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November 27, 1999Fluffy Persian is purr-fect at international cat showEli, a neutered 16-pounder from Charlevoix, takes top honorsBy AUDREY McMULLENSpecial to the Record-Eagle CHARLEVOIX - The world's most beautiful pedigreed feline lives in a modest country farmhouse near here where he begins his day with breakfast, takes a nap, wakes for lunch, takes another nap, and "pretty much does what he pleases." Kris Vanderbeek's red Persian, nicknamed Eli, is the first premier (neutered) cat in the 12-year history of the Cat Fanciers' Association International Cat Show to win top honors. He scored higher than 1,300 other entries and got a unanimous nod from all six judges in the longhair category as well as the three "best of the best" judges. Eli seems unimpressed with it all as he bats at a feathered toy, unaware that the nine huge ribbons decking the wall in the living room are the equivalent in dog terms of sweeping Westminster. The CFA International was held in Kansas City, Mo., Nov. 19-21, where 33 pedigreed breeds were judged in kitten, championship, and premiership categories. "It was beyond my wildest dreams to win anything like this," said Vanderbeek, who had been on the phone all day granting interviews and accepting congratulations. "It was like a dream, this haze, I still don't have my feet on the ground. I hoped to place in the finals, but to win over 1,300 cats is a Cinderella story." Persian cats in assorted colors roam freely through Vanderbeek's house, lounging in tree platforms she built for them in the corner of the living room. Eli is kept apart - protected - from the others, especially the other males of Vanderbeek's breeding stock. This is his year to compete, and until his final show next April, he will spend his time being bathed, brushed, and powdered while on the road to accumulate enough points to be declared the best cat in the world for the year 2000. "This is how you win," Vanderbeek says. "You keep him well-groomed. All of the basics have to be there - structure, head, eyes - the grooming enhances what he has. Grooming is an art; it takes a long time. You start at a very young age to train him to be groomed, to sit still for bathing and brushing." Eli presently holds the No. 1 competitive ranking, and Vanderbeek says she's going to try to keep it that way. She has a good chance at it, if Donald Williams, president of the Cat Fanciers' Association, holds the prevailing opinion of Eli. "This gorgeous Persian is an excellent example of the breed," Williams said. "And while we had numerous beautiful cats - from Maine coons to Siamese - this Persian is the closest representation of its breed standard of any of the felines at our international show this year." The 2«-year-old Eli is 16 pounds of golden red fluff surrounding the typical Persian features: round head, tiny ears, big copper-colored eyes, short body, massive boning, short tail. Vanderbeek bought Eli as a kitten from a New York breeder. As Eli matured, however, it was discovered he had only one testicle - a genetic fault she could not allow to be passed on by breeding him. Eli was neutered, which usually puts animals out of the running in "best of show" competitions. But so perfect was Eli the genetic shortcoming was overshadowed and judges enthusiastically heaped him with "bests." "When I told his breeder, you had to pick him up off the floor," Vanderbeek says. "Only 12 cats in the world have had that honor." When Eli's big year is over, he gets to retire to simple pet status while Vanderbeek continues to breed and show other, up-and-coming Persians, hoping to raise another champion. |
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