In a room dominated by flopsy blue-eyed types, Danny Boy the poodle cat stands alone.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
A rare Selkirk Rex with brilliant orange eyes, he keeps calm watch over proceedings at Woonona Bulli RSL Sunday morning, as cat show judging gets underway.
His soft, unruly blue coat belies his many hours of grooming.
He has been washed and blowdried, confirms owner Carola Vamvakaris. But the rest of his preparations will remain a show business mystery.
“I can’t give away all my grooming secrets,” Ms Vamvakaris said.
“We’re going for good curl definition. If I brush him, he’ll become a fuzzball.”
The Selkirk Rex, or poodle cat, originates from a litter born to a feral cat in Montana in 1987.
The University of Veterinary Medicine only recently confirmed it a genetically distinct line.
Ms Vamvakaris, a Cooma breeder, fell for the ‘poodle’s’ sweet nature and is hoping it will become a more common household pet in future.
But for now, it seems no amount of crinkle-coated appeal will shake the dominance of the Ragdoll.
The notoriously soft and toy-like moggies have taken a vice-like grip on the hearts of the cat-buying public, according to Australian National Cats Inc president Brian Edwards.
Speaking from Sunday’s ANCATS show, where ragdolls accounted for more than a third of the 84 entrants, Mr Edwards said much of the breed’s appeal lay in its child-friendly temperament and tendency to ‘flop’ like the namesake doll.
“Within our organisation it’s the most popular cat,” he said.
“I had one and she’d walk along and she’d flop as if to say, ‘give me a pat’. Walk a few more steps flop – ‘give me a pat’. They’ve been bred for that condition.
“Probably 90 per cent of ragdolls are [that way]. You’ll get the odd one that will take your arm off.”
ANCATS represents 500 breeders. Over the past five years it has seen the popularity of the ragdoll skyrocket, surpassing that of the once-dominant Burmese and the gentle giants of the domestic cat world, the Maine Coon.
Judging takes into account the cats’ bone structure and shape, eye colour and the symmetry of their markings.
“There should be nothing bony about a Ragdoll,” Mr Edwards said. “They [the judges] are looking for perfection.”
Ragdolls fetch upwards of $800 but their appeal has spawned a market for unregistered “backyard breeders”, who charge much less.
ANCATS discourages buying from the unregistered market, warning it does not necessarily produce the desired temperament, and can promote unethical breeding practices.
.
