About Houston Cat Club
The original Houston Cat Club was founded in 1922 by a small group of cat lovers. It was reorganized in 1949, and was incorporated in 1959. The distinctive Houston Cat Club logo first appeared in the 1975 show catalog for the 25th Anniversary show. HCC’s first show was in 1951 at the famous Shamrock Hotel. Shows were held there until 1969 when the show was moved to the Albert Thomas Convention Center and then on to the George R. Brown Convention Center in 1985. After many years at the George R Brown Convention Center the show moved to the Hilton Houston North in 2021. HCC shows are very popular with the community and have had huge numbers of spectators. At times, the ticket line has been down to the end of the block and the Fire Marshall guarded the door, letting people enter as an equivalent number exited.
Houston Cat Club is one of the Premier shows in CFA. Its shows were the largest in the country for many years and are still among the largest each year. A record 608 pedigreed cats were entered in competition in 1977! The Household Pet class has been an important part of the HCC shows from the beginning. HHP classes were very large in the 1973 show where 313 companion cats were entered. One of the highlights of the HHP Trick Contest for many years was Kim and Barney, a white Persian who rode on a tray that Kim carried as though she were serving drinks in a restaurant… often she was also on roller skates!
Over the years, Houston Cat Club has made many generous donations to area shelters and rescues from proceeds from the shows; the total exceeds $900,000. Houston Cat Club has also donated to the Winn Foundation, now EveryCat Health Foundation, since 1976, and achieved a cumulative donation of $100,000 in 2007 making it the first club to achieve Boulder recognition under the Winn Donor Tree. Houston Cat Club also sponsored the First Free Spay/Neuter clinic in the U.S. in 1993. Scotty Griffey, an important club member for many years, served on the Houston/Harris County Overpopulation Task Force in 1993.
For more in depth information about Houston Cat Club, please click here or on the History tab.