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Fancy felines on display
Interested in learning about different breeds?
Visit a cat show!
By Sally E. Bahner
It’s nirvana for cat lovers. Rows of perfectly groomed felines are lined up in a large conference room and in the hallway at the Crowne Plaza in Southbury. The Nutmeg Cat Fanciers’ annual show is under way. Some cats are confined within the regulation wire cages, draped and decorated in fabrics and colors complementary to the cat’s own coloration. Others are hidden more secretively within tents secured with zippers and screening. Owners carrying their cats move quickly through the crowds on their way to a judging ring.
Fluffy Persians with flowing coats and large eyes with a button nose between them. Regal-looking Maine Coons with big-boned bodies and lion ruffs. Foxy-faced Abyssinians. Extreme Siamese and Oriental Shorthairs.
Patent leather Bombays with copper penny eyes and their shiny brown Burmese cousins. Tonkinese with aqua eyes in shades of chocolate and platinum. They’re all vying for Best of Breed, then waiting to be finaled among six different judges (All Breed and Specialty) throughout the weekend.
It appears on the surface to be a beauty contest, but one that’s taken very seriously among those in the show circuit. Unlike dog shows where the different breeds are paraded around the ring with their handlers for the judge, cats are brought to the judges in a ring according to breed and class (kitten, adult and premier). The judge takes each cat out of its cage and examines it, and awards points based on a standard for each breed. Exhibitors and spectators sit in the ring observing, holding their breath at times as the judge places ribbons on various (but not every) cages.
Depending on their final scores, the top 10 cats in each class are called back and awarded rosettes. In the larger scheme of things, cats that are diligently campaigned throughout the region can end up at the Cat Fanciers’ Association International Show, which was held this past year in San Mateo, CA. (Billed as Cat-Minster: CFA International Cat Championship, the show will be broadcast on the GSN channel March 27, 8 to 10pm.)
Campaigning a cat is a love-hate affair. Trust me on this one. I spent several years on the show circuit with my Russian Blues, often exhibiting three at one time. It involves packing up the often-reluctant feline(s) and a huge assortment of items such as cage curtains, grooming products, treats, beds, toys, along with your own things, and driving to a hotel either the night before the show or at some awful hour in the morning. Two days (some shows may be only one day) are spent parked on a folding chair in front of your cage, where you attempt to create your own comfort zone within a couple of square feet, periodically taking your feline from the cage as your number is called, quickly checking for eye buggers and smoothing (or fluffing) the coat before heading for the ring.
The hours of sitting in front of the cage, hoping your cat behaves for the judges, are made worthwhile when you take home a collection of colorful rosettes. And then there’s the camaraderie. You’re with people whose common bond is their love for their cats.
Russian Blues are quiet home-loving cats, so showing them was a challenge back in the late 80s and early 90s. Since then, breeders have been working hard to acclimate them to the show circuit, but at the time I was showing Ashley, Sara, Sophie and Cinders, I was never quite sure how they would react. They all did well, however, despite a few hissy-fits along the way.
There’s a box full of rosettes in my basement and lots of memories. Those kitties have all gone to Rainbow Bridge, but I can’t bring myself to discard the ribbons.
These days, Tekla is my sole Russian Blue. She’s a beauty, an excellent representation of her breed. Her pedigree is distinguished – she is from the last litter of a well-known breeder. I think about showing her since so few Russian Blues are exhibited around here. But then I think about leaving our warm bed at dawn … we’ll stick to reminiscing and spectating.
For those who missed the Southbury show in February, TICA (The International Cat Association) will sponsor a show April 28-29 in Ansonia at Warsaw Park, 119 Pulaski Highway, from 10am to 4pm (http://blueblaze.com/catshowflyers/geneticats/). For more information on CFA shows visit www.cfainc.org/shows.html. n
Ah, the Vendors
A cat show is not complete without its vendors who feature an irresistible array of cat-themed goodies for cats and those who love them: Apparel from shirts to socks; handbags and totes by Laurel Birch, the doyenne of cat design; grooming products and tools for those who may have left something behind; collars studded with crystals for felines and jewelry for their people; beds of all degrees of plushness; toys (of course) including balls, wands and furry mice. Of course, no cat show in the New England area is complete without scratchers by Arubacat’s Arty Mitchell. They’re unsurpassed for quality and durability – we have one that must be 15 years old and still looks good. Arty’s sisal scratchers were a part of the judges’ tables and the cats used them diligently to show off their well-honed physiques. So don’t forget to bring something home for your own cats – you know they must have missed you!
Sally Bahner is a member of the International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants and has a private feline consulting practice. She is the "Dear Sally" on Tracie Hotchner’s Cat Chat Radio (www.catchatradio.com), found on Sirius, the Martha Stewart Living channel. She is a longtime editor and writer on everything feline.
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