New to Catts... tips on blooming?

[Gwenchanter]

Hi,
I've been growing phals and dendrobiums for a few years and this year I thought i would try catts.

So far I have three in the cattleya alliance.. a potinara, a blc and an slc. I've had the pot. for several months and it wasn't doing anything.. no new growth at all, no flowers, no nothing... but wasn't decining either. When I got it, it was in a teeny pot with newspaper and tape all over it so i put it in a clay pot with aliflor. Then last week I hung the pot from my oak tree because I thought maybe it wasn't getting enough light, and today I noticed a new psudobulb nubby!

The blc and slc I just bought at the Miami Fruit and Spice park orchid show, and they are packed super tightly in really hard bark in plastic pots. Are they ok like this? I try to repot my phals and sometimes my dens when I get them home but I'm not sure about these Catts.

None of the catts I have were in bloom when I bought them. What causes catts to bloom and what can I do to get them to do so? As a phal/den grower, is there anything I should know about catts in particular that is very different? Can I use the same fertilizer as I've been using on the dens and phals? What are the first signs that a Catt will bloom and is there a particular time of year they like to bloom? Is there a way of knowing how many blooms to expect? It seems like they don't have as many blooms as dens and phals.

It's kinda too late to ask this but do you guys think Catts are a good next step for me or should I try something else before I buy any more catts?