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

While he participated in competitions hosted by the Cat Fanciers Association and the International Cat Association, both based in the United States, earlier, Cui was nervous at the Beijing event.

More than 80 cats were competing in the categories in which he placed his cats, and most had "foreign pedigree". Part of the pressure came from Russian and South Korean cat owners.

Two of his cats won prizes at the show. He owns at least a dozen cats.

With some Chinese buying pedigreed cats from abroad and breeding their offsprings at home, their desire for identifying their cats is getting stronger, he says.

Some owners throw their hats in the ring simply for the pleasure of showing off their pets. Others are in it to figure out the market value of their cats: There is money to be made from selling kittens of prize-winning cats later.

Cat shows were mostly confined to a small circle decades ago and held by professional breeders in China, says Ge Min, the secretary-general of Love Cat Club. Now, a number of white-collar workers and young people are joining in the race.

"People are paying increasing attention to pets," Ge says.