Welcome to Silicat Valley: San Jose cat convention draws feline lovers

Standing in the main hall of Silicat Valley, the cat convention drawing thousands of visitors this weekend in North San Jose, felt a bit like being inside the internet itself — or, at least, its most feline-fanatical corners.

“I’m walking around like, ‘Oh my God I follow them on Instagram,’” said 27-year-old Alyssa Garcia, who came to the convention with her sister, Serina, in matching “Cats Not Kids” T-shirts. “I’m starstruck.”

Vendors sold enough cat-themed apparel to dress from head to toe, hawking knit caps that read “cat mom,” T-shirts, jewelry (“The Purrfect Accessory”), skirts and socks. There were booths for cat behavioral specialists, artists who drew cat caricatures, a developer spotlighting a video game for cats and the author of a children’s scratch-and-sniff book all about feline rear ends called “Cat Butt” (“No, it doesn’t smell like cat poop,” a reassuring poster read).

A group of kittens available for adoption lounged in the shade outside next to the line of attendees that snaked around the Club Auto Sport Event Center.

They were welcomed inside by pumping electronic music, TV screens showing silly cat videos and an emcee who occasionally meowed into the microphone.

“It’s a mix between a music festival and a cat convention,” said Brandon Zavala, the executive producer of Silicat Valley, one of two such conventions put on by the Denver-based company Snow Cats. About 2500 people were expected to attend the weekend event.

The internet has, quite famously, been taken over by cats. Vendors, attendees and organizers at Silicat Valley frequently referenced the “cat community” that has developed around feline videos, gifs, memes and social media stars.

“This culture is growing,” said Zavala, who launched a collection of wines for cats, such as Pinot Meow and Catbernet, that went viral a few years ago. “It’s all cat owners who are very, very dedicated to their local communities.”

Silicat Valley, which continues Sunday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., is one of a growing number of conventions celebrating cat lovers while also supporting local rescue efforts.

“This has raised a lot of awareness about the needs of cats,” said Ann Dunn, the founder of the Oakland rescue Cat Town.

Her organization, which runs a cat cafe on Broadway featuring play structures in the shape of Oakland landmarks, helps find homes for older and less-social cats, who tend to be at higher risk for being put down at local shelters. It raised money at Saturday’s convention by selling playtime in a “kitten lounge.”

As the convention began Saturday morning, those kittens frolicked around the edges of the mats at a session of cat yoga, where about a dozen people moved through warrior poses led by a woman in cat ears and a tail.

Later in the day, there would be a performance by Moshow The Cat Rapper, who as you might guess raps about his cats and has nearly half a million fans on Facebook, and a fortune-telling show from Lil Bub, a wide-eyed, stubby-legged cat rescued from a feral litter in Indiana who has over 2 million Instagram followers.

Zack and Gracey Welch are among Lil Bub and Moshow’s fans. The Modesto couple owns two cats, as well as several cat tattoos and cat-themed clothing they sported Saturday that Gracey sewed herself.

Cat owners don’t have the same kind of built-in social experience many dog owners get at dog parks, and but at Silicat Valley, the Welches and others could celebrate their love for cats as much as they wanted.

“It’s not as weird any more” to be a cat person, Zack said.

Gracey added, “These are our people.”

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