Felines got their chance to strut their stuff at the Funtastic Felines, a show organized by the Feline Council of the Philippines, Inc. (FCPI) in celebration of the Coral jubilee (35th anniversary) of the World Cat Federation (WCF). Animal Scene had a chance to talk to FCPI President Rino Paez about this celebration.
WORLDWIDE CAT CLUB
According to their website, the WCF is a federation of Cat clubs founded in Brazil. They are currently registered in Germany. One of the organization’s responsibilities is to oversee the registration of catteries worldwide.
FCPI entered the WCF in 2018 and officially became a member in 2022.
FIRST IN THE PHILIPPINES
Rino shared his excitement about the Cat show, as this particular one is one of a kind. He explained how he made this event possible.
“This is the first Coral Jubilee Cat show in the Philippines. All of the member clubs of WCF can get special permission to organize a Coral Jubilee show because the title will only be given this year. They started giving the title as early as January; thus, many clubs want to provide it this year. There’s a sense of pride and excitement to see on their Cat’s papers that [the award] was given on a special occasion.
“When [FCPI] officially became a member, we got access to their judges and experts, and I have known them for the past three years, like Ms. Roskova from Estonia. I invited her recently because the judges were concerned that there were too many Cats to judge and requested a fourth one.”
There were a total of four judges in the Cat show.
THE NOVICE CLASS
There were around a hundred participants across 15 different breeds, which included the British Shorthair, Ragdolls, Abyssinians, Somalis, Bengals, Scottish Fold, and American Curl.
This show also gave a chance for Cats who looked like certain breeds to get their certification. A couple of the judges examined the Cat’s features, and if they agreed that they looked like that breed, the Cat would be given their papers.
NO CATS LEFT BEHIND
Here’s another reason why this Cat show is very important: the inclusion of Puspins. Three Puspins participated in the category.
It’s not every day that they could participate in such an event. Judging Puspins involved evaluating their general health and well-being, including whether they were neutered or spayed, had clear eyes and a shiny coat, and were generally healthy. As Rino put it, “A Cat does not need to be purebred to be a good Cat.”
FOR THE COMMUNITY
Rino said that part of the prizes that FCPI received from their sponsors would be given back to the community as a way to support different Cat groups who do feeding, trap-neuter initiatives, and release programs for Cats.
“We think that every Cat deserves a good home, and if they keep on multiplying, there are not enough homes to take care of them. So, we support a lot of Cat welfare groups to make sure that all Cats have a good life.”
