Feline friends come together at annual Cambridge cat show

KITCHENER — For Tim Jackson, a home just isn’t complete without a couple of cats to keep things interesting.

Jackson shares his Kitchener condo with two pedigree Abyssinian beauties named Leonidas and Ptolemy. The software developer loves these hyperactive felines, their energy and antics and his little home is always filled with furry surprises.

“They’re a little like cats with ADD (attention deficit disorder),” he said with a laugh. “When I was a kid, my mom had Siamese and she told me to look for a cat without a voice.”

Meaning a breed that didn’t feel the need to squawk an opinion every five minutes. Abyssinians, one of the oldest known domestic breeds, are thought to resemble the cats memorialized by ancient Egyptians with their lithe but muscular bodies, large ears, arched neck and almond shaped eyes. And while curious and busy, they are not noisy.

The name Abyssinian comes from Ethiopia, an African country once known as Abyssinia, where the first of the breed to be shown in Britain originated.

Jackson will be showing Leonidas at the Golden Triangle Cat Fancier’s 41st annual cat show, Saturday, May 27. The event regularly attracts hundreds of visitors who come to coo over 40 different breeds of pedigree cats, all there vying for a ribbon. This year, the event will have a red and white theme, in honour of Canada’s 150th birthday.

Jackson enjoys the show circuit, a place where he has made many like-minded friends.

He grew up one of four kids to a “big cat family” meaning there were always cats underfoot. When his grandmother died, the photo displayed at the memorial was a portrait of her with a cat draped over her shoulder.

After graduating from university and when he lived on his own for the first time, Jackson thought it was time he had a cat of his own but the first choice was a Russian blue named Sandy. The Aby, as they are affectionately known, came later.

“When I lost Sandy, I decided to get an Aby and went to cat shows to get information,” he said. “I didn’t know anything about showing.”

The show proved the perfect breeding ground for his new hobby.

Ptolemy was a companion cat but he had bigger plans for Leonidas, now one year old, who he purchased from an American breeder. The coppery coated cat has impressed several judges already, winning two grand championships. Last November when he was just a few months old, Leonidas placed as ninth best kitten which was a major honour given this was an international level show and competition was stiff.

Leonidas only needs two more shows to earn enough credits to win his Grand Premier title.

With so few cat shows in Canada, Jackson must travel to the U.S. to compete and if he’s going to be away for any length of time, Ptolemy tags along, just as company.

“He likes to people watch,” said Jackson.

Both cats are as used to travelling in their carriers as they are to baths though they likely prefer the former over the latter. They are cats after all.

“I’m new to cat showing,” he said. “There are a lot of super people who get together, they’re very supportive.”

He knew that as a beginner, he wasn’t exactly going to be racking up the wins.

“It doesn’t matter if 10 out of 10 times you don’t get a ribbon to take home,” he said. “My first couple of months I didn’t know what was going on.

“There are four to six rings and you have to know which one to go in. It can be overwhelming but I had a lot of help.”

He particularly likes the laid back atmosphere of cat shows. Judges often hold up the cats and talk about what he or she is looking for in that particular breed.

“I like that judges talk to people,” Jackson said. “They take time to explain things.”

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