 The most simple concepts can become complex right before your eyes, especially when you are using your sociological line. We came to the Vancouver Island Cat Fancier Spring Show thinking we would spend an hour eat some cat lovers and explore the relationships with their cats. Several hours later we left, having learned that such shows require a wonderfully complex social context that has implications beyond the arena doors. His name is Raisin and he is a sphinx. He's what's considered the hairless cat. He has some hair, but very, very little. They're very warm to the touch, very soft. They feel like warm suede is what people tell me when they touch him. And sometimes they eat microphones too. This is a little oriental short hair. And what's his name? Her name is Princess Circe Noir. And you call her Circe? Circe was goddess in the Odyssey and she turned men into pigs. So we have to be careful. This is Harry Potter spelled H-A-I-R-Y-P-A-W-T-E-R, but we call him Muggles. This is my cat, or I am his person. This is Spike the Marshmallow. This is Keltoi's Desert Thunder, otherwise known as Thunder. He is a five-year-old male, he's just been neutered. He's a chocolate spotted, as you can see these wonderful spots. This is what we breed for. He's staples. He's a baby. This is my cat, Kabuka. He's a ragdoll, seal point and white. And he's six years old, so they still show as they get older. He's my best friend. I don't know, but take a good look. This may be one. They're very unique in that they're very monkey-like and you have to enjoy the monkey-ness about them. They're very busy, they're very active and they're extremely intelligent. They like to know what's going on around them. I think a cat person is the person that you see that shows joy in seeing a cat. A cat is an independent person in his own right and you see people who like that independence and those are the cat people. They like something unique and independent. Because they always talk about their cats and stuff like that. Most cat people are really happy. Scary cat clothes? Yeah. Yes. Of time. It's a person who is able to respect an animal for its individuality. Cats are independent in that they all have different personalities. Different in air. Most of the time in your food, on your furniture, on your clothes, everywhere. But if it's in your food, it's just a little extra roughage. You can't tell if someone is a cat person. If a cat person is outgoing and friendly like a cat, they're affectionate, they're open. Cats don't hold anything back. If they don't like you, they're going to let you know and a cat person will do that too. They're not happy with you. If they're meft at you, if they don't like you, they'll let you know. Cat hair, in my house I have a sign that says, two signs actually. I have one that says, the only self-cleaning thing in this house is the cat. And in this house, cat hair is a condiment. Cat people are usually soft-spoken and very slower moving, very gentle to touch the cats. And they're madly in love with them. They're usually wearing some kind of cat jewelry or a cat shirt. But usually you can tell by the fur that's all over their clothing. He's my big boy. Animal people are very friendly and caring people. They just are nice to animals as well as people. It's nice to deal with them. They're gentle. That's my opinion anyway. Raisin is two years old and he's a grand champion, having been on the show circuit for a little while. Yes, she's been best, second best, fourth. She's done different things in different rings. And he's doing very well. He's not too traumatized. He's just like, can I have a sleep now? I've had a rough weekend. He's a very cuddly kitty. He says, oh, I'm sniff, sniff. What do I smell? What is that? Oh, OK. He's going to talk. What are you going to say? Lacey did very well. She got four finals yesterday. And I think she's got two today. And I think he's got two or three today and a couple yesterday. So I think it's five to four in her favor. A household pet is a cat with either no pedigree or papers or a purebred cat that has some fault that prevents it from being shown in the purebred class, whether it is a body fault, an eye fault, which is the color, a kinked tail. Or there's one here, or there's a couple here, that just don't have papers. They can't get the papers. So then you can't be shown as a household as a purebred. Spike is almost four years old. He'll be four years old on the 12th of May. He's a brown mackerel, tabby, and white, which is the pattern. Wonderful temperament, lovely, lovely boy. Absolutely delightful cat. With purebred cats, they are looking for the breed standard. With household pet, it really boils down to a beauty contest. They look at personality. Is the cat playful, affectionate? Are they healthy? That's a very important thing. They have to be clean coats, healthy coats. You want a friendly cat. And also, finally, the bottom line with household pet, it's judge's choice. If the judge likes this cat, the judge will pick this cat. There is no breed standard. The judges actually say they like household pet judging the best, because it's what they like. The original recipe is Abyssinian and Simeese. And then they add a little American short hair. So now we get 12 color combinations. So whatever your room is like, we can get you a cat to match. He is the most popular color. He is a chocolate. They play forever. They are the biggest sucks, the biggest toys, the biggest games. They're a busy cat. They're very affectionate. They'll be close by you no matter what you're doing. They want to be part of your life. It's done very well. Very well. We're very pleased. Specific efforts are required to produce a show. Money is important to putting on the show. Fundraising is certainly a part of organizing the show. Volunteer efforts are also needed to make a show happen. Officers of the chapter did a lot of behind the scenes work. In addition, while judges did get paid, their clerks were volunteers who kept the show running on schedule. Other efforts were needed as well, including performance of tedious jobs or cleaning cages or tallying scores. To accomplish these efforts, both formal and informal organization is in place. These social organizations provide more than a chance for cat owners to show off their feline friends and have a friendly competition. It's a club that's affiliated with the American Cat Fancers Association, which is a worldwide club or association. And we are the local club for Victoria, and we put on two shows a year. Island Cat Fancers has been around for a while. They're a great club to be with. American Cat Fancers is a great organization. And I encourage everybody that can to come out to a show and have a look and see what it's all about. My name is Tara Burstick, and I'm the influencer account manager for IAMS Canada. My territory is British Columbia. So one of my main functions is to sponsor events. So dog shows and cat shows. And I look after the consumer shows as well. So we chose to be here with the Cat Fancers Association to help them along with their event. A great deal of money involved. It costs us around $16,000 to put on a show. We have to pay for the judge's fees to judge and their airplane tickets to get here and their hotel expenses and food while they're here. They're fabulous. They have such love and attention for their animals. And they care so much about their breeds and the success of their breeds. And they love to compete. And they love to be recognized. And we're really proud to be a part of the show this weekend. When people want to enter their cats, they mail them into me. I have to input them into the system, make sure that their colors are right, their gender's right, their classes are right, send confirmation back to the people, and then make any changes in the catalog. Tell me how you got roped into sitting up here taking people's money. This was one of the best jobs of the thing, believe me, because it's either cleaning cages, sitting beside a judge all day, or handing people drinks. I think I like this one better. People contribute. For instance, IAM's Cat Food contributed a great deal of money to help us put on the show. But breeders often contribute, too, to the show. Contributed financially. And we're here in support of the breeders. So while I'm here, I'll give out food and samples. And I'll talk to them about any particular educational issues they might have a concern with. Distribution of the product, even. And new products, we've got a new product that we're showcasing at this show, the salmon flavor. So just anything concerning their business I like to assist them with. We have to have all this equipment to put on the show. And so it costs us this great deal of money. People will come to me and make changes if they need to make them in the catalog. I also double check what the judges put down on their sheets. And I make two copies of the catalogs here. One for us as a permanent copy for the club. And one goes back to ACFA head office for them to put the results into their program. At the end of the show, they have the best of the best awards. But I've created a spreadsheet in Excel that helps you with that to do all the adding. Since we also have household pets category, which is a very popular category, we are including all cats. And we want people to understand that today's cats need a great deal of care. Having such a group in a community like the Greater Victoria area is a real asset to the larger community. This was made clear this particular show because of a tragic fire only a few blocks from the sports center. On the second day of the show, a fire broke out at a four-story apartment building near the arena. A number of pets were in the building. Several cats were lost due to smoke inhalation. This is the second time in less than two years this apartment complex in Esquimalt has been hit by fire. Fire officials have yet to determine the cause of this latest blaze that broke out just before five o'clock this morning. Officials say they were on scene within six to eight minutes after receiving the call and upon arrival began the rescue operation. And we had a lot of people who were on the balconies and required rescuing right away because the interior means of egress was no longer tenable. This was Esquimalt's first major blaze since the municipality decided to go with a standalone fire department at the beginning of the year. Even hours after the blaze, the area is still cordoned off as the investigation continues. In total, 30 firefighters battled this inferno. Mutual aid was provided by View Royal and the Department of National Defense. And today, Esquimalt's mayor is applauding the efforts. You just proved that it worked, didn't we? And yes, it is extremely satisfying that people are hung in there with us to make it happen. So obviously, no regrets about joining with Victoria. We'd still be waiting to take them seven to nine minutes to get the second vehicle over. Several of the island cat fanciers went to the building to help rescue the cats. The cat fanciers provided temporary cages and food for the rescued cats, as well as a dry place for the cats' owners to stay till the fire was over and arrangements could be made for alternative shelter. A raffle was organized at the show, raising money to help the SPCA take care of the rescued cats, giving their owners peace of mind. These efforts were quick, decisive, and effective. I'm coordinating an effort to try and help some of the cats from across the street from our venue that have been burnt out. The SPCA was in there early this morning, rescuing some cats, and unfortunately, some that didn't make it. We're trying to help out the people that did the cats that did make it. We're collecting up money and food and any donations that we can get. We're also raffling off a scratching post. My understanding, speaking with the SPCA, is that these people will be probably unable to find housing for two to three weeks. Coordinators and volunteers with the Esquimalt Victoria Emergency Social Services were quick to respond as well, bringing the evacuees, some of them still in their house coats, here to the Esquimalt Rack Center. The Salvation Army beacon bus is here to provide food. We will be finding accommodation for them and providing them with basic needs for the next 72 hours. A gentleman came over this morning that I found in the rain, who had his cat out in the rain was waiting for his other cat to be rescued. He came in basically his pajamas and house coat. The cat was 15 years old, and it was out in the rain, and he had nowhere to take her. We took her in, we placed her out and got her dried off, had a vet look at her, and we are trying as hard as we can to get as much food and as much money as possible to help the SPCA with the cats that have been rescued. I do know from the SPCA that as of about an hour ago, they had at least nine, perhaps 11, cats that had not been claimed yet that they were taking to the shelter on Burnside and that they would, of course, that is going to put a heavy weight on the SPCA, and that's what we're trying to help with. Let's start by having you tell us your name, your title, and some of your duties here at the SPCA. OK, my name's Penny Stone, and I am the office manager of the Victoria Branch of the BC SPCA. Am I job entails taking care of all the welfare of the animals, making sure the operations of the branch on a day-to-day basis run correctly? So what happened to all the cats from the fire? Well, we ended up housing 23 cats, seven we got that didn't make it through the fire, but the 23, we returned them all to their own homes. That's good. What kind of services did you offer them here? We did free room and board, we did all the medical for the animals, we vaccinated them, we did all their, we did their shots, we actually spayed and neutered some of the ones for the people who couldn't afford it because they were in financial straits as it was with their places burning down, and we had a lot of help from the cat fanciers. What did they do to help you out? They donated tons and tons of cat items, such as lots of litter, lots of food, lots of cat carriers, plus they took up a donation at the cat fancier show, and they did over $400 worth of cash to help us with all the stuff we did for the people. You're always open to taking in animals when people are in, if we get people that have had fires in their homes, or people are in car accidents or they have strokes or anything, we take the animals in and we care for them, and we've been really lucky with the community stepping forward and helping us in this area. How do you feel that made your job easier? Oh, it made our job immensely easier. We only had two people that could go out to the fire, and there was probably 20 people from the cat fanciers who pitched in and helped and took care and drove the animals back and forth and helped calm them. Animals that are caught in that kind of a situation are very, very stressed, and you need a very calming influence instead of just a bunch of screaming people, so the cat fanciers, they knew what to do, they know that type of animal, what it needs, and they helped us immensely. You said that all the cats from the fire have been returned to their original owners. Yes, all of the owners came forward. So six months later, what are your reflections on the fire? I just thought it was great that the way the people, everyone in the community chipped in, especially the cat fanciers, there are people who deal with breed-specific cats, but they didn't care. They came and they helped all the stray cats, they helped all the homeless cats, and they just pitched in and helped, and it was a really nice reflection on the society. Have you been in contact with them since then? Do you keep up with what's going on with the Vancouver Island Cat Fanciers Club or the individuals or anything like that? The president of the cat fanciers, we're actually gonna put a booth in her show this month. She's been coming by and she checks on, she actually has kept in contact with many of the families that, whose cats they rescued that day. A couple of them mentioned that they'd gone to the site of the fire and offered real-time assistance. They did, they were very good in helping get some of the animals out and calm some of the animals down. Well, is there anything else you'd like to add? Please, spay anew to your cats and dogs. There's way too many of them out there without homes. Lighted Judson Hannafin first used the term social capital in 1916 in his discussions of rural school community centers. Hannafin was particularly concerned with the cultivation of Goodwill Fellowship, sympathy and social intercourse among those that make up a social unit. It's a club that's affiliated with the American Cat Fanciers Association which is a worldwide club or association and we are the local club for Victoria and we put on two shows a year. Hannafin would say that the cat fanciers developed social capital because of the roles they were willing to play within their organization and most particularly at a specific show. I also double check what the judges put down on their sheets and I make two copies of the catalogs here, one for us as a permanent copy for the club and one goes back to ACFA head office for them to put the results into their programs. More recently, the concept of social capital has been explored by Robert Putnam in his book, Bowling Alone. Putnam asserts that social networks are created to strengthen social bonds that are available within a community. We're trying to help out the people that did the cats that did make it. We're collecting up money and food and any donations that we can get. We're also raffling off a scratching post. The coincidence of the fire with the cat show demonstrated Putnam's meaning quite well because the community can instantly draw upon the existing social organization. Everyone in the community chipped in, especially the cat fanciers. There are people who deal with breed specific cats but they didn't care. They came and they helped all the stray cats, they helped all the homeless cats and they just pitched in and helped and it was a really nice reflection on the society. If the cat fanciers had stayed at home admiring their cats, never ventured into a social realm connecting with other cat lovers, the situation of the fire would have been worse for both the cats and their owners. This documentary was made in honor of all the cats we have known and most especially the one to whom we currently belong. So his name is honoring.