AKDAMAR Bazisey Mahsus reclined like a potentate in his gold lined box and nodded off to sleep.
Befitting his status as 1995 and 1996 UK Supreme Champion, 1995 National Cat of the Year and guest of honour at the Irish Supreme Championship Cat Show, Bazi's cage was lined with white satin inlaid with gold brocade, he slept in a gold box and he even had a separate, curtained off apartment containing his litter tray.
Dozing in front of his admirers, Bazi, a Turkish Van, looked like he knew that he was the Cat of the Year; but then, a cat is the only animal that could be voted the best of its kind and appear to understand precisely what it means.
In fact, every cat acts like it has just been voted Cat of the Year and knows precisely what it means.
More than 100 cats had gathered in Dublin for yesterday's show, organised by the Governing Council of the Cat Fancy of Ireland. Blue Point Birmans, Maine Coons and Lilac Burmese lounged in cages, all with the look that cats have that tells you they are doing you a big favour just by being there at all.
Dogs are different. Dogs thrive at shows. They bark and sniff each other's bottoms and generally have a whale of a time. Cat shows, by contrast, are like police identity parades the main participants all act like they'd really rather be somewhere else.
Chaminiki Salim, a five month old Oriental kitten, had the prima donna act down to a fine art.
When presented with dry food instead of his usual steak mince or fresh fish, he promptly filled his food dish with cat litter and dumped the lot on the floor.
"If you don't give him enough attention he'll head butt you," remarked his owner, Mrs Rosemary Boddie from Coleraine, with a smitten look.
They weren't all pedigrees with ballet dancer temperaments, though.
Sammy, a female tabby who won Best Household Pet at yesterday's show, had survived two attempts to drown her and had been rescued from the river by her current owners, Mr and Mrs Cumming. After a near fatal dip in a river, a cat show held no fears for Sammy.
In the end, Camaha Jamilla Sunbeam, a British Shorthair owned by Mrs H. Gregg from Derry, took the much coveted Supreme Adult title and sat in splendour alongside ChaminikiTomori, the Supreme Neuter, and Supreme Kitten, Naomattim Moondancer.