Heather is one of the many beautiful cats and kittens available to loving homes at the Clatsop County Animal Shelter. Photo by Don Anderson.

The anticipation’s killing me. And believe me, it’s not in my nature to get excited about things.

I’m what you’d call a pretty “cool customer.” Confronted with food, a new feather toy or even a bird in a tree outside, it’s my life’s work to look disinterested … disdainful even.

My name, by the way, is Divamama’s Little Girl Plumcake (Diva for short) and I’m a star, albeit of the feline variety. Oh, I’m a beauty all right. If I weren’t, I wouldn’t be strutting my stuff at events like the upcoming 13th annual Sunkat Feline Fanciers cat show at the Seaside Convention Center Saturday and Sunday, July 17 and 18. The theme this year is “Back to the Beach,” celebrating special moments from past shows.

Sunkats is an all-breed cat club out of Portland, affiliated with the Cat Fanciers Association, the largest registry of pedigreed cats in the world. There are currently 17 members from throughout Oregon and parts of Washington and California in Sunkats. From 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day of this event, breeders and cat lovers will gather to groom, show, ogle and otherwise pay tribute to cats – creatures once worshipped by that most discerning of civilizations, ancient Egypt.

“So what’s in it for me?” you ask. The question only confirms my long-held suspicion that cats are superior to humans in so many ways. I will, however, condescend to answer.

Where else could you see up to 18 different breeds of cats? There’ll be purebreds, housecats and types in between. For competition purposes, breeds are broken into subgroups and assigned class numbers often based on fur color, markings or related physical attributes – in this way, like competes with like. Humans seem to enjoy looking at these different “takes” on cats, surely one of nature’s most endearing species – a positively purrfect life form. Can’t say I blame them; we’re an awfully charismatic bunch.

Hailey Eagle-Abing of Astoria holds Skipper and Billy, kittens from the Clatsop County Animal Shelter. Photo by Don Anderson. I believe it was the genius Leonardo da Vinci who said, “The smallest feline is a masterpiece.” Well, at this show there’ll be roughly 225 masterpieces to be found on the Convention Center’s main floor. You’ll see cats without tails, cats with no hair and cats looking gorgeous, goofy or like they came from another planet … all for a mere $5 entry fee ($3 if you’re older than 60 or younger than 12). Such an event is not to be sniffed at, unless I’m the one doing the sniffing, of course.

You’ll want to check out the judging, too. Each breed is critiqued against a strict and exhaustive set of standards for breeders who “show” their animals. Some of their champions are valued at thousands of dollars. The standards have to do with everything from the shape of our eyes to our markings and musculature. The tiniest, most indistinguishable kink in a cat’s tail can lose points for or actually disqualify a competing animal.

Jody and Don Abing help organize the Cats at the Beach cat show on the second floor of the Seaside Convention Center. They also breed Persians and frequently show them at Sunkats events. Photo by Kate Giese. As you can probably tell, there’s practically nothing I don’t know about this stuff. Take CFA’s competition categories, for instance. They are: kitten, championship, premiership, provisional, miscellaneous, veteran and household pet. Eligibility criteria for a category considers things like whether or not an animal’s been fixed, its age or the status of its particular breed.

Say you’re a long-haired cat in a CFA-sanctioned household pet competition. The judge looks you over from head to tail, along with 10 or 20 other long-haired cats. A bevy of competing short-hairs will be similarly scrutinized. The field is then narrowed to the top 10, pulling from both groups at this point. While I’m typically modest to a fault, I will say that yours truly almost always takes home the grand prize at these affairs, leaving first and second runners-up to bask in the reflected glow of my magnificence. Whoever said it was lonely at the top was clearly not a cat.

Have you got a special feline at home? Come on down and enter your cat or kitten in a special show just for them. The second annual Cats at the Beach Household Cat Show takes place on the second floor of the Convention Center from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, July 17 only. (This show is not to be confused with the household pet competition that’s a regular part of the CFA cat show on the Center’s main floor.)

Check-in is at 9:30 a.m. The entry fee is $20, which also gets you into the main cat show downstairs. Organizers have even arranged for someone to cat-sit while you’re down there.

Net proceeds from the show will be used to help Clatsop Animal Assistance, a local nonprofit that assists the homeless and stray dogs and cats housed at the Clatsop County Animal Shelter.

Rae Zimmerling, CAA president, and her faithful band of volunteers will be in the Center’s lobby from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. both days with cats and kittens that are up for adoption. If you see one you’d like to adopt, just fill out an application, which can often be reviewed right there. The cost to adopt is $50 for kittens and $40 for cats. These fees pay for spaying or neutering and shots.

CFA All-Breed Judge Vicki Nye presents NW Catsafrats Royaltea, a Cream Point Persian male from California. Submitted photo by Linda Flanigan. CFA All-Breed Judge Pam Moser examines GC, RW Towleroad Knight in White Satin, a blue-eyed white Oriental Shorthair male. Submitted photo by Linda Flanigan. CFA All-Breed Judge Dennis Ganoe plays with Tyler (GC, NW KCDancers Eye-of-the-Tiger), a Silver Classic Tabby and White American Shorthair male bred and owned by Craig and Kathy Miller of St. Helens. Submitted photo by Linda Flanigan. CFA All-Breed Judge Jean Grimm presents Cali (GC, BW, NW Folie A Deux Supercalifragilistic), a Turkish Angora female, in her final. Submitted photo by Linda Flanigan. Exhibitor Neil Quigley and CFA All-Breed Judge Betty Denny with Voy (GC, BW, RW Wild Rain Voyageur of Tribal), a chocolate-spotted Ocicat male. Denny retired at the end of the 2009-2010 show season after 50 years as a cat show judge. Submitted photo by Linda Flanigan