Judge Beverly Wood is flanked by a dozen cages filled with spindly, Siamese-looking cats.

“This is our Oriental Shorthair division,” Wood tells a small crowd gathered in front of the judging ring.

She selects one cat and brings it to a table in the center of the ring, stretching the long-limbed creature in the air. The cat’s name is Nettie, and Wood observes her green eyes, gold-grey fur and oversized ears to see whether she meets the standards assigned to the breed. She does.

“Oriental Shorthairs are known for their color. Exquisite color. … Fabulous eye color on this cat. Good, short, close-lying, tight coat. Beautiful.”

Nettie only protests a bit on the judge’s table – unlike a Russian Blue that later hisses in the ring and has a “little attitude,” Wood said.

Wood declares 8-month-old Nettie best in division, best in breed and best champion in her judging ring. That’s good news for her owner, Winter Trussell, who came to Wichita from Texas to show Nettie.

“She's a champion,” Trussell said. “She's working on being a grand champion. … And so she has to accumulate 200 points before she's a grand champion.”

This is, after all, the purpose of Wichita’s annual Cat Fancy. Essentially a feline pageant, the Wichita show is one of dozens held across the world each year to judge pedigreed cats, primarily on their physical attributes.

By competing in the shows, the cats are eligible to earn points. The more points earned, the higher a pet is ranked by the national Cat Fanciers’ Association, which sets the standards and judging rubrics for cat breeds.

The tradition in Wichita has taken place since at least 1972, said Mary Beth Wegerle, president of the Wichita Cat Fancy show. Over 100 cats competed at this year’s show earlier this month at the Cotillion. Many came from nearby states like Texas, Arkansas and Oklahoma.

But after more than 50 years, Wichita’s show has grown into much more than an opportunity for out-of-towners and their pets to rack up points. It’s also become an institution for Wichitans to bond with friends and family over their love of the cuddly creatures.

Susan Yost and Mary Purl first met in college in the 1970s. But in February, they visited the Wichita show together to wonder at the well-trained cats. The two watched from the audience as a decidedly fluffy set of Persians are judged, oohing and aahing each time a new one is brought forward.

The friends came decked out in themed clothing: cat socks, cat shoes, cat jewelry, a bag with multicolored cats on it. Even Purl’s jacket has a rainbow of stitched kittens on the back. Purl said her Persian at home is the “light of her life.”

Yost concurs: “She would give up her entire family for her cat.”

Many spectators don’t much understand the complicated rubrics grading each competition, which separate cats by age, gender, spay/neuter status and color. Even Wegerle, the president of Wichita’s show, said it’s a complex system that often goes over her head. She typically competes, but more casually in the household pets division.

She often has fun at the annual show giggling with her friends at how their humble housecats compare to the expensive pedigrees.

“Household pets are just a bunch of misfits,” Wegerle said. “They don't know which way to look. But you get a little show kitten, and they're going to be sitting at attention.”

Even those who do come to compete from out-of-town say the community is one of the best parts of the shows. Sheryl Zink breeds Burmilla cats, with pure-white coats and green eyes that almost appear to be lined with kohl. She goes to shows almost every weekend, driving her pets anywhere within 12 hours of her home base of Houston. Why?

“I'm retired,” Zink said. “I see my friends every weekend … in a different city, and it's just fun. I mean, some people play golf. Some people collect stamps. I show cats.”

The seriousness of the show gets diluted when the cat costume contest rolls around at lunchtime. Wegerle was initially skeptical of the idea: “Don’t humiliate them, you know? My gosh.”

But the crowds love it. Plus, it’s an opportunity for the pedigreed cats and rescue cats to compete simultaneously.

Each year, the Cat Fancy show collaborates with the Wichita Animal Action League and several other rescue groups to have cats available for adoption at the event.

“We have a lot of rescue groups, vendors,” Wegerle said. “And you see the little kids going around … with little cat ears on. All the little girls wear their cat outfits, the cat shirts and that makes me feel good.”

The winner of this year’s costume contest? A one-eyed black rescue cat in a teeny pirate costume: one-eyed Jack.