Crossgar pet Pedro is purr-fect for cat pageant

Crossgar pet Pedro is purr-fect for cat pageant

28 November 2018

A CROSSGAR cat has been strutting his fluff on the red carpet after being short-listed for a prestigious kitty pageant. 

Pedro has been selected as a finalist in the Crown Your Cat competition organised by Mackle Petfoods.

Eighteen month-old Pedro, an American Maine Coon, is owned by Ciara Fullam, who is delighted with her furry feline’s success.

Ciara’s certain that Pedro was the ‘purr-fect’ Christmas present when she got him in Tipperary last December.

“Pedro is no ordinary cat,” she says: “I had always wanted a Maine Coon because they are known to be a hardy breed.

“I saw a picture of Pedro, then a kitten. I fell in love with him right away and brought him home to live with us. 

“I’m convinced he thinks of himself as a dog rather than a cat though. When he’s in the mood he will play ‘fetch’.

“In fact, it doesn’t stop there. He is quite independent like a dog. He’s not what we would call a lap cat at all. He does love company but is happy enough to just watch you most of the time from a distance.

“And he’s not afraid of water either. Enjoying a nice warm bath when the notion takes him and jumping into the river on occasion to go for a swim is often on his to-do list when the weather is good.”

But Pedro comes alive when the weather is at its worst. “His breed hails from the state of Maine in the USA,” Ciara explained. “They are larger than your average cat and bred to survive severe weather conditions. Last winter he was quite at home with our plummeting temperatures.”

Easily adapting to life in Crossgar, Pedro has a cunning side to him that isn’t obvious when you first meet him, says Ciara.

“Instead of the usual meeowww sound a cat would make Pedro chirps like a little bird. I can imagine him duping a few unsuspecting birds with this cunning little characteristic.”

Ciara added: “Even though there are three of us in the house, myself, my partner and my 15 year old son, Pedro is definitely the king. He’s over a year old now and he’s still growing.”

Laura Rafferty, spokeswoman at Mackle Petfoods, said: “We had entries coming in from all over Ireland and competition to be top cat was furrr-ocious.

“We’re down to four fury finalists which includes Pedro and we’ll be announcing the overall winner next month.”

Pedro is keeping his adoring fans up to date with his Instagram account, @PedrodaBatCat.