The places my cats have taken me...

Every day I muse about the funny things that happen daily with these amazing animals at my side.  My husband and I have begun to laugh as we recount the places we end up - all because of the cats. From 3am emergency vet waiting rooms with vending machine lattes in our hands, to random trips across the border for cat shows and flights clear across the country to meet cats coming to live with us from places like Spain or the Czech Republic... these are places we likely would otherwise have not found ourselves in, had it not been for our bengals. 

Just this past April, Sam and I looked at each other as we sat beside each other with our coffees in hand in front of Solo's show cage and said, "How the heck did we end up in a barn on some old fairgrounds in Enumclaw WA?"... seriously, would we have EVER ventured into this territory had it not been hosting a cat show that we needed to attend in order to title Solo?  I don't think so. But there we found ourselves - along with our two (thrilled) WiFi-less teenagers. It was a quaint little town, with quiet streets, lined with trees, a local library, several churches. It was an interesting place to visit for sure, and we would never have gone, had we not had our bengals.  

We can't always be on the move of course, as there are times that our non-furry children need us around, or one of our queens is expecting a litter - oh, and there's that other thing called "work" that must be undertaken Monday to Friday in order to carry on with this crazy cat extravaganza!  But I have to admit, it's a bit of a thrill to just pack up and take off for the next cat show or to pick up the next kitten for our breeding program when we are able to make it work.  The cats give us an excuse to head off to places we've never been and meet people we wouldn't have otherwise met. There's definitely value added because of this - even if it's just the time we are forced to spend in the car together chatting and catching up on life. 

We'll be travelling down to Tacoma this month for the big NW Regional show where we will attend our first awards banquet with all of the other cat folk. I'm looking forward to meeting some of the best breeders in the region, along with the entertaining ring clerks, and amazingly tolerant and energetic cat judges. This cat breeding and showing business is a real "trip", that's for sure.  

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