The air in the sports centre has a base note of urine. A soundtrack of plaintive mewling is interrupted occasionally by the sharp scratch of a hiss. Humans dart around the floor, attending to the whims of their lusciously furred, bouffant companions. Hairbrushes are wielded; coats are teased to 80s volumes. Over the PA system, an announcement is made. “Long-haired kittens are required in ring five!”
The first cat show took place in Crystal Palace, south-east London, in 1871. I have come to the LondonCats Worldwide (LCWW) 150th anniversary celebration show. Over two days, 200 competitors will converge on the Crystal Palace national sports centre, cat carriers in hand. In six rings along one wall of the show floor, judges will assess each animal for temperament, condition and conformity to the breed standard, before an audience of paying spectators. Cats of all stripes stare out solemnly from rows of carriers. Somalis and siamese and siberians and shorthairs. Balinese and maine coons and Scottish folds and cornish rex. Persians, of course – those majestic emperors of the species. Abyssinians, with the ticked coat of an African wildcat. Sphinxes, caught in the nude, startled and abashed. Syrupy-sweet ragdolls with cherubic expressions. Bengals that look like leopards shrunk in the wash. And moggies, of course, skulking in the background like the unloved members of a pop group.Make Your Own DIY Dog Friendly Carpet Deodorizer. Do you have some dog odors you want to get rid of? If you don’t have any special products on hand don’t worry – you can make your own simple dog friendly carpet deodorizer with items you’ve got around the house.



- Judges including Jane Allen (top) inspect contestants at the LCWW’s show this month. Photographs: Teri Pengilley
There are five competition classes: kittens, cats, alters (cats that have been neutered or spayed), household pets and household pet kittens. Within the classes, the cats are divided according to breed: long hairs are judged against long hairs, shorts hairs against short hairs. The six judges assess each category, meaning that the show has a frenetic quality, as competitors dart between judging rings, sliding their cats into cages like overworked couriers trying to meet their delivery targets. Each judge will have a final for each category, but overall victors are not crowned during the show itself – scores are collated and posted online afterwards.

- A young competitor at the National Cat Club show in Crystal Palace, 1931. Photograph: Getty Images
You should never physically punish your pet. It brings the animal pain and fear, and it gains you nothing. It’s a lose-lose situation. Please don’t do it.
Meserve’s patter is impressive to behold. Like all the judges present today, he has an encyclopedic knowledge of cats. “It’s important that the judges engage the audience and put on a good show,” he says. He wipes down the table – judges have to spray disinfectant between cats, to prevent the spread of disease. “You have to be slightly mad to run around showing your cats all over the place, right? Animal people are a little crazy.”
The cats and owners are here today only because of a man named Harrison Weir, who put on that first show in 1871. Weir, an artist, cat lover and illustrator, conceived the idea of a fancy – a Victorian term for an animal competition, which is still in use today – at which cats of different breeds could be judged according to a set of standards. Fancy and non-fancy (non-pedigree) cats were categorised by length of fur, colour and shape. Many of the rules that Weir – known posthumously as “the father of the cat fancy” – set out are still largely upheld today.

- Katie Round with Pasha, a British shorthair kitten, and Trevor Newton with Viscount Sterling, a siberian. Photographs: Teri Pengilley

- A five-week-old siamese at the Hertfordshire and Middlesex show in 1957. Photograph: Getty Images
Not everyone agrees. “It is very competitive,” says Trevor Newton, 61, a bus driver from Sidcup in south-east London. “We just come along, do the show and if we win something, we win something. But others – they can get competitive.” Newton is exhibiting two siberians, Lady Beulah and Viscount Sterling. “He’s a little bit overweight,” Newton says of Sterling, who is sleeping in his cat carrier and resembles an overstuffed draught excluder. “We’re going to have to knock him down a little bit.”Although the cats are descended from prize-winning stock, they are not performing very well today. “He normally does better,” says Newton, dejectedly, of Sterling. Attending cat shows is expensive, Newton says. There is travel, hotels, food and the cost of entry – usually about £500. To recoup some costs, almost everyone I speak to is also a breeder – Newton and his wife sell siberian kittens. (She is at home today, looking after a litter.) Doing well at a cat show is excellent marketing. “It gives us a good name with our kittens,” Newton says. “They’ve won at this competition, they’ve been here and done that.”Be realistic. Unrealistic goals will only prevent you from growing. There are two common mistakes a dog owner can make that will slam the brakes hard on any potential progress you might be hoping for. First, the expectations we place on our dogs and ourselves. The misguided belief that your dog “should” be performing or responding at a certain predetermined level. Another mistake many owners make is having unrealistic assumptions. Many of us assume that our dog understands what we want and that he knows what we’re asking of him. As if that wasn’t bad enough, some of us assume that the dogs failure to perform means he’s either rebelling, stubborn, or just plain stupid.
Newton initially attended the shows to appease his wife. “When I first started coming, I thought: nah, it ain’t for me.” But the social side won him over. “It’s the same people at all the shows,” he says. “You go around, have a little chat; everyone is very helpful. We all meet up in the evening, 10 or 15 of us, go out for a meal, have a few drinks and a laugh.”

- Anna McEntee with Riley, her award-winning white persian. Photograph: Teri Pengilley
There is a saying in the cat-show world, trotted out by judges and competitors alike repeatedly: everyone takes the best cat home, regardless of whether they win or lose. But there is one cat that reigns over all the other felines in attendance today. That cat is Riley – or, to use his proper title, Regional Winner, Supreme Grand Champion Alter, Imperial Grand Champion and Supreme Olympian Gold, Imperial Grand Premier, Cully Khan Vivaldi. “He’s currently the top-scoring alter in the world,” says his owner, Anna McEntee, 44, a credit director from Cambridgeshire. Riley is a 7kg (15lb) white persian with an aristocratic, uninterested air. “He’s very aloof because he knows he’s special,” says McEntee. When she walks into shows with him, McEntee says, other competitors gasp. But she tries not to let it go to her head. “There’s always going to be a new up-and-coming cat,” she says.Riley’s coat is ample and silky-soft. Beside him is an oversized vanity case, which contains his grooming products: combs and brushes, powders and sprays. “He does have to put up with a lot,” says McEntee. “I mean, a three-hour blow-dry.” As Riley stares at us contemptuously, I ask McEntee if she feels that she serves him. “Well of course,” she says. “He gets whatever he wants. It’s not about us. We just live around him.”It's certainly unpleasant to take your dog outside when it's snowing or raining, but don't forget that dogs' paws are just as sensitive to heat as human skin.

- Mrs AH Cattermole examines Sealeigh Grey Knight at the Crystal’s cat show at Olympia, London, in 1950. Photograph: Getty Images
It was for this reason that I declined the opportunity to exhibit my moggy, Larry , in the household pets category – I feared he would hate it. But that doesn’t mean I can’t sneak a free assessment from the experts. I pull out my phone and swipe through my most flattering photographs of Larry. “He’s beautiful,” Allen coos, convincingly. “What a big hunk.” But her judging standards are exacting. “We all have a standard we judge to,” she says. “Because they’re all really cute.”Focus on the Human-Animal Bond. “Dogs and cats have broken down the walls of our hearts. There haven’t been comparable domesticated species in 5,000 years.” For Dr. Becker, it’s clear that pets and people have evolved to benefit each other. He explains, “When you’re petting them, you both get this massive release of oxytocin, prolactin, dopamine, and a decrease in cortisol. It’s a reciprocal biochemical spa treatment.” As they age, it can be easy to take pets for granted. Make time for a little human-animal bonding every day.

- Exhibitors at the LCWW’s show this month. Photograph: Teri Pengilley
We look out at a room full of primped, pampered, cosseted cats and their human attendants. In ancient times, we used to worship cats. It appears that some of us still do.
The next LCWW cat show is in Leatherhead on 28-29 AugustMeeting your new puppy, kitten or any other pet can be an exciting experience. Your pet, however, has some adjusting to do. New sights, smells and sounds can be overwhelming for the little guy and keeping a calm household is important.