These are the purr-fect cats that have been crowned as the cutest felines in Basingstoke in a photograph competition.

The competition, which has been running for 27 years as part of the Basingstoke and District Cat Protection Spring Fair, sees cat owners submit photos of their pets online, before being judged by the public at the event for spots in the charity’s calendar.

The winner was feline Henry, owned by Mr and Mrs Pretious from Alton. In second place was Bella, owned by Rebecca Cooke from Newbury, and in third place was Poppy, owned by Louise and Daniel Mead from Thatcham.

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Basingstoke Gazette: Henry

Meanwhile, another Bella and her sister Zoe,  owned by Katherine Webster from Thatcham, were crowned Best in Show. 

Best in Show is voted for by David and Marion Canning from Aldermaston, who run and organise the event, means Bella and Zoe will feature on the front of their calendar. 

David said: “Usually, we get about 25 to 30 entries each year, however, the event was advertised on posters around the area and local papers mentioning the competition.

“Somehow, this time it got on the internet, and it went really well with 80 entries from people all over the place from the north of Scotland to Northern France.”

Basingstoke Gazette: Bella and Zoe, and Bella

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David and Marion raised £330 from the sale of the 2023 calendars, which they presented to Cat Protection along with extra donations, and the costs of entry from the cat competition.

The winning cats have been featured in the 2024 calendar, with entries for the 2025 version now open.

David says that to enter photographs of cats ‘need to be clear and sharp to stand any chance of winning’ with details of the cats including age, sex, breed and the owner’s name sent to davidandmarioncanning@gmail.com by no later than the first week of March.