Kitty's back in town... (ooh, what can I do?)

Today's Asbury Park trip had more than the usual purpose. First, there was a cat show to check out at the Convention Center. Second, I wanted to stop by a shop whose proprietor had left a comment on one of my AP posts. Given how friendly the shop owners tend to be in town, I figured I'd check it out.

The cat show was what cat shows usually are: weird. As a rule, I find the concept of breeding to be a bit much, given how many really great strays there are out there, prime for adoption. That's not to say that I don't appreciate a great feline, regardless of pedigree, and I know several very nice people who have purebred companions. But hey, if you want to pay $700 for a cat, I know plenty of shelters that would be happy to oblige you.

To their credit, the show organizers held a pet food drive, had some adoptable strays and held a non-breed-specific household cat competition. And, of course, there were the crazy cat ladies. 'Nuff said. I stayed about 90 minutes, enjoying the kitties.

(At this point I should say something about the vintage Convention Center, but that's for another time.)

As I headed south on the boardwalk, I saw a sign for the AP Boardwalk Rockin' Cats. Now, I've seen a stray or two there on my visits, and there's a Cat Crossing sign across the street from the old Howard Johnson's restaurant, but I didn't know they had organized friends. I didn't realize there were so many as to warrant a fan club of protectors.

The development company that's building condos and renovating the Casino apparently has a soft heart. They've made some space available to the organization at their offices on the boardwalk about a half block from the sign. I expected that their showroom might have a couple of crates, kind of like the adoption centers at PetSmart, and as I neared their building, I saw about a dozen people standing in the middle of the boardwalk, looking up to the second floor.

Looking back down at us: a host of cats, orange, black, white, brown, striped. I guess that's where they're living while they wait for homes. You'll see them in the picture above, if you study it carefully. (Click on it to enlarge for a better view.)

I'll tell you: I'm tempted, though it would break my 'one lap, one cat' rule. How cool would it be to have an orange cat named Sandy? Or a mackerel tabby named Madam Marie? Or maybe a tortoiseshell called Rosalita ("... jump a little lighter..."). Stay tuned.