At this point it is almost May and I can no longer recall if
there was anything I wanted to write about January.
February I started attempting to get my taxes together and
prepped for a cat show. The valentines’
cat show was the one that got me started.
Last year (2012) I attended without cats to get an idea of what to
do. My first ever show with the cats
was the spring show in April 2012.
Anyway - - I was shocked that the prices were higher then the other
club’s shows. (The other club being the
foot of the Rockies cat club…. I’m not sure
who put on the V-day event.) They did
not have lower prices for house hold pets either. So I paid about 140 instead of the 95 I was
used to. The show was held on the 16th
and 17th and benefited the Cat Care Society – the place I adapted the two cats
I’m showing. (Brother and Sister)
I did overall enjoy myself at the show. I as normal won a few items in the
raffles. The kitties did decent. If I recall there were 13 HHP (house hold
pet) the first day and 11 the 2nd. One cat was pulled part way through the first
day and another person was only showing Sat.
I got a surprise on Sat as judge Betty White – who the last
time I had her – seemed short and didn’t select either of my cats for the final
– selected both for her final this time.
She also seemed more animate. I
wonder if the last time she was just having a bad day or wasn’t feeling
well? I have since done a “judge
chart” and note that most judges place
my cats about the same. That is the
judge that places Onyx higher then Jay – has done so always. Or the one that I’ve noted “liked orange
cats” has placed jay higher.
Quick overview for people reading this the first time and
have no clue about showing:
Cats are “benched” in long rows. You can bring your own cage or the show will
provide it. (Note apparently Tica shows
you must have your own show cage – CFA shows will provide one.) I tend to buy more space as a “grooming”
area. Cats must be in the show cage –
not a carrier. You provide water and
food, bowls and a litter pan. But the
show will provide litter. (though not
always your favorite so I’ve started taking some with me.)
The cats are assigned numbers. When your group and number is called, you
take the cat up to a “ring”. The
judging ring consists of a dozen or so small cages in a row or L shape, (or at least the shows I’ve been to they’ve
been an L) a table with the ribbons and
notebooks and toys etc on it – and a platform on the table that the cats are
placed. The judge takes each cat one
at a time from their cage and places them on the platform. They pet them, manipulate them, sometimes try
to play with them – and in the meantime they are checking out the heath, eyes,
coat etc. If it’s a pedigree cat – the
judge looks at the head, body, tail etc and matches them to the breed standard. Pedigrees are ranked within breed and color
as well. Then the top 10 in the
category (champion shorthair, champion longhair, premiere sh, etc) are called back and ranked as top (#)
overall. They get points for all this –
as I don’t show pedigrees I don’t understand how they work – but they do get
ranks.
House hold pets are a little different. There are no standards so after making sure
the cat is overall healthy and clean, it’s judges discretion. (Provided the cat doesn’t bite the
judge) I have never seen a cat bite a
judge – but I have seen one so upset that it wouldn’t allow the judge to take
it to the ring – hungered down ears flat – hiss and a swat. So needless to say that kitty was
pulled. Not every cat can be
shown.
Some judges seem to judge more on personality of the cat –
how much the cat wants to be there, enjoys petting.. .purrs, plays etc. Others judge based on coats. Onyx does better with “coat” judges.
Now – Sunday was annoying.
See – On Saturday I noticed that they had the HHP slated as
the second group to be judged ---- in three rings. Needless to say 2 of those rings came up
together – and they moved one. So I
expected on Sunday (which had the same schedule) that one of the 3 would be
moved to the first slot.
This did happen… but it was not one of the rings I
expected. It was one of the rings I’d
have expected to be in in the afternoon.
In fact – the moved both the later rings up. The result:
All 5 rings were done with HHP by noon.
This was horrible!
Not only was I and the cats rushed.. .but it gave me nothing to look
forward to later. (You are technically
supposed to stay to the end of the show even if your cat is done, because it’s
a public event.)
I came in… got the cats groomed and barely settled – when I
was called to the first ring. I was
dismayed to find out it wasn’t one of the 3 I expected. After being judged in that ring we had a
little break. I don’t recall now but I
don’t think it was longer then 1 hour.
Then we were called to two rings back to back. It was literally go in one ring, then right
after was told “when your done here, go to ring x” . I wonder what the cats were thinking as I
took them from one cage --- passed their show cage (which they both know and will
try to get in when I get back to the benching area) --- across the show hall to
another.
Then we had another short break… really 30 or 45 min – and
the same thing with the last two rings.
One side, then right to the other side.
As I was by myself with this show – one of the cats was the first one in
the next ring, and then I had to go back for the 2nd cat and he or she ended up
being the last cat because of how long it took.
And the last ring was the “personality judge” She flat out says she is judging based on
how much the cat wants to be there. Cats
that rub against her, that purr, that respond to petting etc get the highest
marks. ----- She has never placed Onyx
in her top 10 and out of the 4 shows I’ve attended I’ve had her as a judge 3
times. Onyx is my shy kitty. Quick reminder – Jacinth (Jay) is a male red
classic tabby and Onyx is a black female.
Onyx will hide in the blankets of her show cage and typically stays
still but doesn’t react to the judge.
She gets judged more on her coat.
Sometimes she relaxes more and once even rolled over playfully for a
judge while still in the cage. But
this time this was the last ring of the show and she had little to no time to
relax between rings.
Result: She was a
brick that did nothing but stare forward.
It is heartbreaking to see the judge hug your cat with a slight smile of
anticipation (for purring or other reaction) and then see the smile drop when
nothing happens and the next second the judge is putting your cat back. Really – her getting last place (in this
case 11th – she DID get a toy though.)
is ok… it happens – but the dropped smile hurt. Not the fault of the judge really. In fact no one’s fault. I just have a hard time explaining why it
hurt. I know when she (Onyx) decided
she liked me sitting at my desk and got all friendly and I was petting her and
hugging her – it just struck me and I got teary eyed. I know she doesn’t like the crowds – I just
wish she would be more responsive… that others could see this side of her. And it’s more then that. It’s like if a kid is really happy one
moment and then does something innocently wrong. That is – they are thinking they are ok
doing it but then get yelled at. Their
face crumples and they start to cry.
That’s how I felt watching the smile disappear from the Judge’s face –
just the same as watching a happy kid go from happy to sad.
Anyway Onyx did MUCH better at the last show I attended a
few weeks ago – which I’ll post in a bit.
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