Hood River Alpine Vet Hosts 4-H Cat Show

Visitors to Hood River Alpine Vet this past Saturday March 28th were treated to an unusual sight in our large animal barn. Children from three counties encompassing four cities were represented, bringing with them a clowder of cats.

You may ask, “How does one show a cat?” I’ll leave that up to the experts, but I can share a few things I learned. This 4-H cat show was divided into two main events: Fitting and Showing, and Breed Type. If you are familiar with horse shows, these would correspond roughly to Showmanship and Conformation. In Fitting and Showing, the 4-Her demonstrates the health, cleanliness, and other qualities of his or her cat to the judge. The showman follows a set of steps in a specific order to highlight each attribute of their cat. In Breed Type, the judge handles the cat and selects for conformational correctness and breed characteristics (in the case of purebreds) or structural soundness and fitness as well as subjective eye-appeal when judging cats of unknown heritage. The 4-H age divisions are divided into Junior, Intermediate, and Senior, and the mixed breed cat types are divided into Longhair and Shorthair. There were 19 cats total, including five purebred cats: a Siberian, a Bengal, a Turkish Van, a Japanese Bobtail, and a Burmese.

Clubs by county that participated were:

Clark:
Meowmix (Ridgefield, WA) 8 Kids
The Cats Meow (Vancouver, WA) 3 Kids
These Cats Are Cookin (Battleground, WA) 1 Kid

Skamania:
C.I.A. Cat Club (White Salmon, WA) 7 Kids

Wasco:
3 Kids observed for the day, looking to start their own 4-H club (The Dalles, OR)

Special thanks to Mike and Sharon Foss for the generous use of their facilities. Also a special thanks to all the 4-H leaders and helpers that made the show possible. Many thanks to the show judges: Dr. Kim Robichaud, DVM from our sister clinic, The Dalles Veterinary Hospital, and also to Carla Baines, the 4-H Cat Superintendent from Skamania County.