As promised… Cat Show 101. Note that this applies to shows sponsored by the Cat Fanciers Association (CFA) and The International Cat Association (TICA) – both American registries, although they do have international shows and clubs. The shows put on by registries from other countries may be (and usually are) different.
In CFA and TICA both, cats are eligible to be shown in kitten class from the day they turn four months old until they are 8 months old. The age they are on the first day of the show determines which class they will be shown in the entire show in CFA. I’m not as experienced at TICA shows, but I believe that if a show is a “back to back show” and allows one day entries, the kitten may be entered on Sunday if he or she turns 4 months old Sunday. The same logic applies if he turns 8 months old on Sunday, he’ll be shown in the appropriate adult class on Sunday rather than kitten class. (If I’m wrong — someone post a comment correcting me on that. Jim, you’d know… :-) )
Once a cat turns 8 months old, he either goes into the class for breeding cats — called Championship in both associations – or if he/she has been spayed or neutered, he/she will compete in Premiership in CFA and Alter class in TICA. It is not uncommon for a cat to be brought back to the show hall after he/she has retired from breeding to compete as an altered adult.
Both associations allow household pets (HHP) to be entered and judged in the rings. HHPs are cats without a pedigree – “just a cat” that people have adopted from shelters, taken in when she/he showed up on the porch, etc. They may also be a pedigreed cat that has a disqualifying fault and can’t be shown in the other classes. CFA groups all HHPs into one class. TICA has separate classes for kittens and adults, as well as LH/SH specialty rings (if the show includes specialty judging.) HHPs are judged on their condition, personality, looks, and whatever strikes the judges that day. I’ve heard judges often say that the reason they are choosing one HHP over another in a final is that he/she reminds the judge of a cat he had as a child or that the cat is a favorite color.
Both CFA and TICA shows have numerous “rings” — CFA usually has 6 or 8 rings at a show. TICA has about double that. Each ring has a judge who will handle the cats. In an All Breed (AB) ring, the judge will handle all the cats of a class, judging them first by breed or division. Once the judge has handled all the cats of the class, he will choose his top 10 of all the cats to bring back up for the final. During the final he announces the 10th place through Best Cat for the ring. he does not take into consideration — or even know — what the judges in the other rings have thought about the cats. In essence, each ring is its own show with an opportunity for a final. Each ring judge will handle all the cats entered in the show and award finals for each class unless he is doing a single specialty ring.
In a specialty ring the judge only judges Long Hair (LH) or Short Hair (SH) cats in each class, then does a final for those cats. Judges generally start out their career as a Specialty judge, approved to do just LH or SH. He then progresses to being able to do the other specialty and finally is approved to judge an AB ring. Which breeds belong to LH and which to SH varies between CFA and TICA.
There are some exceptions to how many cats are called to a final. In TICA, if the number of cats judged in a class is below 25, the number of cats in the final is reduced accordingly. In CFA, if the count is small, the final will only be less than 10 cats if there are less than 10 cats in the class. However, if there are more than 100 kittens, 75 premiers, or 100 champions in a class 15 cats will be in the final. When it comes to points, you’ll find another difference. In CFA the count for the class is the highest number of cats shown in any ring. That is, if 75 cats are shown in ring 1 and only 73 in all the other rings, the official count for calculating points is 75. In TICA the number used is the actual number of cats in each ring.
Each cat will compete in all the rings over the course of the weekend — with the exception of the specialty rings. He/she will, of course, only compete in the ring for his/her specialty. But the total number of rings will be whatever the show was advertised as — for example, in an 8 ring CFA show that has 6 AB and 2 SP rings the cats will all compete in 8 rings.
When the cats aren’t being judged in a ring, they will be hanging out in their cages in the benching area. The benching area has rows of tables set up with cages placed on top. Some exhibitors choose to use the wire cages furnished by the club, while others provide their own cages. Wire cages must be covered with “cage curtains” and you’ll see everything from very basic to very elaborate. You’ll also see some of the personal cages decorated. At some shows they have cage decorating contests to fit the theme of the show and people can be incredibly creative with their decorations! The benching area is the best place to ask lots of questions of the exhibitors. Most of us love talking about and showing off our babies. But please, don’t touch them without permission. And if we’re frantically combing a cat and then pick him up and cut our conversation short, don’t be upset that we are being rude. We are probably on our way to a ring and don’t want to get that dreaded “third call”.
Which leads to how a show is progresses… On the first day of a show, exhibitors check in an hour or two before judging begins. We set up our cages, lay out all the necessary grooming items, get the cats their food, water, and litter, and settle in for the day. The cats will have been bathed before the show, so we’re doing our best to “puff and fluff” (at least us LH folks!) so our cats will look their best in the ring. Then we wait…
We have a schedule of the order in which the cats will be judged in each ring. While we know that LH cats will be the third group in ring 6, we still don’t know what time that will be. Some judges are faster than others and occasionally schedule changes have to be made to accomodate conflicts with a cat being needed in two rings at the same time. So how do we know when to take our cats to a ring? First, we listen for our number to be called. Each cat has his own number for the weekend. You’ll often see people who are showing multiple cats with numbers written on their hands in an effort to keep track of their cats numbers. And you thought writing on yourself ended when you got out of middle school! :-) In a noisy showhall or one where the PA system is hard to hear/understand, we walk by the rings often watching to see what numbers are up to get an idea of when we’ll be called. When it comes to knowing about finals, in TICA they announce that the numbers are posted for the final in ring x and it is the exhibitors’ responsibility to check to see if his cat’s number is there. In CFA, the clerk will announce the numbers of the cats for the final in ring x. Either way, it’s exciting when your cat is included in the final.
A question I often get from visitors to shows is how are the cats judged? Unlike dog shows, the cats are not paraded around a ring. They are taken up to each ring and put in cages (we look for the cat’s number on top the cage to know which one) and then taken out one by one by the judge. Each breed (except HHP) has a written standard that sets out how the cat should look and the cats are judged against that standard. the cats that best represent their breed’s standard are the ones that will be in the final.
And editorial comment here… my opinion (and not part of the standard or official judging) is that in TICA the judges are more inclined to consider the developmental stage of kittens when judging them and immature kittens have a better chance of being rewarded for their potential. In CFA even kittens are judged against a standard written for adult cats and the more mature they look, the better they will fare in the ring.
Most shows do not have a ”Best in Show” award — each ring is its own show and those are the only awards given out. However, some shows do special awards for Best Kitten in Show, or Best Siamese in Show, or similar awards. Those awards do not earn extra points for the cats, but usually do bring special rosettes or even trophies to the owners, along with bragging rights.
In recent years, both associations have started doing agility at some shows. This is similar to agility trials at dog shows and give cats a chance to show off their moves. They are led through an obstacle course with jumps, ramps, tunnels and other things and the ones with the best times for completing the course are the winners. They are led by their owners using a teaser or laser pointer — or whatever mechanism the cat will follow. The owner can’t touch the cat, though. It’s fun to watch, so if you’re going to a show, ask if they have an agility ring.
Part 2 coming soon… I’ll explain a little about titles (all those funny initials at the beginning of some cats’ names) and points.
