1 00:00:00,240 --> 00:00:27,640 Speaker 1: Ridiculous History is a production of I Heart Radio. Welcome 2 00:00:27,680 --> 00:00:30,800 Speaker 1: back to the show Ridiculous Historians. Thank you so much 3 00:00:30,880 --> 00:00:35,720 Speaker 1: for tuning in. This is part two of our episode 4 00:00:35,880 --> 00:00:41,559 Speaker 1: on the astonishingly rich history of cat shows. We had 5 00:00:41,600 --> 00:00:43,559 Speaker 1: to take a break and uh and play with our 6 00:00:43,600 --> 00:00:46,360 Speaker 1: own cats. Well, no, maybe you played with your cat. 7 00:00:46,400 --> 00:00:48,120 Speaker 1: I had. I had to go feed one of mine 8 00:00:48,120 --> 00:00:50,360 Speaker 1: because he was screaming at me. Man, did I tell 9 00:00:50,360 --> 00:00:52,159 Speaker 1: you this cat, this new cat that I've got, has 10 00:00:52,200 --> 00:00:55,960 Speaker 1: a really really adorable thing that she does where she 11 00:00:56,040 --> 00:00:59,840 Speaker 1: likes to pounce claws out on bare feet. You've mentioned that, 12 00:01:00,000 --> 00:01:03,080 Speaker 1: you mention, I think you recommended a spritzer bottle to 13 00:01:03,120 --> 00:01:05,680 Speaker 1: break her of this habit. But I also have a 14 00:01:05,760 --> 00:01:08,280 Speaker 1: laser pointer that I have to use as a diversion 15 00:01:08,319 --> 00:01:10,440 Speaker 1: so that I can just cross the living room, you know, 16 00:01:10,520 --> 00:01:13,399 Speaker 1: without like getting attacked. So you know, again, a great 17 00:01:13,400 --> 00:01:16,639 Speaker 1: example of cats gonna do what a cat's gonna do. Yes, 18 00:01:16,920 --> 00:01:23,680 Speaker 1: Now imagine taking these uh notoriously anti authoritarian creatures and 19 00:01:23,720 --> 00:01:27,600 Speaker 1: trying to get them to light up for a display 20 00:01:27,640 --> 00:01:32,200 Speaker 1: of their prowess in a cat show. So back to 21 00:01:32,240 --> 00:01:38,160 Speaker 1: this guy I mentioned earlier. His name Harrison Weir. His Uh. 22 00:01:38,200 --> 00:01:42,200 Speaker 1: His claim to fame and history being super into cats. 23 00:01:42,880 --> 00:01:49,040 Speaker 1: Two cats myself. So thanks for making this less stigmatized, Harry. Uh. 24 00:01:49,080 --> 00:01:54,480 Speaker 1: He shook the cat world at its foundations, like the 25 00:01:54,600 --> 00:01:58,880 Speaker 1: guy invented the bread slicing machine. He it was an 26 00:01:58,880 --> 00:02:03,200 Speaker 1: animal lover all sorts of animals. Uh. And he held 27 00:02:03,320 --> 00:02:07,120 Speaker 1: cats higher than most other animals in his esteem. He 28 00:02:07,240 --> 00:02:10,320 Speaker 1: said they are possibly the most perfect and certainly the 29 00:02:10,360 --> 00:02:13,560 Speaker 1: most domestic of animals. That's very nice, though it is 30 00:02:13,600 --> 00:02:17,799 Speaker 1: scientifically not accurate. Uh. He wasn't always a cat person. 31 00:02:18,320 --> 00:02:21,240 Speaker 1: In his book Our Cats and All About Them in 32 00:02:21,360 --> 00:02:24,760 Speaker 1: eighteen eighty nine, he said, you know, I used to 33 00:02:24,800 --> 00:02:27,600 Speaker 1: have a bias against cats, and I took some time 34 00:02:27,800 --> 00:02:30,960 Speaker 1: coming to this pro cat belief. And once he was 35 00:02:31,000 --> 00:02:35,600 Speaker 1: convinced that cats were cool, he started to proselytize for them. 36 00:02:35,639 --> 00:02:39,560 Speaker 1: He became the Edward Bernese, fighting a one man battle 37 00:02:40,040 --> 00:02:44,280 Speaker 1: to save the public image of cats. And here's a 38 00:02:44,560 --> 00:02:48,720 Speaker 1: line from what he wrote. He said, long ages of neglect, 39 00:02:48,760 --> 00:02:51,840 Speaker 1: a little treat to mention absolute cruelty with literally or 40 00:02:51,880 --> 00:02:58,200 Speaker 1: no gentliness, kindliness, or training have made the cat self reliant. Uh. 41 00:02:58,200 --> 00:03:01,160 Speaker 1: And he also said the small, though a large dog 42 00:03:01,280 --> 00:03:05,639 Speaker 1: may be regarded and petted, but it's generally useless. A 43 00:03:05,639 --> 00:03:09,760 Speaker 1: cat a pet or not ease of service, Which is 44 00:03:09,800 --> 00:03:14,240 Speaker 1: interesting because you've probably also heard the opposite argument from 45 00:03:14,280 --> 00:03:16,959 Speaker 1: a lot of people folks throughout history. I think it's 46 00:03:16,960 --> 00:03:20,720 Speaker 1: in the eye of the beholder or the petter. So 47 00:03:20,800 --> 00:03:23,880 Speaker 1: he knew he knew he couldn't just write books that 48 00:03:24,040 --> 00:03:27,480 Speaker 1: say cats are cool, right, literacy is not where it 49 00:03:27,560 --> 00:03:32,280 Speaker 1: is at this point in and also books you have 50 00:03:32,360 --> 00:03:34,800 Speaker 1: to pay for them, So like, how can I how 51 00:03:34,840 --> 00:03:39,040 Speaker 1: can I get more people on board with cats in general? 52 00:03:39,440 --> 00:03:44,800 Speaker 1: This led him to develop a competition, the Cat Show. 53 00:03:45,560 --> 00:03:49,880 Speaker 1: So he wanted to get the wealthy upper crust on 54 00:03:50,120 --> 00:03:53,840 Speaker 1: board with the idea that the idea that where it 55 00:03:53,880 --> 00:03:56,040 Speaker 1: sounds weird where you're talking about it, well, all these 56 00:03:56,040 --> 00:03:59,000 Speaker 1: pet shows do the idea that you will take your cat, 57 00:04:00,320 --> 00:04:02,560 Speaker 1: your animal, whatever you're in this case your cat, you'll 58 00:04:02,600 --> 00:04:06,119 Speaker 1: take your cat to a single place. And then there're 59 00:04:06,120 --> 00:04:10,120 Speaker 1: all some help being authority, who is like again they 60 00:04:10,200 --> 00:04:12,280 Speaker 1: look at your Persian cat. They're like, this is the 61 00:04:12,320 --> 00:04:15,680 Speaker 1: most Persian Persian cats, This is most jellical, those street 62 00:04:15,680 --> 00:04:20,240 Speaker 1: cats or whatever. Here is your award. Uh. To do this, 63 00:04:20,360 --> 00:04:23,159 Speaker 1: he had to make it look legit. So he started 64 00:04:23,760 --> 00:04:28,560 Speaker 1: making rules and categories, and again, to be very honest 65 00:04:28,600 --> 00:04:31,960 Speaker 1: with you here, folks, this stuff is arbitrary. He's just 66 00:04:32,120 --> 00:04:35,640 Speaker 1: kind of going with what feels good in his mind 67 00:04:35,680 --> 00:04:37,719 Speaker 1: at the time. Wouldn't you say? Yeah? I mean, you know, 68 00:04:38,000 --> 00:04:39,760 Speaker 1: he was essentially, this is a thing that I've never 69 00:04:39,760 --> 00:04:41,880 Speaker 1: been done before, so we had to start somewhere. I 70 00:04:41,880 --> 00:04:45,440 Speaker 1: would love to hear a few examples of these cat tigories. 71 00:04:47,240 --> 00:04:51,120 Speaker 1: He So there were a couple of things like type 72 00:04:51,120 --> 00:04:55,239 Speaker 1: of cat mainly Persian cat, said already, Manx cats, English 73 00:04:55,320 --> 00:04:58,040 Speaker 1: short hair cats, things like that, and then each of 74 00:04:58,080 --> 00:05:01,120 Speaker 1: those would have the thing that Paul fight them as 75 00:05:01,160 --> 00:05:05,320 Speaker 1: that cat breed. But it's not super specific to the 76 00:05:05,320 --> 00:05:09,320 Speaker 1: point of like the tale should be x centimeters long 77 00:05:09,480 --> 00:05:12,880 Speaker 1: or anything like that. Yeah, that's right. Uh So, you know, 78 00:05:13,240 --> 00:05:16,919 Speaker 1: in in true cat loving fashion. As the kind of 79 00:05:16,960 --> 00:05:19,920 Speaker 1: innovator of this whole thing, he appointed himself what he 80 00:05:19,960 --> 00:05:23,080 Speaker 1: referred to as an adjudicator. Uh And he was joined 81 00:05:23,080 --> 00:05:28,080 Speaker 1: by his brother John and a priest named Reverend mcdonnaugh um, 82 00:05:28,200 --> 00:05:31,560 Speaker 1: And then they hired a show manager named f. Wilson. 83 00:05:31,960 --> 00:05:34,400 Speaker 1: Then they had to get some people to actually participate, 84 00:05:34,640 --> 00:05:37,400 Speaker 1: so they rounded up some of their friends and family. 85 00:05:37,960 --> 00:05:41,160 Speaker 1: What they referred to as a goodly number of animals 86 00:05:41,400 --> 00:05:45,200 Speaker 1: were assembled to be evaluated. And when he was on 87 00:05:45,240 --> 00:05:48,320 Speaker 1: the train heading to the Crystal Palace the day of 88 00:05:48,400 --> 00:05:52,080 Speaker 1: the big show, he actually ran into a friend who 89 00:05:52,240 --> 00:05:55,680 Speaker 1: asked how he was doing and where he was going to, 90 00:05:55,760 --> 00:05:59,520 Speaker 1: which were responded the cat Show. And his friend was 91 00:05:59,600 --> 00:06:02,840 Speaker 1: a star honest and said, a show of cats. Why 92 00:06:02,920 --> 00:06:06,400 Speaker 1: I hate the things? Uh you know in this you know, rubbed, 93 00:06:06,400 --> 00:06:08,440 Speaker 1: we're the wrong way obviously as um as a man 94 00:06:08,520 --> 00:06:12,520 Speaker 1: of the cat. And he said, I'm sorry, very sorry 95 00:06:12,560 --> 00:06:15,800 Speaker 1: that you do not like cats, before kind of going 96 00:06:15,839 --> 00:06:19,680 Speaker 1: into the spiel and explaining the majesty and glory of 97 00:06:19,760 --> 00:06:23,599 Speaker 1: cats as animals, but also of of this event that 98 00:06:23,600 --> 00:06:28,000 Speaker 1: he was trying to curate. And then you know, in 99 00:06:28,040 --> 00:06:30,680 Speaker 1: his book we mentioned earlier are cats and all about them? 100 00:06:30,800 --> 00:06:34,960 Speaker 1: Weird talks about this conversation and then eventually admits he 101 00:06:34,960 --> 00:06:37,960 Speaker 1: wouldn't a bit overboard, and his friends just said, stop, 102 00:06:38,839 --> 00:06:41,880 Speaker 1: I see you do like cats and I do not, 103 00:06:42,520 --> 00:06:45,599 Speaker 1: So let the matter drop. Did he let it drop? 104 00:06:45,680 --> 00:06:49,640 Speaker 1: Of course not. He doubled down. He took his cat 105 00:06:49,760 --> 00:06:53,560 Speaker 1: hating friend from the train with him to the Crystal Palace, 106 00:06:53,839 --> 00:06:56,479 Speaker 1: and there they discovered that the show was off to 107 00:06:56,720 --> 00:07:01,640 Speaker 1: a great start. Uh, we're looking had a range of cats. 108 00:07:01,680 --> 00:07:04,520 Speaker 1: Around a hundred and fifty to two hundred and eleven 109 00:07:04,560 --> 00:07:08,040 Speaker 1: were shown cats somewhere between. There. There were two hundred 110 00:07:08,200 --> 00:07:12,840 Speaker 1: thousand guests that showed up to just stare at cats. 111 00:07:13,040 --> 00:07:18,400 Speaker 1: Two hundred thousand. That's insane. It's a it's a good turnout, 112 00:07:18,440 --> 00:07:22,160 Speaker 1: you know, it's a good turnout. Uh. The newspapers played 113 00:07:22,160 --> 00:07:24,760 Speaker 1: a role in this because they had talked about it 114 00:07:24,800 --> 00:07:30,240 Speaker 1: in advance. They also noticed the presence of exotic cats, 115 00:07:30,320 --> 00:07:35,080 Speaker 1: like the feline version of an imported weird car. Yeah, well, 116 00:07:35,200 --> 00:07:37,240 Speaker 1: something that certainly would have been seen as an oddity. 117 00:07:37,560 --> 00:07:39,040 Speaker 1: They would have been able to see every day, So 118 00:07:39,040 --> 00:07:41,440 Speaker 1: there was some draw there. Things like a something called 119 00:07:41,440 --> 00:07:44,240 Speaker 1: a Scottish wild cat that was owned by the Duke 120 00:07:44,320 --> 00:07:47,760 Speaker 1: of Sutherland, an Algerian cat that was listed as a 121 00:07:47,840 --> 00:07:52,600 Speaker 1: quote French African cat, a polydactyl cat that had twenty 122 00:07:52,680 --> 00:07:56,240 Speaker 1: six claws, and a tortoise shell cat um. There were 123 00:07:56,280 --> 00:08:00,200 Speaker 1: also some that purported to belong to the sta half 124 00:08:00,360 --> 00:08:03,160 Speaker 1: of the of the palace Um or to have been 125 00:08:03,200 --> 00:08:06,760 Speaker 1: caught in the sellers of the palace and thrown into 126 00:08:06,760 --> 00:08:10,280 Speaker 1: gauges to add, you know, some more numbers to to 127 00:08:10,440 --> 00:08:13,200 Speaker 1: the to the showing. So I think we set this 128 00:08:13,280 --> 00:08:15,800 Speaker 1: up earlier. Were has made a cat show with three 129 00:08:15,920 --> 00:08:20,520 Speaker 1: judges himself, his brother, one of his brothers, and a 130 00:08:20,680 --> 00:08:24,760 Speaker 1: priest who was uh he wasn't hired just because he 131 00:08:24,800 --> 00:08:27,000 Speaker 1: was a priest. By the way, folks, he was a 132 00:08:27,040 --> 00:08:30,520 Speaker 1: well known breeder of St. Bernard's, so a friend of animals, 133 00:08:30,520 --> 00:08:34,840 Speaker 1: if not cats specifically. Were had what he called the 134 00:08:34,960 --> 00:08:39,640 Speaker 1: standards of excellence or standards of points. These were the 135 00:08:39,679 --> 00:08:43,120 Speaker 1: guidelines that these three dudes would use to judge these cats. 136 00:08:43,800 --> 00:08:47,880 Speaker 1: Later these would be um revised into a manual for 137 00:08:48,200 --> 00:08:51,880 Speaker 1: organizers of other cat shows, and this manual was called 138 00:08:52,280 --> 00:08:56,240 Speaker 1: our Cats. So they were sorted according to things like 139 00:08:56,720 --> 00:09:01,400 Speaker 1: coat length, body type, shape color. This is where this 140 00:09:01,480 --> 00:09:04,200 Speaker 1: is where you see the origin of the phrase chunk. 141 00:09:05,000 --> 00:09:09,280 Speaker 1: I'm kidding that last part is not true, uh towards 142 00:09:09,320 --> 00:09:14,160 Speaker 1: the mic like old yeah. Uh So again this this 143 00:09:14,320 --> 00:09:17,160 Speaker 1: criteria is pretty much up to weird. You know, he 144 00:09:17,200 --> 00:09:21,240 Speaker 1: didn't have a ton of scientific analysis to bring to 145 00:09:21,320 --> 00:09:24,760 Speaker 1: bear here. Awards were given to cats that best fit 146 00:09:24,880 --> 00:09:27,960 Speaker 1: his criteria. And then there were also I would call 147 00:09:28,040 --> 00:09:34,320 Speaker 1: them like Carnival awards, the superlative awards, you know, the 148 00:09:34,360 --> 00:09:39,040 Speaker 1: biggest cat and the fattest cat, which yes, ridiculous historians 149 00:09:39,200 --> 00:09:41,839 Speaker 1: were two different things, of course they are. No, I 150 00:09:42,200 --> 00:09:44,120 Speaker 1: never would have questioned that, nor would I have ever 151 00:09:44,200 --> 00:09:48,079 Speaker 1: questioned the judgments of this, this triumvirate. I wonder what 152 00:09:48,200 --> 00:09:50,680 Speaker 1: was the I mean, these are similar, you know, to 153 00:09:50,880 --> 00:09:55,040 Speaker 1: what you see in a dog show, like bite, you know, uh, 154 00:09:55,240 --> 00:09:58,000 Speaker 1: posture gate, things like that. But again, a lot of 155 00:09:58,000 --> 00:09:59,520 Speaker 1: the things that you do in a dog should only 156 00:09:59,559 --> 00:10:02,320 Speaker 1: apply to cats. And I can only imagine that this 157 00:10:02,360 --> 00:10:06,160 Speaker 1: would have been a bit chaotic, right, Like, cats aren't 158 00:10:06,320 --> 00:10:09,920 Speaker 1: known for like standing still and like, you know, bending 159 00:10:09,960 --> 00:10:12,760 Speaker 1: to the will of people. So I imagine with like 160 00:10:12,800 --> 00:10:16,640 Speaker 1: somewhere between hundred fifty to fifty um, I imagine it 161 00:10:16,640 --> 00:10:19,800 Speaker 1: would have been quite a thing to behold the noise alone, right, 162 00:10:19,840 --> 00:10:22,479 Speaker 1: I mean, cats are are not known for being super 163 00:10:22,720 --> 00:10:27,320 Speaker 1: quiet either, But it went overwhell. The aristocratic crowd dug 164 00:10:27,360 --> 00:10:32,120 Speaker 1: the whole judging quality. But where we're really kind of 165 00:10:32,160 --> 00:10:35,600 Speaker 1: this was a this is a personal passion project for him. 166 00:10:35,800 --> 00:10:37,680 Speaker 1: He wasn't in it for the accolades. He was in 167 00:10:37,760 --> 00:10:41,200 Speaker 1: it for the sheer, you know, reverence of of cat 168 00:10:41,320 --> 00:10:45,600 Speaker 1: kind um. And he wanted to let people know about 169 00:10:45,679 --> 00:10:49,480 Speaker 1: all of the varieties of breeds and also convinced people, 170 00:10:49,480 --> 00:10:52,080 Speaker 1: like he tried to do on that train, to give 171 00:10:52,120 --> 00:11:00,680 Speaker 1: cats a chance. You can get a few more by blow. 172 00:11:00,760 --> 00:11:04,680 Speaker 1: Reports of this in an excellent article from Atlas Obsura 173 00:11:04,760 --> 00:11:09,880 Speaker 1: how England's first cat show countered Victorian snobbery. This this 174 00:11:09,920 --> 00:11:13,000 Speaker 1: thing was a runaway success. His friend on the train 175 00:11:13,520 --> 00:11:16,959 Speaker 1: was wrong. He was on the wrong side of history, 176 00:11:17,240 --> 00:11:19,360 Speaker 1: which is weird to say about cat shows, but here 177 00:11:19,400 --> 00:11:24,200 Speaker 1: we are. Uh. The first cat show plans kind of 178 00:11:24,200 --> 00:11:26,000 Speaker 1: in a hurry. It's a little bit of a one 179 00:11:26,040 --> 00:11:29,920 Speaker 1: man band situation, and he wanted to get the wealthy 180 00:11:30,040 --> 00:11:34,240 Speaker 1: people in the aristos. It was a success, so the 181 00:11:34,320 --> 00:11:38,840 Speaker 1: second show expands a few months later. He encourages working 182 00:11:38,880 --> 00:11:43,800 Speaker 1: class people to submit their own ordinary cats, like you know, 183 00:11:43,920 --> 00:11:47,360 Speaker 1: the their neighborhood Tom or whatever. Um let's call him 184 00:11:47,360 --> 00:11:52,400 Speaker 1: famous Tom. That's a cool cat name. So weird hoped 185 00:11:52,440 --> 00:11:56,680 Speaker 1: that by celebrating the everyday cats. He I love that 186 00:11:56,720 --> 00:11:58,920 Speaker 1: earlier point. He's not trying to make money. What he 187 00:11:59,080 --> 00:12:02,040 Speaker 1: was genuine It appears to be the case that what 188 00:12:02,080 --> 00:12:06,120 Speaker 1: he was genuinely trying to do was inspired owners of 189 00:12:06,160 --> 00:12:10,600 Speaker 1: cats or humans of cats throughout all socioeconomic levels to 190 00:12:10,679 --> 00:12:16,800 Speaker 1: take better care of these feelines. So this next exhibition 191 00:12:17,640 --> 00:12:22,640 Speaker 1: has many more cats on display, there's an expanded judge pool. 192 00:12:22,840 --> 00:12:26,480 Speaker 1: They also have trophies that they're awarding to people. It's 193 00:12:26,800 --> 00:12:31,680 Speaker 1: it's getting legit. But then of course fame gets in 194 00:12:31,760 --> 00:12:35,480 Speaker 1: the way. Uh. The shows at Crystal Palace did have 195 00:12:35,559 --> 00:12:39,880 Speaker 1: a positive impact on social perception of cats and they 196 00:12:39,880 --> 00:12:43,360 Speaker 1: were getting they were gradually becoming less of a divisive 197 00:12:43,760 --> 00:12:48,320 Speaker 1: thing to have in your home. In We're founds the 198 00:12:48,440 --> 00:12:53,600 Speaker 1: National Cat Club. He appoints himself president and then they 199 00:12:53,640 --> 00:12:58,680 Speaker 1: have their first official show at the Crystal Palace, as 200 00:12:58,920 --> 00:13:01,880 Speaker 1: you know, like the National Cat Club cat show or 201 00:13:01,960 --> 00:13:06,400 Speaker 1: cat competition, cat petition. The pieces are there, Yeah, and 202 00:13:06,440 --> 00:13:08,000 Speaker 1: you know, and what we were saying, I think the 203 00:13:08,040 --> 00:13:11,880 Speaker 1: first go of this there were somewhere between a hundred 204 00:13:11,960 --> 00:13:16,200 Speaker 1: two two hundred entries. This one had more than three 205 00:13:16,360 --> 00:13:20,080 Speaker 1: hundred and twenty UH entries into the competition. Again, it 206 00:13:20,120 --> 00:13:22,720 Speaker 1: just seems like it would have been absolute chaos, but 207 00:13:23,160 --> 00:13:26,320 Speaker 1: they seem to manage to keep under control. But the 208 00:13:26,360 --> 00:13:29,880 Speaker 1: interesting thing is we're kind of starts to get the 209 00:13:29,960 --> 00:13:35,800 Speaker 1: sense that people, other people's motivations aren't as pure as his. 210 00:13:36,200 --> 00:13:38,880 Speaker 1: Other people aren't in it just for the cat, you know. 211 00:13:39,360 --> 00:13:43,600 Speaker 1: And he expressed in eight two in a new preface 212 00:13:43,640 --> 00:13:46,120 Speaker 1: for the second edition of Our Cats and All About Them. 213 00:13:46,360 --> 00:13:49,160 Speaker 1: Uh he he kind of expressed remorse ever having been 214 00:13:49,240 --> 00:13:53,280 Speaker 1: part of the National Cat Club. He said he no 215 00:13:53,320 --> 00:13:56,720 Speaker 1: longer believed in their ideals instead of like this, I 216 00:13:56,800 --> 00:13:59,960 Speaker 1: now feel the deepest regret that I was ever induced 217 00:14:00,280 --> 00:14:03,160 Speaker 1: to be in any way associated with it. Uh. The 218 00:14:03,200 --> 00:14:07,720 Speaker 1: main problem, he said in the same statement, was that 219 00:14:08,120 --> 00:14:09,840 Speaker 1: a lot of these be he considered a lot of 220 00:14:09,880 --> 00:14:14,720 Speaker 1: these uh so called cat fanciers to be narcissists. Um. 221 00:14:14,760 --> 00:14:17,320 Speaker 1: And it was all about themselves. It was all about 222 00:14:17,520 --> 00:14:19,840 Speaker 1: what could the cats do for them in terms of 223 00:14:19,840 --> 00:14:23,240 Speaker 1: their image or whatever, rather than focusing on the animals themselves. 224 00:14:23,440 --> 00:14:25,320 Speaker 1: He went on to say, I found the principal idea 225 00:14:25,360 --> 00:14:27,440 Speaker 1: of many of its members consisted not so much in 226 00:14:27,480 --> 00:14:31,120 Speaker 1: promoting the welfare of the cat, which he capitalizes by 227 00:14:31,120 --> 00:14:34,200 Speaker 1: the way like you would like god, um, as of 228 00:14:34,280 --> 00:14:39,360 Speaker 1: winning prizes and more particularly their own cat club medals. 229 00:14:39,680 --> 00:14:43,320 Speaker 1: And by the way, we're was known for his reverend 230 00:14:43,400 --> 00:14:47,400 Speaker 1: capitalization of the word cat. This guy meant business and 231 00:14:47,480 --> 00:14:51,960 Speaker 1: in his defense, it was Uh, the arbitrary capitalization of 232 00:14:52,000 --> 00:14:55,600 Speaker 1: different things was more common back then. But still, yes, 233 00:14:56,000 --> 00:14:59,240 Speaker 1: that's definitely a choice. That's a feline flex on his part. 234 00:15:00,040 --> 00:15:03,280 Speaker 1: The issue is that the general public was not eligible 235 00:15:03,360 --> 00:15:07,440 Speaker 1: to win these special medals. The only way you could 236 00:15:07,440 --> 00:15:09,400 Speaker 1: win a cat club medal is if you were a 237 00:15:09,440 --> 00:15:14,240 Speaker 1: cat club member or a cat who's human was cat 238 00:15:14,280 --> 00:15:18,480 Speaker 1: club member. So we thought this was super snotty. And 239 00:15:18,520 --> 00:15:21,320 Speaker 1: you know what, he was right because he had been 240 00:15:21,320 --> 00:15:24,480 Speaker 1: trying to raise respect for cats, so he needed the 241 00:15:24,560 --> 00:15:28,360 Speaker 1: ruling class, the wealthy class on board there. But he 242 00:15:28,440 --> 00:15:32,760 Speaker 1: didn't know they would bring their elitist tendencies along, and 243 00:15:32,840 --> 00:15:35,360 Speaker 1: of course they did. It was part of the way 244 00:15:35,400 --> 00:15:38,960 Speaker 1: they defined themselves at the time. So now cats in 245 00:15:39,040 --> 00:15:43,400 Speaker 1: general are no longer considered super dirty and wicked. But 246 00:15:44,120 --> 00:15:47,040 Speaker 1: there's there are a lot of class issues that are 247 00:15:47,120 --> 00:15:51,160 Speaker 1: ruining cat shows for Harry. Uh. Some judging categories are 248 00:15:51,240 --> 00:15:53,600 Speaker 1: divided by the class not of the cat, but of 249 00:15:53,640 --> 00:15:58,040 Speaker 1: the cat owner. And uh, this one reporter who went 250 00:15:58,080 --> 00:16:01,480 Speaker 1: to a national cat club show in a t said 251 00:16:01,520 --> 00:16:04,640 Speaker 1: the following, I am sorry to see that some cats 252 00:16:04,840 --> 00:16:08,280 Speaker 1: entered into the working men's classes are also entered into 253 00:16:08,360 --> 00:16:12,720 Speaker 1: the ordinary classes. These, to my mind, are only bogus 254 00:16:12,760 --> 00:16:17,960 Speaker 1: working men's cats. Pre Bill and Ted's excellent adventure, bogus 255 00:16:18,080 --> 00:16:22,760 Speaker 1: was a much more um impactful, insulting word. Yeah, it's 256 00:16:22,760 --> 00:16:25,920 Speaker 1: almost like we're kind of created a monster with with 257 00:16:26,000 --> 00:16:27,440 Speaker 1: this whole thing. Like he was in it for all 258 00:16:27,480 --> 00:16:29,240 Speaker 1: the right reasons, and he was he was doing it 259 00:16:29,280 --> 00:16:32,480 Speaker 1: to kind of combat the snobbery of the time when 260 00:16:32,520 --> 00:16:34,880 Speaker 1: it came to animals and pure breads and all of that, 261 00:16:35,120 --> 00:16:37,640 Speaker 1: and to get people more hip to the idea that 262 00:16:37,680 --> 00:16:40,640 Speaker 1: cats are cool too. But then, of course, as as 263 00:16:40,680 --> 00:16:44,760 Speaker 1: it will, uh, snobbery pervaded his cat shows and and 264 00:16:45,000 --> 00:16:47,360 Speaker 1: what they when it became was something that he did 265 00:16:47,400 --> 00:16:50,560 Speaker 1: not like, and it just kind of snowballed from there. Uh, 266 00:16:50,600 --> 00:16:54,040 Speaker 1: this kind of you know, pervasive snobbery just got deeper 267 00:16:54,040 --> 00:16:57,960 Speaker 1: and deeper. Um, and it really was kind of like 268 00:16:58,040 --> 00:17:03,160 Speaker 1: almost causing the themselves to be treated like commodities as 269 00:17:03,200 --> 00:17:06,119 Speaker 1: opposed to you know, what we're intended, which was to 270 00:17:06,200 --> 00:17:09,360 Speaker 1: highlight them as the noble creatures that he believed they 271 00:17:09,359 --> 00:17:12,439 Speaker 1: were and give them their due when we've got this 272 00:17:12,600 --> 00:17:16,800 Speaker 1: history of cats being treated horribly. But at the end 273 00:17:16,800 --> 00:17:18,680 Speaker 1: of the day, even if it wasn't in the way 274 00:17:18,720 --> 00:17:21,919 Speaker 1: that we're maybe wanted it to be, it certainly was 275 00:17:22,080 --> 00:17:26,000 Speaker 1: raising the profile of cats in the you know, public, 276 00:17:26,080 --> 00:17:30,400 Speaker 1: kind of collective unconscious, I suppose. Uh. And Francis Simpson, 277 00:17:30,480 --> 00:17:33,320 Speaker 1: a fellow cat lover, wrote in his nineteen three book 278 00:17:33,400 --> 00:17:36,359 Speaker 1: of the Cat the following in terms of like the 279 00:17:36,760 --> 00:17:40,760 Speaker 1: kind of shifting cashet of felines, he said, the cat 280 00:17:40,840 --> 00:17:44,879 Speaker 1: is gradually creeping into the affections of mankind, even in 281 00:17:44,920 --> 00:17:49,280 Speaker 1: this busy, workaday world. And then he called out we're 282 00:17:49,920 --> 00:17:54,160 Speaker 1: as the kind of single minded individual that led to 283 00:17:54,200 --> 00:17:59,920 Speaker 1: the quote great strides um in cat fancy dumb suppose, 284 00:18:00,520 --> 00:18:04,520 Speaker 1: especially after kind of being reviled as visionaries often are. 285 00:18:05,160 --> 00:18:07,960 Speaker 1: You'll recall back to eighteen seventy one when We're had 286 00:18:08,040 --> 00:18:10,600 Speaker 1: that really awkward encounter on the train. Or he wouldn't 287 00:18:11,000 --> 00:18:13,800 Speaker 1: let it lie that that cats needed to be loved, uh, 288 00:18:14,000 --> 00:18:18,359 Speaker 1: you know, and and respected, even if the general consensus 289 00:18:18,440 --> 00:18:21,480 Speaker 1: was that they were lower creatures. Right, Yeah, but the 290 00:18:21,520 --> 00:18:24,800 Speaker 1: cat world kind of turned against them for a time. Uh. 291 00:18:24,920 --> 00:18:29,720 Speaker 1: We also see other people, acknowledging his foundational role here. 292 00:18:30,760 --> 00:18:37,320 Speaker 1: Magazine called Lady's Realm in nineteen hundred expressed the same belief. 293 00:18:37,760 --> 00:18:41,800 Speaker 1: They said, we had quote done wonders for the amelioration 294 00:18:41,960 --> 00:18:46,679 Speaker 1: of pussy or repairing the reputation of the cat. In 295 00:18:46,760 --> 00:18:49,119 Speaker 1: just the span of thirty years, which is not a 296 00:18:49,160 --> 00:18:52,080 Speaker 1: long time, cats had gone from being chased in the 297 00:18:52,200 --> 00:18:56,720 Speaker 1: streets to be allowed to uh sit and perr by 298 00:18:56,720 --> 00:19:01,960 Speaker 1: the fireside, And Lady's Realm also included how great has 299 00:19:02,000 --> 00:19:04,399 Speaker 1: been the change in the conditions of life for the 300 00:19:04,480 --> 00:19:14,879 Speaker 1: harmless necessary cat. At this point, now that we're reaching 301 00:19:14,880 --> 00:19:18,040 Speaker 1: the end of our two part episode, we need to 302 00:19:18,119 --> 00:19:23,760 Speaker 1: share an epilogue because you see, nothing occurs in a vacuum. 303 00:19:23,920 --> 00:19:27,280 Speaker 1: That's one of the consistent lessons of history. So while 304 00:19:27,600 --> 00:19:32,160 Speaker 1: this cat craze is occurring at London's Crystal Palace, other 305 00:19:32,240 --> 00:19:36,480 Speaker 1: people throughout Europe are getting on board. They want to 306 00:19:36,520 --> 00:19:39,520 Speaker 1: be a part of this, and so that's when we 307 00:19:39,600 --> 00:19:43,280 Speaker 1: see four other cat shows being held by members of 308 00:19:43,320 --> 00:19:47,720 Speaker 1: the public unrelated to Harrison were uh there are two 309 00:19:47,760 --> 00:19:52,080 Speaker 1: in London, two in Scotland, and then eventually they just 310 00:19:52,160 --> 00:19:55,960 Speaker 1: become a common thing. It's no longer weird to hear 311 00:19:56,080 --> 00:20:01,159 Speaker 1: about the UH the annual cat show. Eventually, of course, 312 00:20:01,760 --> 00:20:06,080 Speaker 1: because the US is always trying to emulate European culture. 313 00:20:06,080 --> 00:20:08,840 Speaker 1: At this time, UH, the practice of the cat show 314 00:20:08,960 --> 00:20:13,159 Speaker 1: crosses the Atlantic. If you were at Madison Square Garden 315 00:20:13,320 --> 00:20:17,960 Speaker 1: in just hanging out, then you may have well run 316 00:20:18,080 --> 00:20:23,400 Speaker 1: into the first well known cat show on the American continant. 317 00:20:23,960 --> 00:20:26,920 Speaker 1: And the same thing happened. People started forming cat clubs, 318 00:20:27,280 --> 00:20:32,920 Speaker 1: start organizing their own events, and then they morphed into 319 00:20:33,080 --> 00:20:36,240 Speaker 1: the things you see today, which are still not as 320 00:20:36,600 --> 00:20:40,159 Speaker 1: popular as the as the dog shows. Right, what is 321 00:20:40,160 --> 00:20:43,200 Speaker 1: it you Canuba dog show? That's the one. I think 322 00:20:43,200 --> 00:20:46,840 Speaker 1: that's the brand that sponsors in that popular dog food. 323 00:20:47,040 --> 00:20:48,520 Speaker 1: You know I fight at the top of the show 324 00:20:48,920 --> 00:20:51,760 Speaker 1: the first episode. I almost joked, like this seems like 325 00:20:51,760 --> 00:20:54,240 Speaker 1: a relic of the past, like cat shows surely don't 326 00:20:54,240 --> 00:20:56,359 Speaker 1: exist anymore, and what a dummy I am, Like, of 327 00:20:56,400 --> 00:20:59,040 Speaker 1: course they still exist. They're they're not as popular or 328 00:20:59,240 --> 00:21:03,080 Speaker 1: as widely you know, broadcast or or known as dog shows, 329 00:21:03,119 --> 00:21:05,320 Speaker 1: but they certainly exist. And you can actually go to 330 00:21:05,440 --> 00:21:08,840 Speaker 1: c f A UH dot org and and see a 331 00:21:08,880 --> 00:21:12,080 Speaker 1: calendar of of cat shows and also the the year's 332 00:21:12,119 --> 00:21:16,200 Speaker 1: previous winners from all the different categories of breeds cf 333 00:21:16,240 --> 00:21:20,240 Speaker 1: A standing for the Cat Fanciers Association. I love that 334 00:21:20,280 --> 00:21:22,720 Speaker 1: the word fancy is still part of it, you know, 335 00:21:22,800 --> 00:21:24,960 Speaker 1: it's still in the in the nomenclature. There's a very 336 00:21:24,960 --> 00:21:28,320 Speaker 1: popular cat magazine called cat Fancy. I think there's also 337 00:21:28,400 --> 00:21:31,000 Speaker 1: dog Fancy, but I believe cat fancy is definitely a thing. 338 00:21:32,119 --> 00:21:34,600 Speaker 1: Well there, I'm sure there are fans of felines who 339 00:21:34,640 --> 00:21:39,000 Speaker 1: will tell us that cats are just fancier. Uh no, 340 00:21:39,000 --> 00:21:44,119 Speaker 1: no comments, no comment. I love out all animals, um, well, 341 00:21:44,359 --> 00:21:46,440 Speaker 1: not all of them. They had some things to work 342 00:21:46,440 --> 00:21:50,600 Speaker 1: out with. Possums. Possums are weird, right am I the 343 00:21:50,640 --> 00:21:53,359 Speaker 1: only one here? Like? Oh, they're very strange. I mean 344 00:21:53,400 --> 00:21:55,080 Speaker 1: even you've ever seen one like come up on you 345 00:21:55,160 --> 00:21:59,520 Speaker 1: at night with its weird transparent glowy eyes no thank you, 346 00:21:59,720 --> 00:22:03,080 Speaker 1: and they hiss. Will alone. Out of all the marsupials 347 00:22:03,080 --> 00:22:07,840 Speaker 1: this continent could have had, we got possums anyway. Yes, cats. 348 00:22:07,880 --> 00:22:12,440 Speaker 1: So now, as as Noel said, you can find cat 349 00:22:12,560 --> 00:22:18,800 Speaker 1: shows pretty easily in the US and in Europe, and 350 00:22:19,040 --> 00:22:22,320 Speaker 1: you see that people's opinions of cats. This is what 351 00:22:22,400 --> 00:22:26,560 Speaker 1: I know. I kept hilling on this the judging qualifications 352 00:22:26,560 --> 00:22:31,920 Speaker 1: and standards are still pretty arbitrary, right. The Siamese cat, 353 00:22:32,359 --> 00:22:35,720 Speaker 1: which is now the ninth most popular cat breed in America, 354 00:22:36,160 --> 00:22:39,560 Speaker 1: was once upon a time seen as a quote unnatural 355 00:22:39,800 --> 00:22:45,679 Speaker 1: nightmare kind of cats, and now here in one. It 356 00:22:45,840 --> 00:22:49,080 Speaker 1: seems that the more things change, the more they stay 357 00:22:49,200 --> 00:22:51,920 Speaker 1: the same. As long as there are cats, there are 358 00:22:52,040 --> 00:22:56,160 Speaker 1: going to be cat shows. Let us know if you've 359 00:22:56,200 --> 00:22:57,919 Speaker 1: gone to one, you know what I mean, Send us 360 00:22:57,960 --> 00:23:01,119 Speaker 1: pictures of your cats, or send us pictures of your pets. 361 00:23:01,359 --> 00:23:06,280 Speaker 1: Extra points extra arbitrary Internet points for uh for really 362 00:23:06,320 --> 00:23:10,120 Speaker 1: really weird pets. We're not gonna get into it today, 363 00:23:10,160 --> 00:23:12,080 Speaker 1: but if you wish, you want to do a little 364 00:23:12,119 --> 00:23:15,000 Speaker 1: extra reading. On the side, there is a how stuff 365 00:23:15,119 --> 00:23:19,280 Speaker 1: Works article on how cat shows work. Um just gotta 366 00:23:19,400 --> 00:23:22,320 Speaker 1: animals dot how stuff works dot com, slash pets slash 367 00:23:22,400 --> 00:23:26,440 Speaker 1: cat dash show dot htm. Uh. Some good info there 368 00:23:26,480 --> 00:23:30,720 Speaker 1: on just the procedural aspects of cat shows, which clearly 369 00:23:30,720 --> 00:23:35,520 Speaker 1: still exists, although unfortunately Cat Fancy Magazine stopped publishing in 370 00:23:35,520 --> 00:23:39,320 Speaker 1: two thousand and fifteen, so you know, it's tough to 371 00:23:39,320 --> 00:23:43,080 Speaker 1: be a print magazine these days. But the sentiment and 372 00:23:43,119 --> 00:23:48,080 Speaker 1: the values of cat fancy live on in homes across 373 00:23:48,720 --> 00:23:52,840 Speaker 1: the planet. We hope that you enjoyed this episode. Maybe 374 00:23:52,880 --> 00:23:56,240 Speaker 1: you had a furry companion of your own, purring along 375 00:23:56,520 --> 00:24:01,640 Speaker 1: as you listened. Let us know what other animal competitions 376 00:24:01,880 --> 00:24:05,359 Speaker 1: have you seen. I'm sure there their horse shows a plenty, 377 00:24:05,560 --> 00:24:10,640 Speaker 1: dressage performances and so on. The thing we mentioned earlier, 378 00:24:10,680 --> 00:24:14,000 Speaker 1: the thing I was saying about the most beautiful goat. 379 00:24:14,440 --> 00:24:18,879 Speaker 1: I was referring to the Maza Yen Alms competition in 380 00:24:19,040 --> 00:24:23,520 Speaker 1: Saudi Arabia. Uh, the a goat from Damascus, Dame Carer 381 00:24:24,119 --> 00:24:28,000 Speaker 1: won the first prize for most beautiful goat. Yeah. I 382 00:24:27,560 --> 00:24:30,480 Speaker 1: I don't really think of the word beautiful when I 383 00:24:30,520 --> 00:24:33,520 Speaker 1: think of goat. So maybe there in lies the irony 384 00:24:33,600 --> 00:24:36,040 Speaker 1: of the competition. It's a kind of goat called a 385 00:24:36,119 --> 00:24:39,600 Speaker 1: Damascus goat. Hang on, you, guys, I'm gonna say, I'm 386 00:24:39,640 --> 00:24:43,400 Speaker 1: gonna send you a picture. It's worth it. Uh. This 387 00:24:43,480 --> 00:24:46,239 Speaker 1: is this is not the specific goat, but this is 388 00:24:46,280 --> 00:24:48,520 Speaker 1: what these uh, this is what these goats look like. 389 00:24:48,640 --> 00:24:51,439 Speaker 1: So Noel Casey, I want you to pull this up. 390 00:24:51,560 --> 00:24:54,680 Speaker 1: I put it in our chat on our zoom. Check 391 00:24:54,760 --> 00:24:57,560 Speaker 1: this out. And that is not a beautiful goat. It 392 00:24:57,560 --> 00:25:01,159 Speaker 1: looks like a fist. It looks like you have it's like, 393 00:25:01,280 --> 00:25:05,400 Speaker 1: oh my god. And and it has weird little elf ears, 394 00:25:05,480 --> 00:25:07,399 Speaker 1: and it's eyes are and the wrong they're like it 395 00:25:07,400 --> 00:25:09,520 Speaker 1: looks like a like a lizard, like it's got an 396 00:25:09,560 --> 00:25:12,080 Speaker 1: eye on each side of its head. That is idious. 397 00:25:12,400 --> 00:25:15,879 Speaker 1: What is going on? Wow? Yeah, well beauties of the 398 00:25:15,920 --> 00:25:19,320 Speaker 1: eyebill holder, Casey, what do you think about that? Guy? 399 00:25:19,560 --> 00:25:24,159 Speaker 1: I mean, it's a very unique, so diplomatic, but I 400 00:25:24,160 --> 00:25:28,240 Speaker 1: would not associate that with beauty now. So again, that's 401 00:25:28,320 --> 00:25:31,600 Speaker 1: that's one of our that's another way to prove that 402 00:25:31,760 --> 00:25:35,800 Speaker 1: sometimes these standards can be arbitrary. Thanks so much for 403 00:25:35,840 --> 00:25:38,440 Speaker 1: coming along with us on this journey. Thanks to Harrison 404 00:25:38,480 --> 00:25:43,080 Speaker 1: Weird for redeeming the cat, Thanks to our long suffering 405 00:25:43,560 --> 00:25:48,520 Speaker 1: super producer at Casey Pegram and and of course thanks 406 00:25:48,560 --> 00:25:52,080 Speaker 1: to Christopher Haciots faced Alex Williams who composed our theme. 407 00:25:52,520 --> 00:25:55,399 Speaker 1: Eve's Jeff Coach. Check out her show This Day and 408 00:25:55,520 --> 00:25:59,040 Speaker 1: History Class along with Jay dot Ill, the podcast which 409 00:25:59,080 --> 00:26:02,600 Speaker 1: she produces huge thanks to research associate Gabe Louisier and 410 00:26:02,720 --> 00:26:06,240 Speaker 1: Cat Fancier. I imagine I assume we'll have to confirm 411 00:26:06,320 --> 00:26:09,399 Speaker 1: that later directly. But this was definitely a doozy of 412 00:26:09,440 --> 00:26:11,840 Speaker 1: a two parter. I certainly learned a lot. I'm a 413 00:26:11,840 --> 00:26:13,719 Speaker 1: cat owner and I didn't know half of this stuff. 414 00:26:14,080 --> 00:26:16,800 Speaker 1: And we would like to hear from you. If you 415 00:26:16,880 --> 00:26:21,719 Speaker 1: want to start a cat picture or pet picture sharing thread, 416 00:26:22,000 --> 00:26:26,280 Speaker 1: go on over to Ridiculous Historians on Facebook and uh, 417 00:26:26,400 --> 00:26:29,879 Speaker 1: let us let us know what your non human companions 418 00:26:30,080 --> 00:26:33,480 Speaker 1: look like again in bonus points for any really exotic 419 00:26:33,720 --> 00:26:37,359 Speaker 1: or unexpected ones. You can also find us on Instagram. 420 00:26:37,400 --> 00:26:40,680 Speaker 1: You can find us on Twitter, not just as shows, 421 00:26:40,680 --> 00:26:44,240 Speaker 1: but as individuals. That's right. You can find me on Instagram. 422 00:26:44,280 --> 00:26:47,680 Speaker 1: I am at how now Noel Brown, and you can 423 00:26:48,200 --> 00:26:51,000 Speaker 1: send me your pet pictures directly if you prefer at 424 00:26:51,000 --> 00:26:57,200 Speaker 1: ben Bullet hsw on Twitter or at ben Bullet on Instagram. Yes, Noel, 425 00:26:57,720 --> 00:27:00,320 Speaker 1: what a ride. I tell you, man, I would be 426 00:27:00,320 --> 00:27:03,000 Speaker 1: weirded out go into a cat show, not because of 427 00:27:03,000 --> 00:27:06,280 Speaker 1: the cats, but because I feel like I might run 428 00:27:06,359 --> 00:27:10,680 Speaker 1: into some very aristocratic person who would make me uncomfortable. 429 00:27:10,800 --> 00:27:13,600 Speaker 1: You know what I mean? Oh, I definitely twopen. You 430 00:27:13,680 --> 00:27:22,520 Speaker 1: gotta fear of the aristocrats. We'll see you next time, folks. 431 00:27:22,560 --> 00:27:24,639 Speaker 1: For more podcasts for my heart Radio, visit the I 432 00:27:24,680 --> 00:27:27,600 Speaker 1: heart Radio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you listen to 433 00:27:27,640 --> 00:27:28,560 Speaker 1: your favorite shows.