fits that it was his first show. 

He was very handsome 

[Susanne (urbantigers)]

Was that in club row, Ems?  There were 2 - brother and sister - in a pen there.  But during the talk at 3.15pm, the fawn one (boy I think) was involved and was very chilled out, really enjoying being stroked and cuddled.  The woman doing the talk said that it was his first show (would account for being a bit scared earlier) and that his sister had just left to go to a new home in Edinburgh.  He was certainly relaxed and happy during the talk.  I had a stroke of him and he was gorgeous.  Was he on his own when you saw him?  Maybe he had just been separated from his sister?  

[Den]

I saw them too and thought they were gorgeous 

[ems]

We saw the somalis Susanne,  I saw a fawn one that seemed quite upset though, was pacing back and forth in it's pen and meowing

[Susanne (urbantigers)]

I haven't managed to have my leisurely look at my purchases yet cos Mosi was wrecking the bags so Ive had to put them away.

I'm glad everyone had a good time.  Did anyone see the somalis?  Unfortunately, somalis dont' really sell themselves that well when they're in pens.  I never think they look as special as I know they are when they are in their pens, if you know what I mean.  They are best seen in a home environment where you can see the bushy tail, feel the silky fur and appreciate their personality.  They don't have the instant wow factor that the maine coons have, as they are moderate in their size and appearance, and as the coonies are always nearby, they tend to get overshadowed.  I did see a very nice silver though.  And the somali breed talk in the afternoon had a gorgeous 4 month old fawn kitten that anyone would have fallen in love with    I do sometimes wish I'd shown Mosi.  He wouldnt have done brilliantly as his nose is too straight, but he'd have had some success and his vibrant red colour would attract attention to the breed.

Looks like Pearl did fab as deserved 

[Rosella moggy]

I agree Susanne. It's a hell of a walk to the station. People kept telling me there is a mono rail but I didn't see anything.

Well I was very good and just bought a fabulous furlined red tunnel that has just been rolled by someone into the middle of the hall and currently occupied by Noni B with Freddie & Billy waiting; biding their time ..........  Nice surprise to find a sample bag of Applause dry chicken food (80% chicken) at bottom of bag which all 3 polished off with gusto in a flicker of an eyelid  

Pearl was a real star, the old Hollywood kind. Sort of gave all she had for her audience  

My first cat show. Surprised how much I enjoyed it but a lot was down to excellent company    Den and Alison kept me company.

I am now officially besotted with NFCs and Maine coons. Either/or suits me just fine, they are truly spectacular creatures.  Think it might have been Ruth mentioned the one with the head the size of a wild cat. He was awesome  

Unfortunately Dawn F couldn't come. Hope Amber is OK.

Just saw your post Sally so completely concur with fab Maine Coons and delicious Applause dry food

[sallyagdm]

Had a lovely day today and really enjoyed meeting up with everyone.
All the cats  were lovely and wanted to take loads of cats home especially the Maine Coons and some of the orientals.
Bought loads of cat food including a sample of a trial run of Applaws dried which I was told is a complete cat food and should be officially out in February.
On getting it home the cats loved it, scoffed the lot and asked for more

[tigerbaby]

Will there be a similar one near London? I would love to go to an event like that 

[clarenmax]

Looks like you all had a fab day 

[Susanne (urbantigers)]

Den - maybe I should start asking for two Siamese and then Phil might be relieved if I just settle for one 

You should!!  How can anyone say no to one 

BTW does anyone know which cat won the show?

I think the maine coon won?  I say think, because I didnt' ahve my usual ringside seat and when they introduced the 3 supreme champs, I headed off to collect some stuff that had been put by for me in the hope that I would hear who would win.

ETA - they do best adult, best neuter and best kitten (7 best of variety winners in each category) then the 3 winners of those categories go head to head for best in show and the title of supreme exhibit.