A former stray cat from Whitianga has taken out the title of NZ's Snobbiest cat, beating out more than 2500 feline hopefuls to have her face immortalised in a $10,000 portrait by artist Otis Frizzell.

Judges scoured through more than 2500 cat images and watched a further 26 cat videos before finding the winning entry of Smudge the cat.

Smudge's owner Andrea Brown describes Smudge as 'her own lady.” 'She doesn't like being picked up; she won't sit on your lap for a pat. She will only be patted in a specific spot outside the house – and she will never run to you if you call her – she walks,” she says.

Despite Smudge's superior demeanour, Brown says her moggy had a much more humble start in life, being discovered as one of two stray cats by her partner under a shipping container in a storage shed.

'My partner Richard has such a soft heart, he started feeding the cats and when we were told their mother was going to be caught and "sent to heaven", we knew we had to grab them,” she says.

The competition was launched by cat food brand Dine to promote more face-to-face time between cats and their owners, and in conjunction with the launch of the brand's Creamy Treats product, designed to be hand-fed to cats.

Animal behaviourist Dr Jess Beer says hand-feeding is a great way to encourage a close physical bond between cats and their owners.

'Pairing your presence, your scent, voice and characteristics to a yummy creamy treat spills over into interactions; so that even when you don't have a treat, your cat will associate pleasant interactions with you,” says Dr Beer.

'Positive relationships are formed by pleasant experiences, and the use of food is a very simple and easy way to impress upon your cat that you are the bearer of wonderful things. If someone gave you chocolates every time you saw them, you would probably want to spend more time with them too!” she says.

According to Beer, human interaction tends to be more direct; an open face, smiling teeth and direct eye contact. 'This sort of behaviour in cats can be interpreted as aggressive, which means cats will try and avoid such interactions unless they are truly relaxed and familiar with the person,” she says.

'People need to learn that side glances, blinking eyes and calm behaviour like purring and gentle petting is a more acceptable way of expressing love. Cats have sensitive hearing and sight so sudden movements and loud voices will always be a bit much for most cats.”

Cats are more conservative in their affections and use more subtle signs of affection, says Beer. 'Perhaps seen as the introverts of the animal world, cats often prefer to observe the world from a superior vantage point,” she says.

Renowned Kiwi artist Otis Frizzell says NZ's Snobbiest Cat competition was a fun project to work on. 'I'm a cat person, so I understand how hard it is to win them over,” he says. 'Our cat Poppy basically runs our house – and I have learned to do as I'm told!”

Frizzell says he is lucky enough to enjoy a good amount of face-to-face time with his cat Poppy – but it's strictly on her terms. 'As soon as Poppy's had enough, she will bite us and run away. But I still love that fluffy wee dictator,” he says.

Dine Spokesperson Tatyana Dickson says NZ's Snobbiest Cat competition was a great way to create awareness around the importance of face-to-face time between cats and their owners.

'We know how valuable face-to-face time is in our relationships – human or animal – which is why we created our Dine creamy treats product, designed to be hand-fed to cats,” says Dickson.

'By initiating face-to-face time through the delicious association of a treat being hand-fed by the cat's owner, moggies across the country can enjoy closer relationships with their owners.”