Daly City's Cow Palace — or rather, "Meow Palace," — is slated to become the biggest congregation of show cats this side of the Rockies in a three day takeover this weekend.
The San Francisco Cat Extravaganza returns to the Cow Palace for — you guessed it — all things feline-friendly. Contestants will be showing off the most refined cats in the region, with events MC'd by local drag queen and cat fanatic Heklina.
There will also be cat-accessory vendors, adoption booths from local animal shelters, introductions to cat breeds and more.
And yes, there will be rare cats. According to contest officials, there are over 30 registered bengals attending, plus ragdolls, minuets (cats with corgi-style legs), Maine coons and Norwegian forest cats, all strutting their stuff on the catwalk this Sunday.
Cat Extravaganza!
- Steven Meserve | LCWW
Get up close and personal with your favorite cat breeds in Kitty Corner.Â
- Steven Meserve | LCWW
- Steven Meserve | LCWW
- Steven Meserve | LCWW
- Steven Meserve | LCWW
Steven Meserve and his pal. Meserve serves as head of the The Meserve Foundation, committed to making a lasting impact on the worldwide cat rescue population.
- Steven Meserve | LCWW
Hairless cats? Oh yeah, they got that. See you in Boston on September 23 & 34.Â
- Steven Meserve | LCWW
- Steven Meserve | LCWW
A "Kitty Corner Stage" will feature a lineup of speakers and demonstrations. Attendees will be able to watch and learn from professionals on subjects such as cat grooming and what to consider when adopting a cat.
Competitors will be judged by standards established by Loving Cats Worldwide, the international cat equivalent of the American Kennel Club, which is headquartered here in The City.
There will be five judges every day, each appraising cats simultaneously — so if you're feeling the zoomies, there's plenty of action to see.
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Having lived in San Francisco for nearly 10 years, Steven Meserve, the founder of LCWW, is thrilled to be hosting such a large scale event.
This weekend's Cat Extravaganza will be the first large-scale event the LCWW has hosted in the country since the onset of the pandemic.Â
"It was always a goal for me to get the extravaganza to San Francisco, because it's kind of like our people, right?" he said. "It's kind of quirky."
For three days, over a hundred cats will be competing for titles like "best of breed" and "best kitten," with a final announcement on Sunday for "best in show." Each day, there will be five judges ranking breeds by age group and pedigree, plus a bonus category for local household pets.
For Meserve, this is just the beginning.
"It's my goal, now that we're getting a lot of visibility with the cats, to bring the cats to where they need to be. We're trying to flip the script a little bit," said Meserve. "We are doing something really different, bringing this to to the general public, which is important because the Cat Fancy, believe it or not, has existed for over 150 years."Â
