Iowa Girl on the Go

The way I see it, I had three choices this weekend. I could go to the Home and Garden Show, I could go to the Antiques Spectacular, or I could go to the Hawkeye State Cat Club Cat Show.

I went for the cats.

This is the third cat show I’ve attended — the first for the magazine (covering one of the judges, who’s an Iowa State alum) and the second last year at the Iowa State fairgrounds. I’m not in the market for a new cat, and I don’t show the cats I have, so I’m not exactly sure what keeps drawing me to these damn things, but I paid $4 (after my $1 off coupon from the newspaper) and went to my third cat show.

It was pretty much the same drill as the other ones. There is a lot of cat stuff for sale (cat food, cat litter, cat toys, purses and shirts with pictures of cats on them); there are cats dolled up for the competition (some inexplicably with coffee filters around their necks); cats inside ridiculous decorated traveling cat houses; and the main attraction: cats being judged.

My house cats are better looking than a lot of these overly primped and/or way too skinny and hairless felines. I enjoy looking at the purebred Maine Coons and the Norwegian Forest Cats and the Somali cats. These cats all look like real cats to me and I’d be happy to own one if they didn’t cost $600.

I bought one cat toy (a bug on a stick) and a set of dog boots for my daughter’s puppy. Who knew you could buy dog clothes at a cat show?