FEBRUARY 6, 2009
people
justput : 3»
Val^ntinçs ‘Day
Pussy Galore
V
Cat show judge has his claws out
£>at. fyb. Ï4
by Jim Radosta
il
see myself as a kind of salesperson for pedi-
| greed cats. I probably would’ve done very
I well selling cars,” laughs Walter Hutzler.
Regardless, the gay 71-year-old New
Yorker has done quite well for himself:
After struggling as an opera singer (“I always
wanted to do the romantic roles, and all 1 got were
comic characters because I was thin and lean and
kind of effeminate”) and retiring as a hair colorist,
he continues to judge cat shows in his spare time.
Hutzler spoke with Just
Out about his “pet proj
ect” in anticipation of a
Portland appearance.
dollhouses. 1 call it American froufrou. They have
little furniture in there. People go nuts about
those things!
The only thing that we don’t do is we’re not
that enamored with obedience. So cats are fairly
free to do whatever they want to do, and we don’t
expect them to heel or to stand perfectly still.
On his personal preference: I tend to like
very flashy cats, cats that have beautiful color.
I think that’s one of
the things that mes
merize people and
myself.
I actually
live
with two Maine
On a judge’s role:
Coon cats because
He’s the referee. He
I’m in that element
decides which is right,
that likes Where the
which is wrong, which
Wild Things Are.
is good, which is perfect.
1 like a cat that looks
It involves knowing the
like a cat. I’m looking
standards and knowing
for a great predator.
the breeds and having
I don’t
think
a clear mental picture of
I have a favorite
what you want the cats
breed, but 1 think 1
to look like.
have a “desert island
1 think of this as an
cat.” Maine Coons
athletic event because
are completely lov
these cats have to be in
able, but they’re
prime physical shape:
like Fred Flintstone:
They have to be beau
They
’re kind of big
tifully
proportioned,
Walter Hutzler says cat show judging isn't a
and Jurassic Park and
they have to be well- vocation but rather "an avocation. There's not
“duh." A Burmese
balanced, they have to any real money in it."
cat
has a great sense
be muscular. All of those
of humor, and I think if I was on a desert island,
things combine with your own subjectivity.
It needs quite a bit of tact, as well. A lot of I would like a cat that would make me laugh at
least.
people who breed cats—they have an umbilical
cord attached to these cats, and their blood and
On his first feline memory: I always had cats
their sweat and their tears sometimes get dimin
at home. I grew up at a boarding school. These
ished by rejection.
were all cats that lived outdoors on the grounds
of the school. I befriended them and used to come
On the psychology behind pets: Humans get
involved with animals because they want to rep out with some food that I had saved from meals
licate themselves in their animals. When 1 went
and feed them.
1 was a very lonesome and withdrawn youngster
to my first cat show in 1959, my friends were say
ing: “You like this kind of stuff? It’s a bunch of because we came over from Europe during World
War II, and I was separated from my parents. I’m a
old ladies in tennis sneakers!” That probably was
child of the Holocaust. I was bom in a small town
so! Because women think they’re dominated, and
near Nuremberg, Germany. My father was in a
therefore some of the traits that we have in cats—
camp, and my mother had a tough time with two
the kind of sweet, expressive, doll-like innocence
young children. We went off to England after that
that some of the cats have—that’s a very feminine
and came to America; we didn’t speak English. The
kind of psychological thing that people want with
first time we tried to cross, our ship was torpedoed.
their animals. It’s why people like those cute little
1 had this kind of relationship with cats right
dogs and why we like cute little cats.
in the beginning. It sort of eased the pain of with
drawal of being away from my family. I think that
On the truth about cats and dogs: There’s not
had a lot to do with my appreciation of cars.
much difference between a lion and a tiger and a
I don’t even call them pets; 1 call cats “compan
domestic cat, except for small little genes. I would
ions.” I identify with them. They’re the survivors. ©
tell my friends: “When you lie down with your dog,
it’s just like a personality. When 1 lie down with a
cat, it’s a lion and a tiger I’m lying down with, and
it’s still there. 1 think that’s the beauty of it."
The big difference between us and dog shows
is that cat shows are a lot fussier, prissier, fancier.
It’s like a beauty contest. The cats are housed in
The 45th annual C at F anciers ’ A ssociation
C at S how runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Feb. 7
and 8 at Memorial Coliseum. Admission is $5-$8
with a $2 discount for donating two cans of pet
food to SnowCap.
prizes,
and bogs to
nwt! I
lì
Mardi Gras 2009
tuesday february 24
- featuring the smallest parade ever!
complete with giveaways, GOGO boys,
great drinks,
and MISS MYLAR as hostess
more info to come...
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