If you're looking for a house pet, cats are just purrrfect

Judge Katharina Krenn judges a Bengal cat during the "My Stormy Valentine" cat show last month at the Lucas County Rec Center.

The Blade/Amy E. Voigt
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Judge Katharina Krenn judges a Bengal cat during the "My Stormy Valentine" cat show last month at the Lucas County Rec Center.

Looking for the purrrfect house pet? For a lot of people, it must be a cat. As kittens, they are cute and cuddly. When they grow out of that playful kitty stage, they observe the lay of the land, projecting an “I am the star here” attitude.

While cats generally expect to be pleased rather than to please, people love them. That was evident at the recent cat show at the Lucas County Recreation Center in Maumee, where some 250 pedigreed and mixed-breed cats appeared in the show. There were bengal, Savannah, Maine coon, Abyssianian, Persian, ragdoll, Snow Leopard bengal, Cornish rex, Scottish fold, khao manee, burmilla. and others, including what some might think of as just plain ol’ cats you see around strolling through a neighborhood.

PHOTO GALLERY: Click here for more photos of cuddly cats

Of course, cat lovers know well that their beloved felines bear hardly any likeness to that other four-legged household favorite: dogs. Generally speaking, cats have a way of presenting a sense of royalty. They often have something of a slinky sashay, carefully placing one paw in front of the other, as if they’re on a runway modeling haute couture on Seventh Avenue in Manhattan. With such chutzpah, the felines seem not to have a care in the world.

A 14-week old Silver Charcoal Bengal taking a snooze.

Dogs, however, usually zip about, wagging their tails, begging for attention, and aiming to please.

Their feline friends much prefer that you please them. Sometimes the two species are friends. The occasional scraps between them have given rise to the popular adage “fighting like cats and dogs.”

So whether yours is a pedigree or mix, whether you paid hundreds for it or rescued it from a shelter or from a basket of kitties that someone set on your front porch, there’s one thing cat-lovers know: They don’t own their cats. The cats own them.

Contact Rose Russell at: rrussell@theblade.com or 419-724-6178.