Carol's Corner

by Carol Sue Hale

I have just returned from the Compadres Cat Show in El Paso, it was really a well run show and very well decorated show hall. Catherine and Jane Betts very graciously took me with them and "a good time was had by all".

This is for all clubs everywhere. Saturday went very well in all the judging rings but Sunday I noticed Debrah Southerland looked like someone had beat her up in the Parking Garage. Her eyes were nearly swollen shut and puffed up so much that she could not look at the floor without seeing the puff under her eyes - I know that feeling after what happened to me in Mississippi in 2002. She and I had a conversation about allergies and finally figured out that it was the disinfectant that the club was using - ODO MUTE. She was clerking for Joe Edwards on Saturday and had her head and hands in all the cages about 80 times during the show and possibly rubbed her hand over her eyes several times to create a severe allergy. My point -- clubs need to be careful about what they use to clean the cages with. Some of the exibitors were also talking about how this product affected their cats too. This is not the only product used in show halls, and some people are highly sensitive to them. I don't know what the solution will be but there has to be an odorless product that will do the job of cleaning without creating serious health problems for people like Deborah and me who have really, really bad allergy problems. Sue Becknell apologized for using ODO MUTE because she didn't realize the product would create such a problem for clerks, exhibitors, judges, and cats. We should all be careful and watchful with cleaners.

As I mentioned, Compadres was a well run show for so few entries. On Sunday a few problems ocurred like 3 rings trying to judge SH Cats at one time but no one was in a hurry so those three rings just waited for the next available group. The finals on Saturday were very well presented in the usual fashion, it was a totally different story on Sunday though. I am not sure where these judges come up with "Kookie" ideas but they were fun. The first one I noticed (because I was in that final) was Juliana Slater. Those whose cat was in her final had to get up and "mime" all the great things about their cat - coat length, ear set (the description of the "curl" was one of the funniest), eyes and color, and a pattern on the cat. All were laughing and having a wonderful time. The other notable "different" judge was Ana Marie Sosa - her first judging assignment - she presented the cats and described all their good features in Spanish and the owners had to do it in English. This was a fun game too, especially for those who knew no Spanish.

There was a Ragdoll group at this show and one or two of the cats were very unhappy and took it out on their owners. Three or four of them went home on antibiotics.

There were 3 people there who came with 11 cats between them but on Sunday were showing 12. They were kinda draggin their feet by Sunday evening, but did have a good time.

I don't mean to leave out the Waco show, this show had nearly 200 cats and was also a really well run show. Ann, Jenny and Cliff Hamons along with Debbi Brown did a fantastic job of pulling this one together in such a short time. Cliff did the barbecue for the lunches and they were great. I am glad that he will be doing some more for the Bayou City show in Rosenburg in 2 weeks. If y'all want some good ole Texas Bar B Q come on out and join the fun and food in Rosenburg. Back to the Waco show. The decorations were great, each represented a holiday that Waco had a show. The raffle was fabulous too. Ann and Club, we look forward to another great show next year.

Your friendly field reporter,

Carol Sue Hale