British shorthair cats owned by Beijing native Cui Yujian. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Cui Yujian, a Beijing resident, carefully handed his 4-month-old British shorthair cat to a judge at a recent cat show in the city.

The Russian judge ran her fingers across the pet's body, and told Cui: "Your cat has a plump face and a solid lower jaw. It displays well the features of its species."

Cui, 31, was thrilled to hear the words. After all, he has been raising cats for a while now.

He and his cats were at a feline competition, which was organized by Love Cat Club, a Chinese private club in Beijing recognized by the Germany-based World Cat Federation. Three of his cats were to compete in the kitten group (ages 3 to 6 months), and two for the junior group (ages 6 to 10 months).

A total of 242 cats participated in the contest.

"It was the biggest domestic cat pageant I had ever attended," Cui says of the event in October.