I often joke that everyone comes here eventually because it’s such a tourist town. Last weekend, it wasn’t humans who came to visit, it was cats, for the TICA Sandy Claws cat show, and I had to go the variety of cats being showed just a few miles from home.
I heard a man entering the hotel ballroom where the show was held say, “It’s much smaller than I expected!” I had not been to a cat show since one at Madison Square Garden in 1999, so I have no idea whether it was an unusually small show or not. There were six rings, and they were nonstop busy, even at lunchtime.
I watched a few rings be judged. The judge in the longhair ring was here all the way from Oregon, and I wondered if she had met our friend Summer, who has been in shows up there. She was the most interesting of the judges, explaining as she went what she was looking at and looking for.
She talked a lot about the confirmation of their bodies and heads and what she expected of each, and I learned how each type of cat had different standards she was looking for.
This kitty doesn’t have airplane ears. It’s a longhaired Scottish Fold, something I didn’t know existed! Here, the judge is explaining that this kitty has a very sweet face and big eyes, which is part of the breed standard.
This massive Maine coon kitty was the winner in the ring for long haired cats. There’s not really any way to tell from this photo, but he was really enormous. He seemed to fill the whole judging ring cage while he was waiting to be judged. Quite an impressive cat!
When the adult longhaired cats were in their judging ring cages, they waited patiently for their turn with the judge. It was the complete opposite in the kitten ring. Those cages were just mayhem. There was a bengal kitten determined to climb the top of the cage.
There was also a bobtail kitten who apparently thought the cage tasted interesting.
I noticed that the bottom part of the cage, where the cats sit, was sanitized between cats, but I didn’t see them actually cleaning every inch of the bars. This little guy was making sure he left his kitten cooties behind for the next kitty who sat in that cage.
After he lost interest in eating the cage, the started in on the little flaps hanging from the cage. I never got an explanation of what those were. They weren’t cage numbers, though, and it’s a good thing, because this kitten was determined to do them in.
He even got his neighbor in on the act!
The judge for the kitten ring didn’t talk to the audience or explain anything, but she clearly had her hands full with that crowd.
Do you recognize this cat? I thought at first glance it was an Abyssinian, but the head and face looked all wrong for the breed. I learned later it was a Singapura, a breed I had not heard of before.
I would have liked to have talked to the person showing the cat, but I never managed to catch her. Everyone showing cats was constantly rushing back and forth to show rings. A cat show is a busy place!
I only saw one Abyssinian at the whole show, but I didn’t get a photo of him because these little faces were in the next cage and they captivated me.
They were for sale, too! I have no idea how I escaped without bringing one of them home.
The cat show was a lot of fun, and it’s quite an experience for anyone who has never been to one. If there’s ever one in your town, it’s totally worth a visit!
I don’t remember the judge from Oregon… although I may have been judged by her when I was up in Oregon in January. I will tell you about those plastic tabs the judges hang on the cages. They are for “color” and for “division” – Color is for one particular color of cat, say, a black Persian. But all solid colors of Persians (as opposed to the calicos or bicolors) make up a Division. The calico Japanese Bobtail in the photo above came in second in both her Color and Division. That doesn’t mean her color was better or worse – it means she wasn’t as good overall (including structure, boning and other details that pertain to her breed) as the best cat in her color and division… at least in that particular judge’s estimation (some of judging is objective, but some of it is quite subjective!). The most important part is whether a cat makes the Top Five, Top Ten or Top Fifteen (the count depends on the number of cats entered in that category) in that particular ring. That is when you have the best of all the breeds for that ring in the Alter, Cat, or Kitten category.
Thanks, Summer, we knew you could explain it! That judge was WAY too busy trying to wrangle those squirmy kittens to talk through anything in the ring. You must have been better-behaved than that when you were that age and in the show ring!
Thanks Summer fur that explanation about tags! Furry goods to know. Me too nervous in crowds though to compete in the household catty-gory
-Katie Kitty Too.
I love cat shows! A good, talkative judge is awesome! We have a favorite judge when we go and always watch his ring because he tells everything And he really seems to love the kitties and playing with them.
I love TICA – they admit Bengals, where as CFA does not… I missed the TICA show this year. Glad to see someone post a show! Summer’s explanation was really helpful! I haven’t been to very many shows. Still learning how the judging works. -Katie Kat
guys….tell yur mom de food servizz gurl sayz manee thanx for sharin !! her haz never
seen a cat show; dawgs yes….catz noe….de maine coon lookz like me dad size wize;
knot furz wize tho…..wunder if hiz last name iz moon 🙂 ♥♥♥
What I love about cat shows are the vendors 😉
I’ve never been to a cat show, but I would like to go to one. I will have to watch out for one in my area. Great pictures, too!
You three and your peeps live in a most beautiful area!!
Mom and my human sis once attended a cat show here.
Hugs madi your bfff
Such cuties! I have been to the NEMO cat show twice and it was fun. I got to meet Jake from The Daily Abyssinian.
That must have been fun. Mom went to Summer’s show in San Jose earlier in the year. Hopefully she can go to another one someday.
Cat shows are so much fun! We go every January when a show comes to our town. That little bobtail was a wild one, wasn’t he?
That was fun! We’ve never been to a cat show.
OMC! That Maine Cood who won looks just like my Parker S. Kat!! I love him. We heard of Singapuras cos Aunt Pauline always said she wanted one. TW went to a cat show in Madison Square Garden about 40 years ago with Aunt Pauline. She wishes she remembered it.
I’ve never been to a cat show before no matter it is from my country or internationally. Apart form watching a cute cats, I’m still wondering, usually, is there any shop let that selling something for cat owners there? Stuff like t-shirt or something related to cat lovers. If yes, how is the response?
TICA shows always are fun because they have a lot of breeds that are not recognized by CFA. Longhair Scottish Fold is a good example of that. When Mom had her Red Point Birman, Uriel, he was not recognized in CFA but was in TICA.
The Florida Furkids
Looks like you had a fun and informative trip to the cat show. Shows come to our town occasionally, but they’re not well advertised and I often miss them.