Harrison lay quietly in his cage and calmly waited to be examined by two more judges.

The 12-pound, year-old Maine coon cat showed no signs of stage fright as he competed Saturday for the first time in the Kansas City Midwest American Cat Fanciers Assn. Show at the Douglas County 4-H Fairgrounds, 2110 Harper St.

Harrison’s owner, Ruth Scherrer, of De Soto, has been raising and showing Maine coon cats for nine years. Some of the cats — often called “gentle giants” — weigh as much as 25 pounds.

“You always try to look for one that has a gentle, good disposition,” said Scherrer, who also was one of the show managers.

Scherrer said she was smitten by the big cats the first time she saw one of them.

“I just fell in love with the look and the size,” Scherrer said.

Scherrer wasn’t the only big fan of Maine coon cats at the show. So were Kelly and Brad McPhail, of Overbrook. The couple was among a steady stream of people who took in the show.

The McPhails said they had a Maine coon cat at home they named Nolan Ryan in honor of the hall-of-fame pitcher.

Nolan Ryan weighed 32 pounds when they first got him, the McPhails said. After a diet, he dropped to 15 pounds.

Cat Show judge Don Finger, from Mosinee, Wis., blows in the face of a Maine coon cat named Red

“You could drape him over your arm like a towel and carry a bottle of wine and he wouldn’t do anything,” Brad McPhail said.

At another cage at the show, Julie Williams, of Plymouth, Minn., watched over her two Sphynx cats. One of them, Keecha Sideshow Bob, only 4 months old, had earned a ribbon for fifth best of all the kittens at the show.

Williams’ other Sphynx, a 4-year-old, is Lucille Ball.

Williams remembered the first time she saw the odd-looking, hairless breed about two years ago.

“I thought they were the most beautiful cats I’d ever seen,” she said.

Being hairless causes no special health problems for the cats, but Williams said she does have to bathe them once a week and keep them from being outdoors in the sun for very long.

Their lack of hair also is a bonus for Williams.

“I have allergies,” she said.

There are 120 cats registered for the show, which continues from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. today.

The cost to attend is $4 for adults and $3 for senior citizens and children.