The Supreme and Paws

Goodness, it's been a long time since I've written on here. Time just seems to run away with me, and when you add to that the fact that my computer blew up over the weekend and my internet access has been restricted, it doesn't make it easy to post! I've actually put off writing this for another reason as well.


Paws has gone to his new home. He left on the 12th of November with his new mum, who spent most of her visit on the floor playing with everyone... Always a good way to convince me that you're a good home for one of my kittens. Paws actually put himself into the carrier when it was time to go, settled down, curled up and was quite content in there. I, on the other hand, was and still am to some extent an emotional wreck. I knew it was coming, but with him it's been particularly hard. I had him for a long time, got to know his little personality, and I miss him so much even a week and a half on that the hurt is almost physical.


I won't write too much more about him here. I'm trying to move on for the sake of my own sanity, and talking about him doesn't help that. I will tell you that he settled well, and, just like his brother, within a few minutes of getting home he was yelling to be let out of his safe room! I consider it an incredible complement that all of my kittens are more distressed about being left alone than being moved to a new home, because it shows what a good job I've done socialising them with people. Paws now has another cat to live with, and is just working out how best to interact with an older cat who isn't too impressed that her days of being the single spoilt puss are over! There's been no fighting though, and he's eating well (well there's a surprise), and settling superbly. His new name is Manny.


Saturday saw me and the remaining cats packed off to the Supreme Cat Show, and what a packing job it was! I had 2 cats, all the usual show equipment, drapes, themed items etc. Fitting it all in the car was a nightmare! We'd gone up the day before to decorate the pens, so on the morning of the show, setting up the cats was relatively simple.


The Supreme Cat Show is very different to most other GCCF shows, with cats being judged in rings rather than simply being taken from their pens and judged right in front of them. Sadly, neither of my two girls were overly impressed with being removed from one pen, shoved into another strange one, then handled by complete strangers. Millie coped well enough, but Tia degenerated quickly into one huge grump, even grumping at me when I tried to give her a cuddle and settle her. She just didn't enjoy her day at all, and by the end of it, she actually hid herself under the bed. Needless to say, as much as I'd like to, I won't be taking her back to the Supreme. I never show a cat if they give me signs that they aren't enjoying the experience, and Tia really wasn't.


Millie wasn't overly thrilled. She too hid under the bed, but more I think, because it was cosy rather than because she was frightened. She does this a lot at home, hiding under blankets, snuggling under cushions, and on the day she came out straight away whenever she heard my voice and showed no signs of fear. When she was judged in one class, she even asked for a tummy tickle! However, the day was absolutely manic, and running between two cat pens plus trying to see the rest of the show myself was simply too much. I don't think I'll take two cats again, unless I'm certain they will be penned very near to each other.


I'm very pleased to announce though that both girls got a first place in their breed classes, and little Millie's pen was awarded 5th place in the over all best decorated pen competition! Considering that there were over 1100 pens at the Supreme (I'll admit that not all of them were decorated), this is quite an achievement!


What's even better is that Cat Planet actually took photos of my pens! Do you know how long I've been waiting for a Cat Planet photo? I'm so, so thrilled to actually be up there! You can see photos of Tia's pen, pen 8, by clicking Here.http://www.catplanet.co.uk/index.php/shows/gccf-cat-shows/55-supreme-cat-show-191111/165-supreme-cat-show-2011-decorated-pen-entries">Here.>

You can see Millie's pen, number 33 I think, by clicking Here.
I'm">http://www.catplanet.co.uk/index.php/shows/gccf-cat-shows/55-supreme-cat-show-191111/166-supreme-cat-show-2011-decorated-pen-winners">Here.
I'm so proud of both girls for doing as well as they did!


My next show won't be until mid December, so you may not here much from me until then. Wish us luck!