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Inside The Cat Show Live: How a Small Team Built a Cat Community · Paws Between Us - Pet Stories, Welfare and Building A Bond

0:00
Welcome to the Paws Between Us podcast, co-hosted by best friends
0:03
Natalie and Sasha. We're lifelong animal lovers and
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proud pet parents, and between us we share our lives with our
0:12
lovely cats Weaver and Murray and Betty the pug.
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In each of our episodes, we'll dive into the joys and challenges of living with
0:19
our furry companions, sharing honest stories, laughter, and maybe some
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tears. We'll also bring in special guests, to offer expert-backed
0:28
tips and proven practices for keeping your pets happy, healthy, and loved.
0:33
Hello, Natalie. How you doing? Hiya.
0:36
Hiya, Sasha. Yeah, I'm all right. Thank you. Not too bad. Good, good.
0:40
How are you? Pussycats? All all right.
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Yeah, both are doing all right. No new changes,
0:47
challenges particularly. I bought them some new toys
0:50
because I felt like there's an occasion when I'm
0:54
busy And kind of don't get round to playing with them every day,
0:59
or as much as I would like. So, I bought them some mechanical toys to
1:03
try and entertain them for a little bit. And it feels like it's like a
1:07
version of dog TV we talked about before. It's like cat TV. They just sort
1:10
of watch them. They don't particularly get too engaged and excited,
1:14
but they're like watching them and patting occasionally. But it keeps, I suppose it,
1:19
you know, exercises their brains and makes them feel a little bit more excited.
1:23
But we bring them out and then I put them back and then I bring
1:25
more Or with some of my other toys that have got catnip in, like put
1:29
them out for like 20 minutes and then put them back in the cupboard.
1:33
So it's something different. Oh, that's cute. Mixing stuff up.
1:36
Yes. I wonder if you'll see a pattern there about when they particularly like to
1:40
play with the toys, because I know with dogs and like with Betty, she gets
1:44
really excited after she's had her food.
1:46
So. Oh yeah. That's a good time because then she's sort of barking for
1:50
more food and instead we get the toys out and she kind of plays with
1:54
the toys and gets distracted with the toys rather than focused on having more food.
1:56
So it's like, no, you've had your bowl of food,
2:00
now let's play with a toy. Oh, that's a good idea. Rather than giving you
2:03
more food. So yeah, you kind of get into a bit of a pattern of
2:06
playing at certain times and then them coming to expect it. But I know
2:10
that's more dogs, I'm not sure about cats. No, I think that's the same with
2:14
cats, they like a routine. So potentially, we used to play with them
2:17
when it's, when it's not been so hot, we normally play with them at nighttime,
2:20
but like not sort of just before bed-ish, like an hour before
2:24
bedtime, because I always read that if you sort of tire them out before the
2:29
evening, they're less likely to wake us up. I mean, our cats are dead good
2:32
and never wake us up really in the night, so it's not like we need
2:35
to do that. But yeah, I wanted to build something else in the daytime because
2:39
they're sort of just lazing around a bit and it'd be quite nice to sort
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of get them a bit more active. And you're right, like, yeah, after food time,
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they both really want to kind of go in the garden often. So if we're
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not able to do that, maybe we could do the toy. Yeah, there you go.
2:52
There's an idea for you. Now, how's Betty
2:56
and yourself? Yes, we are good. We took part in the
3:00
local dog show recently to raise money for a dog charity.
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And Betty won Best Golden Oldie, which was, you know,
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I had a super proud pet parent moment there.
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Aw. There wasn't actually many older dogs in the
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competition, so. Don't say that. Well, I know, I don't wanna diminish her
3:21
winning, but yeah, I know it was just an observation 'cause I
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thought, oh, there's lots of younger dogs, lots of puppies. There's always like
3:29
the competition entries around waggliest tail or
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best trick or yeah. Yeah. So yeah, Betty Goldeneyes,
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that was really nice. We got a little goodie bag. She got a rosette and
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we had a nice photo. So yeah, I was very proud,
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bless her. That's really sweet. I sort of wheeled her into
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the, into the ring, as it were, in her stroller.
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And everyone was like, oh, look at her, look at her in her
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little stroller. And that's the first time actually I've had people sort of
4:03
looking and understanding why she was in
4:06
the stroller, because they made the association with her
4:09
being older and being in a stroller. And yeah,
4:13
people were quite kind about it. Whereas normally when we're out and about, it's sometimes
4:16
hard to tell from Betty that she's She is a bit older, so I
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think I've mentioned this before, you get all the comments about, oh, isn't she lazy?
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Or does she not want to walk? Or look at that pampered pooch.
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Or people just looking a bit horrified as if to say, why are you pushing
4:32
your, your dog around in a stroller? So it was the first time
4:37
where most people, or people attending, did make the association.
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They were like, oh, bless her, you know, she's obviously struggling to walk.
4:46
Yeah. So that was quite nice. But, um, we're gearing up for the cat show,
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aren't we? What this episode is dedicated
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to. Yeah. The cat show live in Birmingham in September, and we've just bought
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our tickets, so we're super excited, aren't we? We're very excited to go.
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I mean, it's been a, I think I went to a cat show absolutely years
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ago, which wasn't this one. Didn't realise, but it wasn't this one.
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This is a new one that I think started 3 years ago, I think.
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But I went to one years ago where it was competitive and there was some
5:14
kind of showing going on and, you know, a bit like Crufts.
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And although I liked it because I got to see all the different kinds of
5:21
cats and they were all kind of like hanging around and you got to sort
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of, yeah, see all the different types of breeds. I didn't particularly like the competitive
5:29
element. I don't like judging an animal based on its looks against another animal.
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Not for me. So, I didn't go back, but I'm very excited about this one
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because it isn't competitive. I think it's a bit more about welfare and
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good animal practice and cat love.
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So, yeah, I'm looking forward to it because I think I've heard there's, well,
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there's quite a few stalls there, so I'm on the lookout for like,
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yeah, enrichment, like toys that we talked about, maybe some sort of supplements
5:56
for the cats, and maybe considering looking at
6:00
food as well, because I'm trying to think about new dry
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biscuits for our kitties. So, and then yeah, just doing a bit of networking.
6:07
We might find some brilliant people who we can interview. So that's
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gonna be really exciting. I know, definitely, because it sounds like it's this sort of
6:15
centralised hub for all things cat-related. So it's bringing everything
6:19
together under one roof. So cat charities, and retailers
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and yeah, just basically the cat
6:27
community or the UK cat community. So yeah, I've never
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been to anything like this before. As you know, I've been to Crufts before,
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but only once. So I don't know what to expect, but I'm really excited.
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So I'm gonna go along with you as your sidekick and help you sniff
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out some toys and enrichment things.
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So yeah, I— If anyone's there, come and find
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us. Yes. Yeah. I mean, that's it, isn't it? We're looking forward to chatting to
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people in the the cat community, learning a bit more about the different
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organisations and initiatives that are very much dedicated to welfare
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of cats and also celebrating cats in all their
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forms. Because yes, I'm a dog mum, but I still love cats very
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deeply. So yeah, I'm really
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excited. So yeah, we're looking forward to chatting, aren't we,
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today to Samantha Marsh.
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Yes. Yeah. Her and her husband are co-founders of
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The Cat Show Live, and We recently got introduced to them through another
7:28
contact who was very kind to make the connection. So, and yeah,
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Sam was very keen to come on and talk to us, which is brilliant because
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everyone's been so supportive in the animal world so far and we've had some great
7:39
guests. So yeah, looking forward to talking to Samantha or Sam
7:43
more about all about The Cat Show and what she does, who she is,
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why it, why it was set up and what they're hoping to achieve.
7:50
So yeah, it'd be brilliant. So, we'll talk to her in a second. Shall we
7:54
invite her in now, or? Yeah, let's, let's do it. Yeah, no, I'm really looking
7:57
forward to speaking to her and learning more. Wicked. Right.
8:02
Over we go.
8:12
Okay. Welcome to another episode of Pause Between Us.
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We're very privileged to have with us Samantha Marsh.
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She's half of a husband and wife team, co-founders of The Cat Show
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Live, now in its 3rd year, coming to the Birmingham NEC.
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Sam, in her past life, has been a breeder of Maine Coons and also other
8:31
cat business ventures, which she will tell you more about herself. But we
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were kindly introduced by Kitty City, a previous guest
8:39
on our podcast. So thank you for coming, Sam, and welcome.
8:42
How are you? I'm great. Bit hot at the moment,
8:45
but— Yeah, we're in the middle of that heatwave again, aren't we?
8:49
No, absolutely delighted to be here and thank you for the invitation.
8:52
Looking forward to it. Oh, it's all a pleasure's all ours. I mean, so tell
8:57
our guests a little bit about yourself, your background, and kind of why you have
9:01
got to your new life here with working with cats.
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Goodness me. I'll try and keep it short and sweet and to the point.
9:08
Originally I was a tennis coach for 25 years and quite appropriate
9:12
at the moment, but yes. So I've always owned cats and
9:17
dogs. All the way through my life, growing up with the animals. And I ended
9:21
up owning a Maine Coon cat with my previous partner. And I ended
9:24
up a breeder and showing and travelling around the world with the Maine Coons,
9:28
which I absolutely loved for 10 years. Alongside that, I had
9:32
a side hustle where I ended up designing and developing a business
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called Tigger Towers, which still runs today, 17 years old,
9:40
is known as TT Luxury Cat Towers. And that was because I
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saw there was a gap in the market for scratching posts that stood up,
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particularly to Maine Coons. Because they're the largest domestic
9:51
breed. Over the years, having showed,
9:55
competed, travelled, been a breeder, cat owner, and then
9:59
running a business, attending events like crafts,
10:02
trade events with my business, I felt there was a gap
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in the market. And I ended up having a chat with
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my husband and saying, I really think there's a gap in the market for an
10:13
event that covers education
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of cats, supports ethical breeders and talking
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about their journeys and, and the pedigree cats and, and the show
10:23
side of things, but also the health and welfare of cats.
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And then connecting to rescues, smaller rescues in the UK,
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and bringing all that together with an educational event and
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tying it into the most amazing shopping for cats. So amazing.
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Originally. We used to say we were the Crufts for
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cats, but without the competition. Okay. And I think,
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yes, on a scale, it, it's, we are smaller version
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of Crufts in the sense that there's 300 cats at the venue
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on the day. There's 100 retail shops, there's 3 educational
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theatres, but it's, it is so much more than that. And there's no competition.
11:03
So it, it's very different in that sense.
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Amazing. Yeah. So, so. I mean, it must be
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quite a task to put together something like
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the Cat Show Live involving a lot of people, I imagine, a lot of logistics.
11:17
How are you kind of finding that? I mean, you're 3 years in now,
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so is it becoming a bit easier? Have you got like a, you know,
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a diary of contacts or is that growing? How's, how's things going?
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We had no event experience. We'd never even put on a competitive cat
11:31
show. So when I sat down with myself and Pete and
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we had a chat about it and we wrote the business plan, we had literally
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no experience and People think we're delivering our 3rd event this year. So a lot
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of people think we're 3 years old. We're actually only, we're not even 2 and
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a half years old yet. So we delivered our first event, 24, uh,
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in 6 months. So from pushing the button to, to the delivery
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date was 6 months. So we've learned an awful lot
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along the way. We've made a lot of mistakes,
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but the event has tripled in growth.
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So we've gone from 3,000 visitors to around 6,000 visitors
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this year with, uh, year 1 was just over 5,000 square metres and
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this year's 10,000, 10,500 square metres. Excellent.
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So, and yeah, it's just grown massively.
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So we'll still get problems and we're still learning. Yeah.
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Yeah. Where does this come from? Because it would take quite a lot to organise
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something like that and know the, you know, the right things to do, the right
12:33
contacts to make. How, where's, has this always been in your background? Have you
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always sort of got this business mind or? Something you just learned on the job
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and kind of had to pick it up? I think, I think if you were
12:44
to ask my husband Pete that question, he would say that she's the networker who
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goes and gets into trouble. What happens is I just end up talking to everybody
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and then I get into trouble and then I walk away and say, can you
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deliver it? Right. Brilliant. That's my job as well. Yeah. And then he's
12:59
left to pick all the pieces up and get us organized.
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But I think because I was a breeder,
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I was obviously a cat owner and I understood the breeding side and the competing
13:08
side from a competitive side. And I only ever worked with the cats
13:13
that actually genuinely enjoyed doing a show.
13:16
Having run the business in the pet industry sector as well,
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I saw it from different sides. So we
13:24
are not an event media business because we
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don't come from that background. Yeah. So we brought the network in because we had
13:31
the contacts and the relationships. What we didn't have was the actual physical event
13:36
experience of building a show, footfall, fire plan.
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Risk assessments. So we've had to lean into
13:43
that, but the network we were very lucky with. Yeah,
13:46
and I suppose that's stuff you can learn, but that kind of networking, building contacts,
13:51
making connections is probably the thing that is more difficult to learn. You've obviously
13:55
been great at kind of finding the right people to support this. You mentioned the
13:59
show is committed to educating ethical
14:02
and responsible cat ownership, but can you talk a little bit more about how you're
14:07
sort of doing that. Yeah, so we stand by our mission statement,
14:10
which is RECO, which is Responsible Educated Cat Ownership.
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And that was always the line and the tag that sits behind everything
14:18
that we do. And, and to do that, the event,
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we wanted to deliver a theatre with a lot of speakers,
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and those speakers would cover topics like grooming,
14:30
nutrition, veterinary or health aspects,
14:33
holistic treatments, dental. So we,
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we wanted to bring together experts in their fields in the feline medicine
14:41
world and provide those talks in an educational, but, but an
14:45
interactive environment. So our talks in our theatres,
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we started with one theatre and this year we've got 3 theatres. Oh,
14:53
they're jam-packed all day, which is amazing.
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And I don't think we quite expected them to be as busy as, as,
14:59
as they are, but, but they're so popular because You're not sitting
15:02
there for an hour just listening to somebody talking. What you're doing is
15:06
you're hearing an interactive presentation for 15 to 20 minutes,
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and then the floor opens up for questions. And then if you don't feel
15:15
confident or you don't get a chance to answer a question, that speaker is in
15:18
the show for the rest of the day, so you can go and talk to
15:21
them. So, it's very much about a community and
15:24
connections, and that's what's built
15:29
the Cat Show Live. Amazing. It's become very much a community and bringing everybody
15:34
together on that day. I like that. Just to
15:38
come in there then on the education piece, I mean, with the community,
15:41
what sort of trends are you seeing or what are the things that are on
15:44
people's minds within the community at the moment that they want to learn more about?
15:49
So that's a really interesting question because the trends are changing all the time.
15:52
Yeah. And I think one of the biggest ones that we've faced and is a
15:56
real interesting one is the nutritional side and what do our or don't
16:00
I feed my cats? Because what we've seen recently
16:03
in the last year is the advent of raw and fresh.
16:07
Yes. Steamed cooked foods and broths are coming in now as well
16:11
as a way of hydration and extra vitamins. Then you've
16:15
got your holistic veterinary treatments as well. So we're seeing changes
16:19
in those trends. So, and that's the reason we've brought the second and
16:23
now the third theatre areas in because There are so many things
16:26
we want to cover, but we can't do it all in a few hours
16:30
on the day. So we're just doing as much as we can on a cross-section
16:34
throughout that day. No, I think, I think that's it, isn't it? I mean,
16:38
the stuff that Nat and I have been reading around is that sort of that
16:42
growing trend around wanting to feed your pets high-quality
16:47
nutritious food, just like you, you will have for your own diet
16:50
and what you, you know, your own expectations of nutrition is that,
16:54
you know, gone are the days of just feeding your pet any old You
16:58
know, consumers and pet owners are a lot more mindful of that now about what,
17:01
what goes into pet food. But there is so much on the market, like you
17:05
say, it's hard to know where to start. Yeah, it's a massive market.
17:09
And, and it's interesting to see that more and more of your higher-end brands are
17:13
pushing into the supermarkets as well. So your days
17:17
of, for example, Whiskas and Purina being the only
17:21
choices necessarily, or Felix, in the supermarkets, it's changing
17:25
and you're seeing your Scumbles, your Untamed as
17:28
brands that are moving into those supermarkets and capturing
17:32
those segments to give owners that choice.
17:36
But it's also confusing, as you said, Sasha,
17:39
it's, well, how do you know what's right? Very much so. Yeah.
17:43
I mean, as a cat owner, I'm overwhelmed with choice and
17:47
what is the right thing to do for my cat. And you get people who
17:49
advocate for the science-based food, and then there's people who want the kind
17:54
of more natural stuff. Stuff, and then there's like the raw diet. And I just
17:57
kind of wish sometimes that my cats weren't as fussy as they are and they
18:01
were like dogs and would just eat anything, because I would love to get them
18:03
onto a more healthier diet, but it is a nightmare with them.
18:07
And then I'm like, oh, I need one with furballs, I need one with teeth,
18:10
I need one with urinary, and it's so overwhelming with all
18:14
these different types and different quality in all of them. I'm just like,
18:17
I can't. In some ways as an owner, I wish it was
18:21
simplified a little bit actually, and I kind of hope it kind of comes around
18:24
a little bit. Choice is brilliant actually, But I do want, I suppose I
18:29
want better information. So actually another podcast for us would be good on nutrition.
18:32
Um, absolutely. Dig into that. Absolutely. No, definitely. It's a whole
18:36
subject in its own right. And it's one of the things that we've built because
18:40
the event started, we've almost done this backwards.
18:43
So we've, we've rather than building the community and the platform
18:48
online and the seminars and that side first, we went straight
18:51
in and did the event. As a colleague of mine said to me, she said,
18:55
you went out and flew Concorde. You didn't go and learn to fly, you just
18:57
went out and flew Concorde straight away. And it's a very good analogy. Good for
19:01
you. Yeah, in fact,
19:07
it was actually Amanda at Kitty City who said it. So she said to me
19:11
in one of them— yeah, that she's been a big supporter.
19:14
She's like, she's just like, the trouble with you, Sam and Pete, is she said,
19:16
you just went out and flew Concorde straight away. I was like, well,
19:20
If you're going to do it, you've got to do it at the main venue
19:24
and, and, and to get to the audience. But coming back to what we were
19:27
just talking about with the nutrition, the, the platform, as we grow the
19:31
platform and the, the brand directory that we have,
19:34
we're building these directories where we're bringing these brands onto the
19:38
platform. Now we don't sell the food. We're not being an Amazon from that side
19:41
of things. But what we're doing is we're giving all those brands a platform that
19:45
the community and the public can land on. There's no charge for
19:49
it, and they can see those different foods. And as we build that, we'll then
19:52
be able to do the educational pieces on feeding my cat
19:56
dry, feeding my cat raw, I need a veterinary diet, and we can start
20:00
covering and building that information on there. Amazing. So rather than just being available
20:05
at the event, it becomes year-round access to those
20:09
resources. And when a new brand comes on the market,
20:12
then we can bring them to the front and we can talk about what's good
20:16
about them, what you're getting from them, and just help someone like yourself, Nat,
20:20
understand that better. And then you can make the choices that are right for you
20:24
and your cat. Yeah, that's great to hear that you are thinking
20:28
very businesslike and kind of trying to support the community in more than just
20:32
an event, a one-off annual event. There's other things that you're building
20:35
around it. And one of the things I think I've seen recently,
20:39
you are looking into this Rescue, uh,
20:43
was it 100? Yeah, Rescue 100. Yes, we launched
20:46
our crowdfunder just over 2 and a bit weeks ago, and this
20:50
is the rescue side, which we're absolutely passionate about. So everybody
20:54
says, well, you've got the pedigree cats there. Yes, we do have the pedigree cats
20:57
there, but we've also got— well, this year we've got 27 rescues. So we
21:01
started with 9 and we're full-on rescues now. Those rescues pay a small
21:06
fee to attend. We heavily subsidise it. It costs For
21:10
us to have a rescue at the event, it costs us around £650 to have
21:14
them in their space with everything there and all of that. We charge them a
21:18
small portion of £240. Now that to a
21:22
small rescue is critical money. We know that they're living hand
21:25
to mouth. They don't have those budgets. So by launching the
21:30
crowdfunder with the Rescue 100, what we were looking to do initially
21:34
is to raise enough money Because Pete wants to
21:38
be making the phone call and saying, I know we don't write checks anymore,
21:40
but he wants to be writing a check and going, there's your money back.
21:45
Because to be able to do that after this year's event would be absolutely amazing.
21:50
Then if we can raise extra money, we can start putting that back into those
21:54
smaller rescues. We've got the rescue directory. It's free
21:58
for any rescue to jump on board and join. And that's a platform
22:02
we're building. We can promote, we can tell the stories
22:06
about those rescues. If there's a scraped out there and it's a sudden mission.
22:11
With our platform, we can stretch out and reach everybody.
22:15
The little rescues have these little communities. It's much
22:18
harder for them. They're reliant on the volunteers. Yeah. Yep.
22:21
We're a small team, but our reach is enormous. I mean, our stats at the
22:26
moment, 2.1 million views a month we're hitting across our 4 platforms.
22:30
Wow. Congratulations. Yeah. So are you, would you
22:34
encourage, um, if there's any sort of small rescues
22:37
out there listening to get in touch and try and join the initiative? Because I,
22:42
similarly, because I go through
22:45
kind of donations and cat food that comes in and I think, oh, where can
22:48
I take it? And actually it's quite difficult to find a local rescue centre near
22:51
me. There's so many of them, but they're, like you say, run by
22:56
the odd person who's volunteering a lot of the time, and they're quite hard
23:00
to find. You can sort of surf through Facebook, but you know, it'd be great
23:03
if they had one place you could search locally where your local rescues are
23:07
that need it the most, maybe. Yeah. That's the dream, to be able to list
23:10
every single rescue in this country. Into one centralised directory.
23:14
This is giving that national platform so any rescue can come on board. And our
23:19
hope and our dream is to have that where every single small rescue in the
23:23
UK is featured on that platform. It's a huge tool. It's not
23:27
cheap to set that up and run, but what a tool that somebody, a bit
23:30
like Amazon, I'm looking for a rescue, I want to connect with a local rescue.
23:34
They land on the Cat Show Live platform, Rescue Directory. Yeah. Plug their
23:38
area in. Connected straight away. I think that's it. It's just like, it's,
23:42
it's having a trusted space so you know where you're going and it's
23:45
going to go to the right place and it's going to get used and it,
23:48
you know, it's, it's needed. So yeah, having one place
23:52
to find that information I think would help a lot of people, you know,
23:54
looking for a kitten, wanting to donate, wanting to help.
23:58
Yeah, all of that. Amazing. So yeah, and, and we
24:01
talked, we've sort of touched on it now about rescues, and we were talking earlier
24:05
before we actually went live about breeding and rescues.
24:09
And we meant— you mentioned at the start you used to be a breeder of
24:12
Maine Coons. So what kind of— I
24:17
suppose, how are we sitting with breeding versus
24:20
rescue cats? What's your take on this?
24:31
So it's always a controversial topic, and depending on who
24:34
you talk to, you're always going to have people sitting in different corners and I
24:38
absolutely respect everybody's opinion and conversation.
24:42
If somebody comes to me as you've done and said, well, how do you sit
24:45
with that? How does that sit with you? And what I would say to people
24:49
is, is go and talk to those rescues, those small rescues. Okay. And find
24:53
out for a start, how many pedigree cats are in rescue.
24:56
Find out a bit more about it before you say pedigree cats are the problem.
25:00
They're the reason there's a problem. They're the reason. And this is where
25:04
we come back to the educational side. When you go and talk to those rescues
25:07
and ask those questions, and we did a podcast with a rescue quite recently,
25:10
and she just said she'd had one pedigree cat in, in 12 months.
25:14
And she said, I actually was able to, through the chip and the tag,
25:18
contact the breeder. The breeder came straight in, sorted the rehome
25:21
out because the person hadn't come back. Now, as a responsible,
25:25
educated breeder, when you are working with one of the recognised registries,
25:29
like the GCCF, TICA, Felis Britannica in the UK,
25:34
you have ethics and a code you have to adhere to. And part of that
25:37
code is your spaying and neutering of kittens when they're going and that side and
25:40
contracts and agreements. Yeah. So that stops those cats
25:44
that are being let out recklessly, allowed to roam, allowed to go
25:48
unneutered, unspayed, having litter after litter of kittens.
25:51
So there is a synergy there where we can work together. And interestingly enough,
25:56
we are in the very early stage of the crowdfunder. If we look down our
25:59
list, 2 or 3 of our donations are from breeders.
26:03
Right. Because they absolutely support and they will always support
26:07
rescues. Okay. It's a balancing
26:11
act. Yeah. I mean, it's probably a deeper conversation for another time.
26:15
Yeah. I mean, like you say, I think there's a place, isn't there, for both
26:18
to exist. We don't have to go down the route of having a pedigree,
26:22
but you don't have to sort of go down the route of having a rescue
26:24
cat. Both things can exist as long as they're kind of done in an
26:28
ethical way. Yes. And with the cat-first sort of
26:32
mindset. When we, to help some people, because I've had some conversations
26:36
recently and seen some things come on, I'm on socials and I've kind of
26:40
been chatting to a lot of the cat community. And I've had my own experience
26:44
with purchasing pedigrees from breeders. What are some of the sort of red flags
26:48
that people should look out for if they are going down the sort of
26:52
breeding route? What kind of things might start, they start to think, you know,
26:54
well, maybe I shouldn't follow up on that lead,
26:58
maybe I should go here, like kind of what's some good advice for people
27:01
looking for a pedigree? So, and this is a really, really good question.
27:05
This is one of the reasons we've started The Cat Show Live and why we
27:09
were looking to help educate the public. Because when I decided
27:14
I wanted a Maine Coon, it was through my then partner who actually had fallen
27:17
in love with the breed. I knew nothing about them. I knew nothing about pedigree
27:20
Maine Coons or where to go. So I then had to go, where do you
27:24
go? You go online, you do your research, and this is where the problem is,
27:27
is the online and the research. So your red flags are primarily,
27:32
you need to stay away from your known homing sites
27:36
online. You need to, you need to be looking at your websites
27:39
for your cat registries. Okay. If you're gonna go online.
27:43
So if you were looking for a dog, it's a lot easier 'cause you've got
27:47
the Kennel Club. You, everybody knows about the Kennel Club. That's where you go to
27:50
look and get your accredited breeder. In the UK, there are 3 recognized
27:55
registries. 2 of them are global and one of them is UK-based.
27:58
So, and this is the problem because how does somebody like yourself, Nat, know that?
28:03
Yeah. You don't know it's the GCCF or TICA to find. So when you type
28:07
it into the internet, this is the problem. Yeah.
28:10
Which is why if we can build the platform and build that awareness
28:15
that when somebody types in, I'm looking for a Maine Coon kitten, or I'm looking
28:18
for a Bengal information, if we can flash up a the problem
28:22
sites. Yeah. We can give that educated information. So you've
28:27
gotta be very careful if you're looking online. If you can try and find somebody
28:30
who has that breed, maybe you've got a friend or
28:34
you know of somebody, or you do a shout out on your social media and
28:36
say, does anybody own a Bengal? I'd like to just have a chat with
28:40
you and find out about them. From there, they should be able to point you
28:44
to those registries. Those registries will have listed breeders.
28:48
That are ethical and responsible. And then you can find out about competitive
28:53
shows. And I would say always go and visit a show,
28:56
a competitive show, and meet the breed. Yeah. And find
29:00
out about it. And this is what you can do at the Cat Show Live.
29:03
So you can come in and you can meet 35 different breeds of cat on
29:07
that day. And you get straight to somebody who absolutely would not
29:11
be coming through our doors if they didn't tick all those boxes.
29:17
Yeah. Yeah. What, what are some of those ethical things that they have to
29:20
adhere to? Just so people understand like what's going on behind
29:24
the scenes for someone to get that kind of registration. So depending on the level
29:28
of registration with each registry, 'cause they all have different levels, some of them will
29:31
be Cattery Gold Standard Assured, which means they've actually had a visit to
29:35
their home and they are monitored every year or every 2 to 3 years on
29:38
the kittens and cats they do. Some of, some of your breeders
29:42
will also do a lot of health testing. Others might do a little bit less,
29:44
but they will all have registered health
29:48
test benefits there. So you'll be able to find out about that.
29:52
You will also see their agreement. Okay. So they will have
29:56
an agreement that is a legal contract with you and them about the spaying,
29:59
the neutering process, the microchipping, which is now law. They will
30:03
only be allowed to have X number of litters in a year or a 2-year
30:07
period. And there are laws now being brought in where you cannot breed
30:10
from a female over a certain age. And the same with
30:14
a stud male. So that cats are not being kept in tyre all their lives.
30:17
So there's a lot of regulations coming in, a lot more changes as well.
30:21
So don't be afraid to ask questions. Absolutely.
30:24
As, as, as somebody, and I remember when I was first looking, I went to
30:26
a show and I asked endless questions and then do
30:30
not ever purchase a kitten online. Yeah. You must go
30:34
and visit them. It doesn't matter how far away they are. If you
30:37
are that intent on having a new family member into your home. It,
30:41
it, it's, you, you wouldn't, you wouldn't go and shop for a baby or something
30:44
like that, would you? So. I fell, I fell into
30:48
a trap actually with my last 2 in that I went to a breeder and
30:52
I found her online, but the timing of her litter wasn't working out
30:56
with when we were available to sort of be around and introduce them. And she
31:00
said, oh, I've got a friend who's also registered. Here's her details. And I trusted
31:04
that and kind of went along with it. And to be fair, she was registered
31:08
actually. I mean, I've got documentation, but the situation just felt
31:11
very strange. And when I got there, they were moving house. It was all very
31:15
chaotic. It just, there was just something very odd about
31:19
the whole situation. I mean, people have lives and maybe it was just a difficult
31:22
time for them. I don't know. But I was suddenly like, little flags kind of
31:26
were kind of going and my prickles were going up and I was like,
31:28
I'm not sure this is right, but I'd bought in then. I was there and
31:31
I was like, yeah, them cats are mine. And I couldn't step out
31:35
of it. And I think in hindsight, I wish I'd
31:39
done what you said really, probably, and gone back to the registrations
31:44
and found my own breeder that way instead of probably going for a recommendation.
31:47
It just did, something just felt a little off to me. So I
31:50
think that'll be kind of my little piece of advice, 'cause I think once
31:54
you're in the home and you've seen the kittens, you're like, them, I'm taking them.
31:57
I just want them. Yeah. So, and you're already bought in, aren't you? But I,
32:00
I mean, I did. Did it. I did it. I brought from, from a breeder
32:04
that I, I shouldn't have bought from, but I, I didn't know at the time.
32:07
Yeah. And it was a mistake. But I, I even getting in there and seeing
32:11
it and thinking, this is really not right. Yeah. I wanted to rescue that kitten.
32:15
Yeah, that's what I was like. I'm gonna give you the— I, I'm gonna pay
32:18
for it because it's coming home with me. And yeah, Scrappy was her name.
32:21
She was a wonderful girl. Absolutely wonderful girl. Yeah, mine too have been fine.
32:25
Yeah. So, but it, it is difficult. It is a real balancing act.
32:29
So it It's patience. It's, it, it's something I think you've
32:33
just got to— and this is where the education comes in. And the more we
32:35
can educate people and say, if there are red flags there, you've got to,
32:39
got to follow your gut. And if they are registered, go to
32:43
the registry. Yeah, that's a good point. I never did. Yeah, I didn't do that
32:48
actually. It's probably something I should have followed up on. That's what I did.
32:51
I flagged it. I actually flagged it. And she actually was— the particular lady in
32:55
question was actually banned for 4 It is difficult, but you learn
32:58
from that. And I think the more we can educate people with this podcast,
33:01
with the event and the platform, then, then you will
33:04
get that message out there. And people, people are getting better. People are
33:09
more aware. I think the horror stories are coming to light about different things
33:13
and people are more aware, but the more we educate, the more we
33:16
continue on social media, the more that messaging will get out.
33:20
We won't ever, if someone's got a problem and they have made a mistake,
33:23
our platform won't judge you. What our platform will do is help
33:27
you correct that mistake or help you through that journey
33:30
with whatever it might be.
33:40
I suppose we're kind of coming, coming to the end, so it'd be quite good
33:42
to sort of wrap some stuff up, but like in terms of The Cat Show
33:45
Live, if we come back to that now, what are your kind of hopes for
33:49
the future in the next couple of years for that? That, what would you like
33:52
to see that grow into? I mean, you've already sort of talked about quite a
33:56
few things. Our hopes and dreams over the next couple of years, the first
34:00
one is to bring an event into London. We had planned to do it this
34:04
year, but for a number of different factors, it, it was
34:07
delayed. And we are planning on bringing a London
34:11
event in 2027. Fabulous. Yeah, space.
34:16
So moving from 1 to 2 events will be amazing. Um,
34:19
but yes, Birmingham to London will be unbelievable. Uh, yes.
34:23
Uh, I'm, I'm from Surrey, London area, so I grew up in
34:26
that area. My husband's a London boy, so it's, it's almost going home from
34:31
where we live now. So that'll be fantastic and we're really looking forward to doing
34:34
that next year. Then from there, it's about
34:38
building the platform. So building the directories,
34:41
the rescue directories, the rescue platform and that side.
34:45
Backing that up with your breed directories, with your breeders and a multi-register
34:50
directory there, building the community, the portal,
34:54
the one-stop to come for the education,
34:56
seminars, events online, you name it.
35:00
We'll continue to do that. Excellent. And just creating
35:04
this community platform area that becomes the
35:09
fountain of knowledge for cats and cat ownership.
35:12
I mean, for me it's amazing because I've always
35:15
seen cats be behind the advancements for
35:20
dogs. You know, they're not kind of recognised as well. They're not kind of,
35:23
there doesn't seem to be a big enough kind of healthcare around
35:27
them. Food is now, nutrition like we've talked about, is kind of starting to come
35:30
through, which is good. And I personally, yeah, would love to see so much more.
35:33
And I think you're, the fact that you're doing this, I think is gonna like
35:37
really push that whole sector forward and get a lot more people together to working
35:40
together to try and improve the lives of cats. From cats and cat
35:44
parents. So congratulations on doing that and making such
35:48
a difference. I hope, you know, I wish you all the best with it.
35:51
In terms of like, so if anyone's got tickets already, like what
35:55
do you recommend they do? Should they sign up to some of these webinars?
35:59
Are they already booked up? What would you recommend we do? Sasha and I will
36:03
be there. I can't wait. So you've got full
36:07
day. We worked out the other day there are 14 different feature areas. So 14
36:11
different activities going on in the event, including the 3 theatres.
36:14
So keep an eye on the website, plan your day, have a look
36:18
at all your itinerary, your different speaker slots as they come out, work out what
36:22
you want to do and attend, what you want to see, who you want to
36:25
chat to. Trainers, definitely not heels day. Your steps
36:29
will be through the roof. Comfortable clothing,
36:32
yeah. Have a good look at Retail Avenue because you
36:36
have got over 100 different brands there.
36:40
Excellent. With everything from food, litter,
36:43
accessories, toys, latest gadgets. Bits, water fountains,
36:47
you name it, all under one roof. It is, it's the largest shop,
36:51
cat-specific shopping village that happens in the UK. I'm gonna have
36:54
to get saving. Yeah, I'm just thinking that. We are
36:58
very proud of it. We are very, very proud of it. We have
37:02
the Cat Club membership, which is an amazing tool where
37:06
if you can't make the day or you miss something on the day,
37:09
sign up for our membership on the Cat Show Live website.
37:13
It's free. There's no cost for it. And that gives
37:16
you access to different podcasts, different resources,
37:21
seminars, and also it'll give you some access to some of the talks from
37:25
the show. Brilliant. And if you want to take that extra step, you can become
37:29
a TopCat member, which gives you discounts for tickets for future
37:33
years. It gives you early access to all the
37:37
different seminars and talks. And it will also going
37:42
forwards give you many different perks online where you'll
37:46
get private live streams as a Top Cat member. And that's £20 for a
37:50
year. So it's, it's not these big membership fees. It's not a monthly subscription.
37:54
It's just, that's what it is. We're very transparent,
37:58
but it will keep you in the know. Absolutely keep you in the know.
38:01
So if you're not a Cat Club member yet, make sure you become one.
38:04
We are, but we might go up to the next tier.
38:09
So, and also if anybody wants to support the 100
38:15
Rescue, can they still do that? Yeah, absolutely. They can still do that.
38:18
So it's the Rescue 100 campaign. If you go to the
38:22
Crowdfunder platform, on all our social media, the link is in our bios.
38:25
So it is there. But if you end up on the Crowdfunder platform, it's really
38:30
simple. It's just type in The Cat Show Live and our Crowdfunder comes up straight
38:34
away under the Rescue 100. It is also rewards-based as well.
38:37
So you, you're not just donating for nothing. If you want
38:42
to pick up one of the rewards, and one of the wonderful parts of the
38:45
rewards, which we are really excited about, is the mural, which is gonna be a
38:48
giant version of our hero cat, Little Ginge,
38:52
our red tabby cat, Little Ginge, where all your different pictures
38:56
will be featured in there. So you'll be featured on the mural as one
39:00
of the donators in the community. So, um, great. It's a
39:04
great opportunity. And, and what we're saying to people, it doesn't matter how much you
39:07
donate. If it's a pound, it really doesn't matter. You can be anonymous.
39:11
With all of our reach and our following, if every single one of our following
39:15
donated a pound, we would, we would smash
39:19
it. Yeah, we would smash it. We'd be— I'd say the rescues
39:22
would be rich for a little while. Not for long, because I know their costs.
39:24
But can you imagine being able to ring up rescues and say,
39:27
here's £5,000 for you, years, £10,000. I,
39:31
I'd want to— what a position to be in. It's because it's so hard for
39:34
them to get funding, because I mean, I've got a little bit of background in
39:37
charity funding and there's just very little for animal charities, and I wish there was
39:41
so much more. Yeah, thank you for that. So finally then,
39:45
when's the event and how can people get tickets if they haven't already? So the
39:49
event is Saturday the 12th of September at the NEC in Birmingham, and you can
39:52
get tickets off our website, thecatshowlive.co.uk,
39:56
and And we hope that you find us and we would
40:00
really love to see everybody there. Yeah. Well, Sasha and I
40:04
are going to be there with bells on. We will, we will have our
40:08
trainers on, our comfy clothes. Like you say, lots of money that we've saved up
40:11
so we can do some shopping and we've done our research beforehand. So we know
40:15
exactly who we want to speak to, which webinars or talks we want to join.
40:19
We should get some amazing guests hopefully as well whilst we're there. That's one of
40:23
my key things. Let's see if we can get some more people to come and
40:25
talk and share knowledge with our listeners. You will have a list. Yeah, no,
40:28
you will have an absolute list of people. I'll have a pen. Yeah, we can
40:32
give you some details of different people that you should definitely talk to. Oh,
40:35
brilliant. Thank you so much. Thanks for giving your time today.
40:38
It's been really interesting and hopefully lots of our listeners are intrigued
40:43
and inspired to either sign up, support the campaign,
40:47
come along, do something better for their kitty cats
40:51
and learn more. So yeah, check out thecatshowlive.co.uk
40:55
and yeah, go and sign up and join in. In, be part of the community.
40:59
With that, yeah, thanks, Sam, and have a good rest of the week. I hope
41:03
the CAT Show goes to plan and you, I'm sure you'll be busy,
41:06
so we won't probably catch you while we're there, but hopefully
41:10
it'll go well. And yeah, look forward to seeing what comes of it. And especially
41:14
with the London event, hopefully, fingers crossed. Thank you very
41:17
much for having me. It's been an absolute pleasure. Thank you. Take care.
41:21
See you soon.