Hundreds of felines compete in Del Mar

By Jose Luis Jiménez
STAFF WRITER

January 28, 2007

VISTA – Tiger Woods won a ribbon yesterday.

JOHN GASTALDO / Union-Tribune Dennis Sanders spent some time with Pandora Dora before putting her back in her enclosure at Food and Water Bowl XV.

No, not the famous golfer competing for his third straight Buick Invitational title at Torrey Pines. It was a black, short-haired Persian at a cat show. Just like his namesake, the feline was lingering among the top of the leader board, looking to win the grand prize.

Woods the purrer was among 365 competitors at Food and Water Bowl XV, being held through today at the Del Mar Fairgrounds. The annual event is sponsored by San Diego Cat Fanciers.

Yesterday morning, Dennis Sanders and his fiancee said they came from the Los Angeles area to enter Woods in the show.

Food and Water Bowl XV What: the “Super Bowl of cat shows,” according to the event's sponsor, San Diego Cat Fanciers. When: continues today from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Where: Del Mar Fairgrounds, 2260 Jimmy Durante Blvd., Del Mar. Admission: $8 for adults, $6 for children, seniors and military personnel. Kids 5 and younger get in free. Online: www.sandiegocat.org.

At first blush, the burly Sanders – who wore a Houston Astros baseball jersey – seemed an odd fit with the crowd of mostly women caring for their feline contestants. He joined the circuit several years ago when a breeder from Holland sold him a cat on the condition that he enter it in cat shows.

Sanders thought it was a strange request, but once he got a taste of the competition, he was hooked; he now breeds his own championship-caliber felines.

“(Woods has) the right body, the right face and a very plush coat,” said Sanders, who thought his entry might very well make it to a national championship. “He has all the things the breed is supposed to have.”

The day didn't start off so well when Woods failed to win a ribbon from the first judge.

JOHN GASTALDO / Union-Tribune Dottie Ann, a Himalayan Persian owned by Diane Boettcher of Apex, N.C., wore a tiara during yesterday's competition at the Del Mar Fairgrounds.

“I told him to calm down,” said Sanders' fiancee, Rafaela Taylor. “He didn't want to be like some people around here. Everybody is so competitive and some of them can be uptight.”

Mary Sietsema, an event organizer, explained that competitors take their cats to each of the eight judges participating in the show. Every judge assigns a score to each cat. At the end of the show, the 15 cats with the highest scores win ribbons and the one with the most points is picked best in show, Sietsema said.

Walter Hutzler flew in from New York to help judge the competition. He compares his job to dating.

“I have a mental picture of what they should look like and I look for it,” said Hutzler, who started judging in the 1970s. “It's like looking for a love affair. You know it when you find it.”

JOHN GASTALDO / Union-Tribune Judge Walter Hutzler looked at Wil-O-Glens Dynah, an Abyssinian. Hutzler, who started judging in the '70s, flew in from New York to serve as a judge.

The show is expected to attract 6,000 people by its closing, and most of them aren't directly involved in the competition. So the event's organizers have a feline bazaar with everything from “next-generation cat litter” made with green tea to a large running wheel that would make any hamster jealous.

For active kitties, there's a small obstacle course with rings and hurdles to test their agility.

Sylvia Fitzgerald, who breeds Phaulkon Abyssinians at her Solana Beach home, explained what cat lovers have in common.

“They're all nuts!” she said, laughing. “No, really, it's a hobby. We all love the cats.”

Jose Jimenez: (760) 737-7568; jose.jimenez@uniontrib.com

 »Next Story»