CASSOPOLIS — The owners of cats competing in the Youth Pee Wee and Cloverbud Cat Show on Thursday morning learned about unique markings found on their cats from the judge.

Kenley Weston, 9, named her white and black cat Tuxedo four years ago when she got him, but she had no idea the judge would confirm the markings on her cat actually are called a tuxedo until the cat show.

“We did not know that,” said Weston’s mother, Kristi.

Weston, of Niles, has been part of Legacy 4-H club for four years now and showed Tuxedo as a Cloverbud at last year’s cat show. This year, Tuxedo was surrounded by ribbons and trophies by the end of the competition including grand champion best overall cat of the show, grand champion of the long-haired breed and the beginner cat showmanship title.

Weston said the hardest part of showing her cat to the judge was making Tuxedo push his claws out and answering questions.

“The judge asked me his name and why I named him Tuxedo,” Kenley said.

The day before the cat show, Kenley had been showing her goats in the youth goat show, but showing her cat is easier, she said.

“They have to check his teeth for tartar, his ear for ear mites, and there’s an actual presentation that she’s been working on for weeks,” Kristi said of her daughter’s preparation. “They have to show the judge its feet, how long its tail is and what kind of characteristics the cat has.”

Outside of showing her cat at the fair, Kenley said she pushes Tuxedo around in a baby stroller and plays with Tuxedo’s sister, named Oreo. Both kittens were from the same litter, and when the Weston family went to buy their cat Oreo, they decided they could not leave Tuxedo behind, Kristi said.

Kenley’s role model in 4-H, Layla True, of Dowagiac, a fellow feline showmanship competitor, was also participating in the cat show hosted in the basement of the Agnes Gregarek Community Building.

True showed her cat, named Ranger, who she rescued two years ago from a Future Farmers of America barn when he was just a few weeks old. He was living in a barn with pigs, and True took him under her wing after being unsure if he would make it, she said.

“We gave it our best shot,” True said. “He still has problems, and we have to keep up on him.”

Before True rescued Ranger, she showed the cat superintendent’s cats for two years in the show and practiced the showing routine in her head, making the showmanship aspect not too difficult anymore, she said.

“Just remembering the little tips and tricks to set you apart is important,” she said. “I still practice. It’s just memorizing the order and before I go I look at it.”

Every year, True looks forward to the cat show after a few days of showing her other animals, including dogs, draft horses, sheep and swine. Each of them she finds different and difficult for their own reasons, she said, as she held her grand champion cat showman trophy and first place short haired breed ribbon.

Ranger was not the only rescue cat to win big at the cat show. Siblings Camryn and Cade Tyrakowski each showed several cats they have been fostering at their home in Elkhart. Soon, the siblings said they will be moving to Edwardsburg, along with their 19 cats, 13 of which they are fostering for Here Kitty Kitty Rescue, Camryn said.

Camryn’s cat, Lucy, who used to be a foster cat but has been adopted by the Tyrakowski family, won the reserve champion best overall cat of show.

“Lucy was being pretty mad today,” Camyrn said. “She sometimes gets really feisty.”

During the showing, the judge was quick to note that Lucy is part Siamese. 

Each of the siblings showed three different cats they own and said they are excited to return next year to compete against each other. 

“There’s a little bit of a competition, but sometimes I’ll just laugh at him,” Camryn said.