What we can — and can’t — expect from cats

In the world of pets, cats are their own separate category. vox.com/culture CULTURE   Vox’s incredible writer Emily Stewart did something even more incredible recently: She attended a cat show and not only wrote about the experience, but turned that experience into the ultimate existential piece about cats. [What even are cats,]( and what do we want them to be? As Emily writes, “Are they supposed to bend to our will, or are we supposed to bend to theirs?” This is the heady question a cat show is perfectly poised to answer — especially since the cat Emily follows for the piece, a black Persian named Vincenzo, is champion material. But what makes this piece even better is that Emily doesn’t just ponder the ways of cats, but the ways of their owners. For example, a person who is collected enough to professionally judge cats probably isn’t all that different from the cats themselves. “‘You can put all those parts together, and each point is worth something, and then you can have an ugly cat.’” Cold! Emily’s piece also illustrates how much love cats are capable of bringing into our lives. As a lifelong pet owner whose current cat can be, shall we say, challenging, I loved the reminder that cats aren’t “failed dogs,” but rather their own uniquely rewarding companions. —Aja Romano, culture writer Editor's note: For ongoing coverage and analysis of the developing conflict between Israel and Hamas, [read our Vox colleagues' work here](. What makes a good cat? [illustration of a brown cat with long whiskers]( Mary Kirkpatrick for Vox I have absolutely no idea what makes Vincenzo a good cat. It’s a fact I keep to myself when I meet his owner, Donna Dzurishin, at the Garden State Cat Expo in New Jersey in mid-July. At one of the biggest cat shows in the country, my ignorance puts me in the minority. Plus, Donna’s got that warm kind of energy that almost compels you to hug her — it’s not clear if you need it, she needs it, or maybe you both do. You definitely can’t hug Vincenzo or any of the cats competing. The first rule of the cat show is that you don’t touch the cats (unless you ask first, and, as I come to learn, are prepared to be turned down). Vincenzo is a solid black Persian — a black cat dusted in gray, with a long fluffy tail and round copper eyes that are hard to make out amid all the fur. People sometimes tell Donna, who has long black hair, that they look alike. Her daughter makes fun of her for it. [Vincenzo is an “absolutely beautiful boy,” per Donna](, and her first show cat — they’ve only been competing since February. There’s been a learning curve in navigating the show circuit, not to mention Vincenzo’s high-maintenance grooming routine, which rivals that of a Kardashian. “I’m obsessive-compulsive, so I put everything into it,” Donna says. The idea that someone — let alone hundreds of people — would put their cat into a contest is foreign to me. I cannot fathom caring about ranking cats or undertaking the apparent effort being put in here. Why one cat might be “better” than the next is a mystery. Donna describes what it is that makes Vincenzo special — his stocky body, his short legs, his nice round head. “Did you see him?” she asks. I don’t want to admit that the visual isn’t helping much in terms of my personal comprehension. Our conversation is cut short because the pair have been called to the ring. Donna pulls a nonplussed Vincenzo from his tent, fluffs him up as best she can, and hurries off. I wish her luck but then decide to follow — in the ring she’s headed to, [Vincenzo is in the running for best cat, and I may as well see what happens.]( As we walk over, Donna’s friend pulls me aside. She tells me Donna’s husband passed away recently, and cat shows have given her new life. The stakes suddenly feel high. [Read the full story »](  [Learn more about RevenueStripe...]( TikTok isn’t creating false support for Palestine. It’s just reflecting what’s already there. The Israel-Hamas war changed the way we engage online, maybe forever. [Read the full story »]( We’re all addicted to cheap stuff — and Temu knows it How the new Chinese shopping site came from seemingly nowhere and is changing the way we shop. [Read the full story »](   Support our work We aim to explain what we buy, why we buy it, and why it matters. Support our mission by making a gift today. 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