After being rescued by TEARS, Bessie’s now the cat’s meow
Published: March 19, 2006
Saturday was an annual homecoming for a frisky feline named Bessie, as she winds down her journey as an internationally recognized show cat.
Bessie was a motherless, bottle-fed stray four years ago when Ron and Laura Heineck of Naples, Fla., adopted her at The International Cat Association show in Bessemer.
But she became an instant winner on the show circuit, peaking with honors as one of the Top 20 cats internationally.
Ron Heineck said he hoped Bessie will amass enough points at cat shows this year to retire with a TICA lifetime achievement award.
Bessie owes her life - and her career - to the Birmingham chapter of TEARS, The Emergency Animal Rescue Service. She was one of the cats TEARS put up for adoption at the show that year.
The group is back with cats for adoption at this year’s two-day cat show at the Bessemer Civic Center, which continues today, from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. About 150 cats from more than 20 breeds will be on display and in competition.
Bessie has returned to the Bessemer show every year since the Heinecks adopted her.
“She just loves to go to the shows,” he said. “She knows when we’re going away. When my wife starts to pull out the suitcases, Bessie just goes and stands by the front door. She’s ready to go.”
The Heinecks didn’t know they were adopting a prodigy at that Bessemer show in 2002. They just knew adopting Bessie would rescue her from being euthanized.
But they could tell immediately she was beautiful and more than a little bubbly.
“She was a real maniac,” Ron Heineck said. “She does somersaults in her cage. She’s just a little showoff.”
A star was born in her first show, when she repeatedly won best household pet kitten honors, he said.
“That’s when we said `That cat is really going places,’” he said.
From a humble start in Bessemer, Bessie has traveled more than 16,000 miles on the road to international fame. But she always comes back to her roots.
“Even when she retires, we’ll still bring Bessie out here,” Ron Heineck said. “Just to show how’s she’s doing for the TEARS group.”
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