THE CLUB FORMATION AND ACTIVITIES

The Club was formed during the 1950s by a group of enthusiasts who took pride in their hobby of breeding and exhibiting their pedigree cats.  Some of those founder members' cats are well known throughout the cat fancy today.

Originally, in its foundation years, the Club was known as the East Anglian Cat Club as most of its members lived in Ipswich or the surrounding areas.  It was in 1957 that interested cat lovers in Norfolk requested that the Club expand its activities to cover both counties.  It was at this time that a breakaway group of 12 formed the Suffolk and Norfolk Cat Club.

The early show venue was at the Coot Hall, Ipswich.  Membership was small but consisted of a comparatively large number of household pet owners who took pleasure in exhibiting their pets.

Gradually the showing of cats became more popular and numbers outgrew the Coot Hall. The larger shows were then held at the Old Corn Hall.  Championship status was attained on 18 February 1967.  With no hall available to accommodate the benching of 450-500 exhibits, Norwich was the only alternative where 12 championship shows were staged with great success.  Time came for changes in 1978 - that year saw the Club back at Ipswich to present to Suffolk its first championship show at the Corn Exchange. Here 600 pedigree exhibits plus household pets were judged by 30 judges drawn from various parts of the country.  The Club prides itself that it has always catered for the household pets, remembering that these were numbered with the pedigrees which formed our first shows.  A section is provided for the purpose of staging and exhibiting these lovely creatures who compete for the many beautiful trophies provided. They are presented and judged as carefully as their pedigree relations.

More recently, the Club's show has been held at the popular Wood Green venue at Godmanchester.

The aims of the Club are to assist members in matters relating to their hobby, to promote the welfare of both pedigree and non pedigree cats and the holding and supporting of shows for the exhibition of cats.

The affairs of the Club are directed on behalf of its members by a Committee of nine members and five officers who are elected by ballot at the AGM.  This committee meets every quarter. Current membership totals 156. 

The Chairman, Mrs Grace Denny, has held office for four years and, prior to that, was Vice Chairman for four years.  She has been breeding cats for over 25 years and is a judge of many different breeds from the older established breeds of Siamese, Orientals and Foreign Whites to newer breeds such as Ragdolls. Other offices she has held include Chairman of the Blue Point Siamese Cat Club, GCCF Delegate, member of the GCCF Executive and Appeals Committee, Delegate for the S. Joint Advisory Committee and an international judge in New Zealand, Sweden and the Netherlands.