WE ARE CFA PREMIERSHIP … And Then Some!

October 7, 2025

A Tour of Recent Winners

Chai Wuttivorrvattana

 

We all know that the Premiership class is an alternative avenue for pedigreed cat owners, especially non-breeders (hobbyists) who want to showcase their altered show-worthy cats in a show hall with other exhibitors, judges, and spectators. Last season Gary Martin and I travelled around the U.S. showing our cat in twenty-eight shows across twelve states in five different regions. We were fortunate to have that opportunity, and we became part of the “We are CFA Premiership” class of 2024-2025.

When the season ended last April, I wondered about the history of CFA’s Premiership class, what progress we have made, but most importantly, how and when some of my Premiership classmates started their journeys in this community.  So I began asking questions.

No one can argue against Susan Cook Henry of Jadon Persians being one of CFA’s legends. She lives in Warrenton, VA, and her outstanding achievements in the cat fancy with her mother, Donna Cook, have been featured in a recent tribute essay, “We Are CFA’s Best,” on the CFA Facebook page.  Their first Premiership experience was in 1970, with GC Hadleigh Surfrider of Jadon, a six-year-old cream Persian male who unfortunately was sterile, so showing him in the Premiership class was a logical step. Susan’s accomplishments and contributions in our community are an undeniable successful story of an exhibitor who has committed to being the best. I had several chances to hang out with her on the road last season, and found her to be such a down-to-earth person, knowledgeable and helpful inside and outside of the show hall, and well-respected in the community. Her most recent achievement is CFA’s current reigning Premiership Cat of the Year 2024-2025: GC, GP, NW Just So Jamie of Jadon.

When I traveled to cat shows in the Great Lakes region, I met several wonderful Premiership exhibitors. Beth Miller Holly is one of them. Hailing from Huber Heights, a suburb of Dayton, OH, her first Premiership experience was in 1992 with a Havana Brown neuter. Beth and her mother, Twyla Miller, registered Krimpurrs cattery in 1989 to breed Devon Rex. Then in 1994, Beth’s friendship with Lois Bantz led her to fall in love with the Persian breed, and she showed her first Premiership Persian: GP, NW Bolo’s Flash Fire of Krimpurrs. Beth’s success in the Premiership class includes six national winning cats, one being CFA’s Premiership Cat of the Year 2014-2015: GC, GP, NW Velvetkist Packin’ Heat of Krimpurrs, nicknamed “Frankie.” When asked what contributed to all those successes she replied, “The process of keeping my cats in a good condition and making them look beautiful in each ring to earn well-deserved recognition. It is my job to make sure they look the best they can. I take that responsibility seriously in every show.” She always brings a smile to my face every time I see her because she is true to herself and to others, and is one of the most honest human beings I have met in my lifetime.

Jodell Raymond is another Great Lakes Region Premiership exhibitor, living in Rochester, NY.  She started showing in Premiership in 2004 with a Himalayan, but her first cat show was with a Household Pet cat in 1974. She is not interested in breeding but still wants to show pedigreed cats, so Premiership is a great choice. Jodell’s husband, Ed, is currently CFA’s attorney. GP, NW Catsafrats Stardust of JoRay was their first national winning Premiership cat in 2015. In the past five years, Jodell and Ed have formed a special bond with Mitchell Ross of Rossiwood cattery. Jodell and Ed have been co-owning Rossiwood Persians with Mitch and showing them in Premiership ever since. Their latest collaboration has brought them their third national winning cat: GP, NW Rossiwood Say It Right, nickname “Righty.” I’ve had a blast interacting with this trio because they are genuinely friendly despite how intimidating their appearances can be, believe me, especially Ed. They are also photogenic!

Christine D’Avirro from Pennington, NJ,  started showing in CFA around the same time Gary and I did. She showed a four-month-old Siamese, Blu, and transitioned him to Premiership class starting in 2022-2023 season. She has been crazy about cats since an incredibly young age. She named her cattery Chai-Maew after a Siamese boy she received as a tenth birthday present from her parents. GPD, NW Kittkats Vero Blu of Chai-Maew has earned Christine three CFA national winning titles in Premiership for three consecutive seasons from 2022-2023 to the last season.

Calling Beth Feininger as “one tough cookie” is an accurate statement. I witnessed her team setting up and decorating the CFA awards banquet last June in Orlando, FL, under her leadership and creative vision. She also helped put up beautiful ring decorations for other top CFA shows, such as Cotton States and Atlanta Phoenix. Beth is a Maine Coon Cat breeder who lives in north Georgia and began breeding in 2000, but started showing in CFA in 1995. When asked why she selected the Maine Coon, a BIG cat to breed, she said it was to fulfill her late mother’s wish. “My mom was battling cancer for the third time. She always wanted a red Maine Coon Cat. I searched all over and the only color close to red I could find was a cameo boy, so I got him for her. After eighteen more months my mom passed away and I adopted him.” Beth started the breeding program to honor her late mother who had bravely battled cancer three times, but lost the last one. Beth herself is a three-time cancer survivor! Her latest success with her breed is GP NW Jaspurrcats Guns N Roses. We laughed together a lot while exhibiting at the same shows last season … Maybe because of our accents: Southern vs Thai?

Midway through last season I had a chance to meet a fierce exhibitor, Whitney Bowe, and her husband Robert. They live in Morganton, NC, and have been showing in Premiership since 2017. I love Whitney’s spirit of competition. Even though we competed in the same breed and color class, we always congratulated each other at the end of the day. We reminded ourselves that showing cats is a subjective sport. We talked seriously sometimes but we usually ended up laughing. We reminded each other that it is the judges’ responsibility to evaluate and score our cats based on CFA standards; it is not exhibitors’ responsibility to judge each other’s cats. Both of us have full-time jobs, so we understand how hard it is to juggle our careers and this hobby of showing cats. Her competitive spirit and determination have brought them their first national winning cat: GP, NW Starbourne Caspian Bonfire La-Bo.

I also noticed several younger cats competing in Premiership straight out from the kitten class.  Lia Greendale resides in Bend, Oregon. She has been exhibiting exclusively in CFA since 2007.  She had shown horses and dogs in the past and thought it would be fun showing a cat as a new challenge. Lia initially showed her Persian neuter GPD, RW Phyxius Socrates as a kitten then transitioned him to Premiership. She would like to continue showing in CFA, and states “Everyone has been so supportive, and I’ve met so many nice people.” She also bred a litter in 2009 and started showing in the Championship class. Lia has witnessed the quality of Premiership cats reach the level of those in Championship, and has obtained several Grand of Distinction titles for her cats.

Debbie Cavanaugh lives in Simi Valley, CA, and is what we call a “newbie” in CFA. Her background was in animal training for motion pictures, and you can see her work from a 1999 film, “Stuart Little.” As an animal lover, travel enthusiast, and a competitor, Debbie got her first show cat (an Oriental kitten) in 2023 at a local show from Linda Ahrens of Kat Attack cattery.  Linda has become Debbie’s friend and a mentor who guided her through a transition from Kitten to Premiership showing, primarily at west coast shows last season. GP, RW Kat Attack’s Let’s Get Loud, nickname Nero, earned Debbie her first regional award as Best Cat in Premiership in CFA’s Southwest region. Not bad for a newcomer? Debbie is now starting her breeding program, and one of her goals is to someday create her own national winner.

As the familiar saying goes, “Aging is like fine wine.” Can this metaphor also be true for felines? Last season there were two cats in Premiership who illustrated this quote by being the two oldest CFA national winners of the 2024-2025 season. The first is GC, GPD, NW Goliada Mary Mary, bred and shown by Nancy Petersen of Kalona, IA. Mary Mary was born on April 28, 2015, turning ten years young at the end of the season. Nancy started showing in CFA in 1976 after moving back to the US from London, England. Her late husband, Michael Petersen, was a former CFA Allbreed judge and North Atlantic regional director. Nancy also served as a regional director for the Midwest region after they relocated to Iowa to be closer to families. Nancy’s dilute Persians have now earned a total of eight national winning titles, one of them being CFA’s Best Cat in Premiership 2005-2006: GC, GP, NW Goliada Hermione.

The second “oldest” cat last season is GC, GP, NW Twitter’s Bonnie Belle, owned by Cheryl Dorrell. Bonnie Bell was born on August 11, 2015. Cheryl started showing in 1999 with two Premiership cats named General Patton and Tiger Lily. She showed them as long as they lived. Cheryl has shown exclusively in the Premiership class for her entire participation in CFA, and Bonnie Bell is her first CFA national winner! I enjoyed getting to know Cheryl better as we benched next to each other on the road. Besides being a classy lady living in Dallas, TX, Cheryl has a strong sense of community. She displayed that characteristic by being an excellent raffle tickets promoter and a seller in local cat shows. You can ask anyone in the Gulf Shore region, as Cheryl was chosen their “Exhibitor of the Year” for the past show season.

I also noticed couple Gen Z exhibitors in the show halls, Taylor Huffman and Chase Onushco.  Chase’s grandmother, Donna Jelokhani-Dzurishin, brought him as company to a show, one thing led to another, and Chase became a young exhibitor. Donna started showing in CFA in the Premiership class with GP, NW Woodspirit’s Vincenzo, her first national winning cat in 2023-2024. In addition to exhibiting, Chase was also a ring steward in a few shows – sometimes in multiple rings. Donna told me that Chase has received a lot of positive comments encouraging him to continue showing, and he is continuing his show journey this year. “His personality has changed greatly. The CFA community has helped him grow in many aspects,” she proudly said.

I met Sheryl Flake and Taylor Huffman, a mother-daughter duo living in Wellington, CO, midway through last season. Their infectious smiles and friendly personalities caught my eye while they were showing a Premiership cat. Sheryl, a veterinarian and Devon Rex devotee, found her dream kitten Delilah in 2011 then transitioned her to Premiership class when pyometra eliminated any hope of breeding her. A year later, seven-year-old Taylor showed Parker, a red tabby boy, as a household pet. Besides showing last season Taylor helped raise money for the CFA Annual & Awards Banquet in June by selling raffle tickets in couple of shows. Both also helped with decorations at the banquet last June in Orlando, FL, and celebrated their first national win with GCD, BW, NW Devonology’s Penelope, DM – a lovely girl who has collected just about every title a cat can in showing and breeding!

The CFA Premiership class is a special place where camaraderie meets competition and builds a close-knit community. The supportive nature of this group (plus not having to deal with the hormone-related issues of Championship cats) make it a great place to begin learning about the sport of exhibiting pedigreed cats.

(Photos courtesy of Chai Wuttivorrvattana. Throughout the past show season, Chai gathered winners in a Premiership final into the ring with the judge for a group photo.)