I'm showing a lovely Turkish Angora in the CFA Premiership class. While I love showing him, and he enjoys it too, there are some challenges that come along with showing a cat. One of my biggest challenges was figuring out how to get everything into the show hall in one trip without breaking my back. Some people can happily make several trips to and from their cars, but I have severe asthma, so one trip is about all I can manage. Some people show their cats with their spouses or significant others, resulting in an extra set of hands for carrying items into the show hall. While my spouse supports my endeavor to show a cat, he'd really rather be left out of the excitement, so that leaves me. I needed some sort of system that would allow me to get it all into the show hall by myself and in one trip, oh and did I mention that I drive a compact car?
I put this challenge to my friend and fellow exhibitor, Wendy, who told me that wheels were the way to go. She uses a rolling grooming cart. Basically, it's a wheeled platform. The cat carrier goes on top of the platform, a top piece goes over the top, and the two are secured together with bungee cords. Your duffel bag of cat supplies can go right on top, and you can sling your sturdi-cage (that's a security cage for giving your cat his own comfy little home in the show hall) over your shoulder and walk right in. You leave the cart set up in the show hall, and it gives you a built-in grooming station, which is of great use if you are showing a longhaired cat who needs plenty of grooming. There are several vendors online who sell this setup. PK Pet Products is one vendor.
While I've seen many exhibitors with this exact setup, it is not what I chose for my showing needs. What I did choose is more based on the fact that my cat travels in a soft-sided dog crate. I picked it up at Bed Bath and Beyond (no longer available), and I like it because it's big and lightweight at the same time. I can fit a litter box and cat bed inside of it. The cat can stay in there while we are in the car, and he can even stay in there when he's unattended in the hotel room, such as when I'm sleeping. It's a nice, secure place for him. Squishing a soft-sided dog crate between two wooden platforms was not going to work without resulting in a squished cat.
Therefore, I opted for a rolling cart like those you see at office supply stores. I pile my flat items on the bottom, such as a small folding table and Sturdi-cage. I set the cat's soft cage atop that, and I sandwich his duffel bag between the cage and cart handle. I bungee cord it all together, and we are off to the cat show! The cart folds flat and fits nicely in the trunk of my car, and I have found several other, non-cat show, uses for the cart. It helps me wheel my scrapbooking supplies into the crops I attend, and I even used it at my church's garage sale to cart items into the building.
My system for getting everything into the show hall is not yet perfected, but I'm able to get it all into the hall in one trip, as long as I remember to bring my coffee with me, not leave it in the car.
