The cat show returned to the Southwest Washington Fairgrounds this weekend after making headlines a few months back for hosting the number one cat in the world.
The Chronicle returned to the show to check in with the world-famous cat and visit with some new and familiar faces, both feline and human.
The previously-top cat, Mishikoonz Mystic Lake, or “Mystic” for short, ended his show season in the Netherlands in April in fourth place of all the world’s cats.
A 19-pound Maine coon, he is a very large, shabby cat with white and ginger hair. But the strangest thing about Mystic is his paws. He has six toes, which makes him what cat folks call “polydactyl.”
Mystic and his owners travel wherever they can for shows held by The International Cat Association (TICA), the world’s largest cat registry, earning points for various cat-egories and accumulating enough to, at one point, earn him the highest rank in the world.
Mystic’s owner, Cari Tucker, said she’s “pretty proud of him.”
Polydactyl Maine coons were not accepted into TICA shows until about eight years ago, Tucker said, and Mystic has scored higher than any other cat like him. Tucker noted it is justifying to see him treated so well because, for a long time, polydactyl cats were treated like “second-class citizens,” she said.
“He’s done as well as any straight foot that I’ve had,” Tucker said. “I’m very happy.”
One of the main factors in determining a winning cat, Tucker said, is simply the number of shows they attend. More shows equals more points overall. Toward the end of the season, she said there just weren’t enough shows in the United States to help her solidify Mystic’s top seat as the competition ramped up.
But, he still got to visit the Netherlands and finish in the top five cats in the world. Not bad for a cat.
The Chronicle will continue to release previews of cat shows and feature them in the community calendar. The next one is slated to be held in September.
