These felines want undivided attention
First you hear the patter of little cat feet. The door opens and you see two unusual-looking cats, their almond-shaped-eyes framed by very large ears.
Whitey and Ruben have long legs, long narrow bodies, and tails that are really long and very thin. Their breed is Oriental Shorthair, but they bear little resemblance to the non-pedigree shorthaired cats that many people know and love.
Whitey, 6 months, and Ruben, 1, will compete Aug. 4 at the Butler Cat Fanciers show at Ross Community Center, 1000Municipal Drive, 15237.
At least 200 cats will be there, representing many of the 42 breeds recognized by Cat Fanciers’ Association, the organization that registers purebred cats and sanctions shows.
Kathy Treleani shares her spacious McCandless home with Whitey, Ruben and six other adult Oriental Shorthair cats and five 6-week-old kittens. She has been breeding and showing cats for 24 years under the Kattres Cattery name. She’s also president of Butler Cat Fanciers.
The personalities of Oriental Shorthair cats are as special as their appearance, she said. They are smart, affectionate and very people-friendly.
“They always want to be with you,” Ms. Treleani said.
Some of her cats have learned to turn off the television so that they can have her undivided attention.
Whitey, Ruben and Opera are the cats she is campaigning for championship titles. Her biggest success on the show circuit came four years ago when Grand Champion Kat-Tres Paris was the No. 2 show cat in the
world and the winningest Oriental in the world. Paris, 6, is retired from the show ring and has the run of the house as a full-time pet.
Oriental Shorthairs, like Siamese cats, are very vocal.
“I talk to them all the time, and they talk back,” Ms. Treleani said.
As if on cue, Paris pranced into the room, posed for the photographer and then retreated to the second floor of the house.
The show welcomes cats without “papers” to compete in the household pets category. Purebred or not, competing cats can be spayed or neutered, but they can’t be declawed.
Show hours are 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Admission: $5 adults, $4 for children over 12 and senior citizens. A portion of proceeds goes to The Tigger Fund, which pays for spay and neuter surgeries for feral and homeless cats. Information: pittsburghcatshow.