Nothing but the best for Zebra
Zebra may have had humble beginnings but she’s a blue sash winner after winning a Best in Show title at the national cat show. The tabby was adopted from the Motueka SPCA by Rebecca Greaney in February as a replacement for her 5-year-old son Liam’s beloved pet.
His previous cat, Piper, had to be put down after developing an infection in her chest wall, and on the same day, Rebecca went to the SPCA to adopt a replacement.
‘‘I knew Liam would be really upset so although I didn’t actually want another cat, I went to the SPCA. Zebra came up and smooched around me. She was calm and placid so I thought she’d be great for Liam.
‘‘I took her home and said to Liam, I’m sorry that we had to put your cat down but I wonder if you’d like to look after this kitten? She needs a daddy to look after her.
‘‘He was still crying but they clicked right away and now she sleeps on his bed and waits for him every day after school.’’
Rebecca had never entered a cat show before but when she heard the national cat show was to be at Saxton Stadium, she thought it would be a good experience for her children.
She was impressed that daughter Shania, 7, got up at 6am on competition day and spent all day looking after Zebra at the show.
The judges said Zebra was well presented and an attractive cat, with one of the four judges calling the ‘‘domestic’’ category that Zebra won a ‘‘beauty contest’’.
Zebra also made it in the top 20 of the 160 cats entered overall, which Rebecca said was rare for a non-pure-breed cat.