Thursday, August 19, 2010

Cat Shows for the Household Pet

So because someone mentioned they don't know much about cat shows, I wanted to take some time to fill in some blanks...

Cat shows, unlike dog shows, embrace not only the purebred kitties (pictured here is Cole, modelling his gorgeous, soft blankie from ML and made by Peggy! Isn't it fab?)...

Cat shows, hosted by TICA and I believe CFA as well, also embraces our beloved household pet kitties- you know, those slapped with the boring names of 'Domestic Shorthair' or 'Domestic Longhair', etc. You know as well as I do- those titles don't really say anything about our beloved kitties! I like the term moggy- it's just funny, so I use it for my regular kitties nowadays...

Anyways, if you have a sweet kitty that loves people- and loves to show off- he/she can do great at a cat show! Look at the TICA show calendar and pick a show near you...

http://ticamembers.org/calendar/

Now, you could register your kitty right off the bat- they still need to be registered, even as a Household Pet- but you can go to your first show and skip the registration if you want. I went ahead and registered my boy I have shown as a HHP before showing him- I figured that way if he did anything in the ring, I wouldn't have to submit paperwork afterwards to get his points. Good thing too- I hate paperwork!

Okay, register your kitty for the show and place them as 'registration pending' if you would like.

The big thing with cat shows and Household Pets is GROOMING. I really failed here when I took my kitty to the show...


(Short story: I had paid fees to bring two kitties to a show. One kitty went into heat and I wanted her bred, so I was hoping she was pregnant. Turns out- she wasn't, but I had to register the second kitty for the show a few days before I found out. I looked around at my kitties and said, "Hmmm... Who should go to the show?" And I picked my TEN YEAR OLD ONE EYED EAR TORN kitty- Teddy. He had a great personality at home and I hoped he would charm the judges at the show).

When I groomed my kitty, I didn't test my shampoo out prior and it made his coat seem a bit greasy... I would suggest testing out any shampoo prior to use and rinse-rinse-rinse to make sure it doesn't leave the coat greasy!

Anyways, guess what? Even with his coat in less then 'perfect' condition- that weekend, there was ONE judge that was simply in love with my boy... He had not placed in a single ring and then...

The judge kept him in the ring after she dismissed the rest of the class that didn't place! And then she placed 3rd and it WASN'T my boy! And I thought, well, he'll get second- that's great. And THEN she placed SECOND- and it wasn 't my boy!!! He got first!

But even more exciting- after that ring (he is a shorthaired cat, so he was judged first with all of the shorthaired adults- and as a HHP, all adults have to be spayed/neutered)- he was called back fo the Finals ring (this is where you get points) and he WON FIRST PLACE in the FINAL RING!

Yes, I cried. I was so sappy...

So the lesson today is- if you enjoy sharing your kitty and your kitty enjoys sharing attention with others- why not try showing at a cat show? Teddy got his Masters title that very weekend- with that one ring. I am so proud of him. He doesn't know and he probably doesn't care, but it makes my heart swell to know others find him as wonderful as I do...

Not bad for a one eyed senior catizen, huh? (Here he is in the Juniors Exhibitors' Ring being shown by my daughter...)




8 comments:

  1. Thanks for the info on cat shows - we don't know much about them so it was very fun to learn. And that is so cool that Teddy was the winner - he looks like a handsome boy - we don't think that one eye, a torn ear or even a greasy coat could hide that - and in that picture he looks super smiley too!

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  2. Oh thank you so much for the information about Cat Shows for us regular Moggy's (we like that name) And we are so glad Teddy won in the FINAL Round!! He is very handsome!!
    Purrrrrrr & Huggggs from your TX furiends,

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  3. What a great post.
    I did not realize cat shows were for cat other than pure-breds. How informative.
    And I love that Teddy won.
    That is a great story.

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  4. Look at that stance! Now who would not give him the first prize? Congratulations!
    Your one-eyed is just as handsome as my one-eyed named Captain Jack Sparrow HAWK. :)

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  5. My beans know ALL about cat shows. So do I as I have been to lots of cat shows as a show cat. I am TGCA in TICA. Congrats to Teddy on his Best HHP award! I was best cat for one TICA judge,too.

    Here is some info for you. Yes TICA has HHP rings at all of their shows but CFA rarely does. A few clubs might have HHP ring or rings. ACFA is the other association that always has HHP rings at their shows. Shows can be fun but it does take work to bathe a kitty. It is wonderful when a judge realizes how beee-ut-ti- ful you are!

    SO here is my challenge to all beautiful kitties and their beans. FInd an ACFA or TICA show and enter to just see how fun it can be! Good Luck!

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  6. That's a wonderful story about Teddy - what a handsome guy!

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  7. TICA is a lot more HHP friendly than CFA but CFA is trying to bring new people into the showing world and are talking about expanding. Alexi is right, ACFA and TICA are best for HHP right now. Mom is a cat show vendor and has done all three associations. She's shown HHP and purebreads in all 3 too.

    Sniffie and the Florida Furkids

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  8. thanks for all the info. i will have to go to the website and see what is in my area. i think i would like to experience a cat show first as i have NEVER been to one. i live a sheltered life i guess. not sure if any of my kitties would want to get into the ring though. they seem to be happiest at home w/ just family. BTW - we think teddy is a handsome fella. he certainly turned on the charm when he won first. way to go!

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