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Have you ever attended a cat show and thought your cat at home could be there and do just as well as any other cat there? If you did, you would be right, as I have learned that it is possible with my own cat.
Binky is an unusually marked
black and white domestic shorthair.
I started my hobby when I was a teenager with our family pets. I learned how to properly groom and bathe a cat and worked at babysitting to pay the show entry fees. However, my cats really did not like the shows and did not have very successful show careers. I stopped showing my cats at that time.
The Friskiest Cat Award is sponsored by Friskies Pet Care Products, and is awarded to a household cat.
I started showing household cats again three and a half years ago with a very unusually marked domestic shorthair. Binky is all white except for the black at the end of her tail. She went to her first show when she was four months old. Binky did not handle her first show very well. She hissed and screamed at her competitors and I really felt the show was a disaster. But even with her problems, she finished the show with three top ten rosettes. I was no longer discouraged, I was determined!
I had at this point, learn how to successfully show a household pet. First, I had to learn how the show procedures works. Usually the show consists of either six or eight different rings, all with different judges. Each judge handles every cat. They check on condition and general health. Some judges play with them, other's don't. After they have judged all of the cats, they call up their top ten choices for the final. The judge then announces what placement the cats have received. The cats are then judged the same way by the other judges. But what is most interesting is that each judge will usually place the cats in different order in their top ten. Since there are no breed standards for household pets, the household pet class is a free-for-all for the judge--anything goes!
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The cats are benched in cages with curtains
while they wait to be called to the judges's ring.
Second, Binky had to become accustomed to being bathed frequently {after all she's mainly white} and she would need to get used to spending full days in a cage. She had her nails cut regularly {declawed cats are not allowed in some shows} and was handled a lot by whoever was around. I worked very hard with her and she became more polished each month. I continued to enter her in shows and with each one she did better and better.
The more shows I went to, the more people I would meet. My husband and I decided to start traveling to shows in other parts of the state. We viewed them as weekends away where we could relax and socialize with our new cat show friends. We all sit around and compare cat stories and helpful tips. We cheer on each other's cats and help get them back and forth to the judge's rings. Through our cats, we have made life long friends.
The judges examine each cat for condition,
health and good temperament.
Showing household cats is not an expensive hobby. Each show entry costs anywhere from $30-$45. If we go away to the show we need to add in hotel and food costs. The rewards from showing , however, outweigh the costs. Binky has won many trophies including the Friskiest Cat Award, given by the Friskies training team. She has won regional titles in the Happy Household Pet Cat Club, a national cat club with members who show their cats and share general cat knowledge and tips. She has also won, for three years in a row, the B.C. Memorial Household Pet Challenge. This is an award sponsored by Victoria Marks and Jerry Wilson in loving memory of their very successful show cat B.C. The challenge consists of showing our cat at six different CFA cat shows throughout the state of Florida. The scores from all six shows are totaled to have one final winner. Binky has won a lot but my husband and I have won great friends and a very close relationship with Binky since we spend a lot of focused time with her. Overall, showing Binky has become a very rewarding part of my life.
If you feel your cat has star potential and would like the ability to show your cat and make new friends, consider entering your cat in the next local show. Cats Exclusive, Inc. is sponsoring a show November 7th and 8th with a household pet class at the War Memorial Auditorium in Ft. Lauderdale. If interested, leave a message at 954-970-5511 before October 17th for entry information. Join fellow cat lovers for some fun!
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