Cat Lovers Festival

I attended the show last year at the MCEC with family and there was very poor crowd control. It was as if a pandemic never happened. Regardless, there were simply too many people. Everyone was waddling around like penguins and in all directions. There were no barriers to direct traffic or queues, and there was no point using the map provided because it was simply too difficult to get around. There were unreasonably long queues to attractions and impatient people cutting into them. Even some of the stall holders looked fed up. We left within an hour. We won't be returning, it's simply too chaotic.

Have attended 2 previous Cat Lovers Shows at the Royal Exhibition Building and they were much more accessible and generally more pleasant than the recent show at the exhibition centre.The experience was marred by the following factors which contributed to my granddaughter (adult) and I leaving after less than 1 hour.It was overcrowded on Saturday and we thought that numbers were limited to the event . In future I suggest that the ticketing is for a set period rather than a whole day. (e.g. 11am -12.30pm).There was no clear signage suggesting direction of movement through the popular displays such as the Breed Show case which resulted in confusion as people pushed in. There were fewer people in attendance with the cats on show which led to distressed cats attempting to climb over the rear curtain of their enclosure to escape the scrutiny. This also distressed some of we cat lovers observing this behaviour.I suggest that cats are not displayed unless there is a person responsible for each one of them in evidence.The number of food outlets was overwhelming and in my opinion completely unnecessary. If people need food, direct them to food outlets outside the show. It’s supposed to be a cat appreciation experience, not a picnic.It was also alarming to behold so many commercial stalls. Many of them were perfectly relevant (such as the cat rescue organisations, though I wonder how many of them have been regulated by the RSPCA)Many others seemed superfluous and added to the congestion.I would love to continue my support for the event but will not do so until my concerns have been addressed and improvements are evident.Sincerely, Peggy Cole