author Diana Knott RagaMuffin lover
When I began this journey I had no idea what I was getting us into. We adopted one of the most
beautiful and adorable kittens we had ever seen. We just wanted a little sister for our two
RagaMuffin brothers, Dandi and Frankie.
A couple of years ago we went to our first cat show hoping to catch a glimpse of a kitten I had
seen on Facebook. What are the chances we would actually see a kitten from another state in
a cat show 2 hours from home? To my surprise the gorgeous RagaMuffin kitten was there! I was so excited.
It felt like being a groupie for a rock star!
My husband and I had never been to a cat show before and had absolutely no idea what we
were about to experience. I was so mesmerized by the atmosphere. There was so much to
see, cats of all breeds, sizes and colors everywhere you looked. I was in heaven! I couldn’t
take it in fast enough. We sat and listened to the judges as they evaluated the different breeds
and commented on the standards for each breed. I thought, what an amazing opportunity to
learn more about the different breeds of cats. Little did I know that this is just the beginning of
my new passion.
Fast forward two years to present time. The chance to adopt a RagaMuffin kitten that had the pedigree to
become a show cat came our way. Should we take the chance? I had no idea what to do or
even where to begin. How hard can it be? You know how it feels when you know so little that
you don’t even know what questions to ask, yeah that’s where I started.
With the help of one of the kindest and most caring people I have ever known I started exploring
the possibility of taking our new kitten to her first show. One thing I haven’t mentioned is this
kitten is the offspring of the reason I chose to attend that first show. After a lot of soul searching
and obtaining advice I decided to enter her in the Gardner, Kansas show. Miss Poppy is now a
RagaMuffin show kitten!
After blowing up the internet ordering all the show equipment and becoming on a first name
basis with all the delivery drivers I finally had her set for the show.
I spent the next month working with Poppy on socialization. We have been to just about every
pet store in the area getting her used to the noise and strange surroundings.
The most important thing left to do was to learn to groom her for the show. The best part of
preparing her for the show was having the opportunity to learn the art of grooming from an
experienced cat show exhibitor. What an awesome time we had, even Poppy seemed to enjoy
the experience.
Well, we have all of the cat show equipment, the show bath knowledge and the perfect kitten.
Cat show here we come!
We made the journey four hours North and checked into the hotel. I kept expecting Poppy to
object at every turn but she just rolled with everything we threw at her.
The morning of the show we entered the show hall, rookies that we are, with all the other
exhibitors. Everyone was so helpful and friendly. We set up our bench and looked around at all
of the other show cats. What were we thinking? This is all so foreign to us. I just kept looking at
Poppy and she was just taking it all in with that sweet cherub face..
The time for her first ring has arrived. I was so nervous but she just sat in the judges cage and
looked around with that sweet face. As each judge evaluated her she relaxed a little more. By
her last judge she was sitting at the front of the cage like the little diva she was born to be. That
sweet faced RagaMuffin kitten managed to melt the hearts of all that met her. The judges honored her with
finals in all 4 rings, 2nd, 3rd, 3rd and 4th Best Kitten. We came away from the show at the end
of the day feeling like she had performed pretty well and had no idea what this little angel had
just accomplished. We were later informed that our Poppy aka Xpressions Check Meowt Too
had just been awarded Highest Scoring Kitten in Show for her first appearance at a show. I
could not be prouder of this little RagaMuffin kitten. Now I can’t wait for the next show.
Thanks to her awesome breeder Xpressions for allowing us to adopt this precious angel and
helping us all along the way.
Diana Knott