TWO blue-eyed beauties of the feline variety have returned to Mount Gambier as Royal Adelaide Show champions after their debut show last week.
Ragdoll cats Bruce and Wally impressed this year’s judge – who flew in from Texas for the event – and swept up a number of coveted ribbons and secondary awards.
The cuddly kitties have amassed a devoted following on Facebook as the “storeman” and “trainee storeman”, delighting staff and customers at The Athlete’s Foot.
“Bruce is two and a half years old and Wally is a six-month-old kitten – he will weigh about 10 kilograms when he is fully grown,” owner Paull Smith said.
“We post tongue-in-cheek updates on Facebook of these two working behind the scenes and they have quite a few fans.
“They are both from the same Adelaide breeder.”
Bruce and Wally entered the competition under the pedigree names CottonCandy Candy Cane and CottonCandy Mr Walter respectively.
Mr Smith said it was unprecedented for first-timers to take home first-place ribbons.
“When we purchased Wally, Luke said he was an outstanding cat – schmick was the word he used,” Mr Smith said.
“He rang and said the Royal Adelaide Show was coming up and asked if I would be interested in showing Wally.
“I said ‘what are we going to do with Bruce’ and he said ‘just enter him so you can bring him too’.
“Bruce ended up placing second.”
Wally won first prize in his class and was named best ragdoll kitten, while Bruce placed second behind Wally, won the open desexed category and won third best groomed.
“We don’t even groom him,” Mr Smith said.
“It was our first show and we had no idea what to expect – everyone had these big trolleys and suitcases and it was very competitive.
“They looked like they were going away on holiday for 10 years – they had perfumes and full grooming kits and all we had were the cats and two carriers.
“These breeders are all about the ribbon, it’s like an Olympic gold medal to them.
“We are not going to go overboard with it all, but Luke has asked us to show again next year so we will consider it.”
