Now this takes the cake!

Cat treats, anyone?

I nearly fell on the floor laughing when I saw this cake at a benefit to save the animals on Saturday night. I am giggling just looking at the photo. As if the cake wasn’t funny enough, the creative baker used an actual litter box and a scoop to top off the presentation. In a room full of animal lovers, it was a real crowd-pleaser.

The cake was part of a dessert auction for the 6th Annual Masquerade Gala held by the Whatcom Humane Society. Hosted at the Hotel Bellwether in Bellingham, Washington, the gala nets more than $100,000 to help the animals. The county’s elite turned out in finery or in costume to support the cause by bidding madly for hours on scooters, vacations, booze and art. They hooted and hollered, sometimes jumping on chairs with bidder numbers in hand to secure their shot at the winnings.

But by far the most energetic part of the event was the dessert auction. A variety of desserts donated by local bakeries were displayed on a table at the back of the banquet hall. No two are the same. A sign-up sheet is passed to each table of 10, and every person writes down what they would like to donate for dessert. A table may garner $300 or $3,000, and because the table numbers are called in order of how much is pledged, the amount given becomes a source of pride. When your number is called, the designated runner – having been debriefed on the best cakes to pick by the others sitting at the table – takes off in a mad dash for the desserts, tasked with the job of choosing the best-looking one.

I’m not sure who got the cat box treats, but as the proud guardian of nine cats who leave my house looking like a big litter box on some days, maybe it would have hit a little too close to home. Besides, the raspberry torte was delicious.