VENTURA : Cats and Fanciers Come Out for Show

Lee Como could feel his eyes begin to itch. A few more hours, and his eyeballs would be swollen, his chest would tighten and he would suffer a full-blown allergy attack.

Looking around at a roomful of felines, Como ruefully acknowledged that a cat show was probably the last place for a person allergic to fur balls. “I get allergy shots once a month,” he said. “But my eyes will still be puffing up by the end of the day.”

Como, who lives with four cats in Ojai, was watching a judge poke and prod one of his Persian kittens Sunday at the 26th annual Cat Fanciers’ Assn. Championship Cat Show at the Ventura County Fairgrounds.

His wife, Carolyn, is the cat fancier in the family. Not only does he obligingly live with cats, but he also gets dragged to the shows, Como said. “I just come for half a show, and then I gotta leave.”

More than 200 cats of all ages, colors and breeds were on display, and enthusiastic amateurs, professional breeders and amiable spouses were on hand to watch the furry creatures purr and preen for the judges.

“They’re used to being poked and pulled,” said Bobbie Short, a breeder from San Diego County who attends about 25 shows a year. “I brought these kittens here because I want them to get used to a show,” she said.

Most cat shows won’t judge kittens under 4 months old, but owners should take them to shows so they can get used to the noise and being handled by strangers, Short said. “If you wait until later, they’re going to freak out.”

Nearly all the cats present were well-behaved and sedate, and most seemed used to strangers dropping by their cages to play with them.

“I used to hate cats,” said Ron Forbes, a mechanic from Newbury Park who was working as a volunteer at the show. “I changed my mind after I went to a cat show, but I’m still deathly allergic to them.”

But his allergy hasn’t prevented him from hanging out with felines. “We have four cats at home,” Forbes said.