Last week Lady Dinah's invited me (Mandy, cat lady blogger) to join them for their new evening event at the Cat Emporium. In the enchanted forest, underneath the shimmering ivy, surrounded by the Queen’s rose garden, I was joined by a wonderful group of guests to play Cat Bingo! No need to know all the bingo lingo, because instead of marking off ‘legs eleven’ or ‘key of the door’, instead we were looking for different cat breeds. 
Our bingo card was a 5x5 grid, each square representing a cat breed with an adorably cute illustration. The game is played just like traditional bingo; one by one each breed is drawn out of a hat (in the form of an illustrated token, rather than a real cat!), and our job was to listen carefully and mark off each breed if we had them on our card. The ‘numbers’ were called by Laura, chief cat carer at the Cat Emporium. Also joining the Lady Dinah's team for the evening were Amy and Kathryn from Laurence King Publishing, and as each token was drawn, Amy provided us with interesting facts about the breed. (I’m tempted to make a ‘cat calling’ joke here, but we all know that just wouldn’t do!)
Heinz Varieties
It was an interesting way to find out about a whole range of cats. Besides the Persian and Siamese, we learned more about exotic varieties like Serengeti, Savannah, Toyger and Bombay. The different breeds took us on a tour around the world. We met the Selkirk Rex, Havana, Himalayan, Norwegian Forest, Turkish Angora, Russian Blue, Thai, Egyptian Mau, Cornish Rex and Australian Mist. The Munchkin was very popular and elicited a cheer from the crowd…maybe it was on lots of cards, or maybe it’s everyone’s favourite. Also popular were the Scottish Fold and Norwegian Forest, Ragdoll, Maine Coon; all the extra cute and cuddly ones.
Although educational to learn about a whole range of wonderful breeds, we were delighted to see the Cat Emporium residents represented: the domestic shorthair and domestic longhair are not forgotten and are included in the game, just as likely to earn you a win as the breeds!
While the cafe felines looked on; some sleepily, some with intrigue; the cats kept coming out of the hat until we heard ‘line’, followed by a triumphant ‘meow’ from our first winner. The Khao Manee completed her line. Quickly afterwards we had our two-line winner with the Abyssinian and the Oriental completed the full house.
Halfway There
Between rounds the guests mingled with the cats while Laura and Mona divulged lots of interesting facts about the Cat Emporium stars. Wonderful smelling teas were served in exquisite tea cups and saucers along with delicious cakes and bagels. As usual Peter drew a crowd, luxuriously lounging in the tree with his gorgeous long coat and fluffy tail. Alice slept peacefully next to some of our guests, while Petra made them work for it as she woke from her slumber but didn’t move out of her bed to receive treats. Why, of course darling! However, it seemed that bingo wasn’t for all. Artemis and Wookie were looking for something a little quieter, so they went upstairs to share a blanket and look incredibly cute.
Queen Bee
Mama Mue chose to watch the proceedings from up high. She stayed for the whole time, just making sure we were doing it right. When she did come down from her high perch it was to seek out some back scratches.
During the second round Peter got the urge to find out more about what Laura was doing. Up he jumped on the table to investigate. What is in that little bag? In fact, do we even need a human bingo caller at all? If the bingo is about cats, SURELY we should have a feline bingo caller? After a little while taking over from Laura, bingo lost its appeal so he decided it was time to play with a soft ball, pawing it and chasing it around the room.
Lucky Number Seven
Peter charmed everyone, but we couldn’t watch him for long because we had to concentrate on the game. If you missed your breed, you would miss out! The Siberian was drawn for the line, and then the Turkish Van for the two-line.
It was getting tense as more and more guests filled their board and were waiting for their final cat! Finally, out popped the breed that three of our players had been eagerly waiting for, the Californian Spangled. BINGO! Congratulations to all our winners, who chose their prizes from a range of Lady Dinah’s branded products and selected merchandise. Cat Bingo itself was also up for grabs as a star prize for the full house.
Top of the Shop
Cat Bingo is a fun, cute and surprisingly informative twist on the traditional game, my only wish that I was collecting the cats for real. But then, I wouldn’t know where to put them all!
The game is available for you to play at home with your favourite crazy cat peeps. Visit www.LaurenceKing.com for more information. Or if you want to join us and our domestic long/shorthairs for a game, head over to www.ladydinahs.com to book your tickets for our next Cat Bingo evening.
-- Mandy
And if you are wondering…here’s the bingo lingo.
Lucky Number Seven – 7
Legs Eleven – 11
Key of the Door – 21
Halfway There – 45
Heinz Varieties – 57
Queen Bee – 73
Top of the Shop – 90
