The Cat Walk

As the owners walked the makeshift ramp in costumes co-ordinated costumes with those of their cats,they spoke about experiences with their pets and narrated the story of how they first met. The winner of the show,Wahida Ansari and her cat Honey,which she found in an orphanage in Kolhapur,walked the ramp wearing matching tiaras. “When I found Honey she was six months old. She was frail and was diagnosed with a severe case of jaundice. The vet had advised me not to give her any chicken or meat. I only fed her cheese,milk and curd and nurtured her back to health. She had also shed all her fur because of the sickness but now she is healthy. Her fur is so fluffy and dense that people mistake her for a Persian cat,” says Ansari. Honey is 36 months old now and is often referred to as Ansari’s youngest daughter.

The runners up of the show were two cats owned by Reema Sharma,who runs a cat adoption agency to promote the adoption of Indian breed cats. Both share the name Gini,are timid and won’t come off their caretakers’ lap. While the elder Gini is six months old,the younger one is five months old. The older Gini was named after a pet owned by Sharma’s grandfather who died six years ago. She was rescued by Sharma’s employee who found her being attacked by street dogs. The younger one was adopted from the streets of Koregaon Park where she was lost and getting drenched in the rain.

Another participant at the show,13-year-old Umera Memon and her cat Smokey came sporting similar hats. Since Somkey’s fur is a rich black coat,Memon wore a black dress and carried Smokey in a cane basket. “I found Smokey near my house while I was on a walk with my parents. I found that she was lost and couldn’t find her mother,so I asked my parents if I could take her home. They are also cat lovers and agreed in an instant,” says Memon.

The event saw participation from 600 people that included 18 cat owners and their pets.