Eighteenth Best Cat is a blue mackerel tabby Exotic male from Switzerland, Eurecat Valentino of Mericat, the first European Division cat to achieve a National Win. He attended only eight shows in the United States.
Tino, as he is known, was following in a winning tradition. Eurecat Neo, from a previous litter out of Tino's mother, was Europe's Best Cat in Premiership last year! Tino was bred by Joel Carron, and is owned by Joel along with Joelle Gillon, also of Switzerland, Virginia Wight of Macon, Georgia, and Donna Andrews, of Atlanta, Georgia. They would also like to thank another Swiss friend, Olivier Grin, for his assistance in taking Tino to two Moscow shows, as well as traveling with Joel, Joelle, and Tino.
Joel met Joelle at her first CFA show when they were benched together at a show. After seeing Joel's cats, and looking at her cat, Joelle knew she needed something better to take to the shows. Shortly thereafter, Joel approached her about co-owning Tino as he lived in a small house and Joelle had room for another cat or two. Despite his wonderful type, it was actually Olivier who had to convince Joel to take Tino to a show to grand him, as Joel was not sure he was good enough. So as Joel and Joelle took Tino to the various European shows, they watched in amazement as he climbed all the way to the top. He was #1 cat in Europe! In December, Joel took Tino to the large Hong Kong show where he was the highest scoring Exotic (one of 75 Exotics in championship). It soon became evident that Tino could possibly achieve more than Best Cat in Europe. Why not try for a CFA National Win?
While at the Hong Kong show, Joel was introduced to Donna Andrews and Virginia Wight who came to the show without a cat. The next month, Joel noticed Virginia at a show in Germany where she was delivering an American Wirehair to a breeder in Germany. He asked Virginia if she thought it might be possible for Tino to make a National Win, and if so, did she know anyone who might be able to help him? Virginia thought Tino could do it if he picked up 300 or more points a show since, at that time, he only had about 50 rings. She said she'd have to check with Donna, but she thought they would be happy to help Tino in his campaign for a NW title. Donna agreed, and they watched their Sky Miles pile up.
In order to maintain his position as # 1 cat in Europe, Tino had to return to Europe to attend all the shows there. What most American exhibitors do not realize is that there are only 10 to 12 shows in Europe in the entire year, unlike here where sometimes we have 10 shows on any given weekend. So, Donna and Virginia took turns flying back to Europe with Tino for those shows. Tino also had to attend most of his shows on the West Coast as he tended to do better at those shows. Because of their work schedules, it was usually Virginia who did the West Coast shows and suffered jet lag for three months. Virginia, an American Shorthair and American Wirehair breeder, wishes to thank all the Exotic and Persian breeders she met who were welcoming, supportive, and shared their grooming techniques.
Tino was a wonderful traveler, never making a sound. About halfway through the flight, he would need a visit to the plane's lavatory. He would use his portable litter box, have a drink of water and a bite to eat, and then back to his carrier. Whenever there was extra time before takeoff or after landing, Donna or Virginia would set up a tent in a quiet corner of the gate area and offer Tino a litter box and food/water. He usually used the litter box and then sat and watched the people. Children, of course, thought he was wonderful.
After taking Tino to the Kiev, Ukraine show instead of the Filderstadt, Germany show, where he was highest scoring cat and picked up about 700 points, it was decided that his National Win was practically assured and he could just stay in Europe and attend the remaining shows in Moscow, France and Italy.
The group thought they had achieved their goal, and could eagerly await the end of the year. Tino is truly an international cat, having competed at shows in Europe, Russia, Asia, and the United States. It was a great year, with many thanks to the judges and exhibitors they met along the way.
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