I'm not sure how many of you know how cat shows work so here's a brief overview. Unlike dog shows where you have one "best in show", cat shows have multiple - one best in show per ring/judge and class (ie. kitten, champion (unaltered) and alter/premier). Cat shows generally consist of anywhere from 4-8 rings per day meaning you could have 12-24 best in shows. Depending on the count, usually the top 10 are recognized in each ring.
Unlike dog shows cats are not paraded around a ring, but instead you wait until your number is called and bring them up to a judging cage around the ring and put your cat in the cage with your number on it. The judge takes each cat out in turn and will sometimes play with them on the judging table but carefully looks them over to see how well they match the standards for their breed. Altered animals are judged against other alters, whole adults are judged against other whole adults and kittens (8 months and younger) are judged against other kittens. No declawing permitted.
This past weekend we went to a one day, six ring show in Alburquerque, New Mexico. I had never been to that show although I had tried and for various reasons couldn't make it in the last 3 years. This year was different, thank goodness. I took Picasso, my 13 month old Ocicat with me. He loves the shows, the attention, and seemingly everything about them. He has earned a fair share of awards and this was his first time out since we achieved the title of Grand Premier on the 20th of January in Loveland.
We began preparation for the trip Thursday night with a bath for him (which he purred through!) and a nail trim, then left late Friday morning. We arrived after an uneventful drive around 4pm and checked into our hotel. Saturday came all too soon and the show began!
Ring/Judge #1 - nothing, no awards. *sigh*
Ring/Judge #2 - 2nd best cat! Wow! Down to the last two ribbons and my heart stopped because I wasn't sure if he was 2nd or 1st, but both are wonderful!
Ring/Judge #3 - 10th best cat! Not as good as the last one, but I'll take it anyway!
Ring/Judge #4 - 4th best cat! Wow! Way to go!
Ring/Judge #5 - 9th best cat! Woo hoo!
Ring/Judge #6 - BEST CAT! I can't put into words how proud that made me. He was a model citizen too - the judge was older (87 I think I heard) and he played with her when she used the teaser and did not struggle against her when she picked him up. I may post pictures later, we will see.
What a great end to a weekend! We have another show to attend in Denver in two weeks. Picasso is up for a regional award in that club so I'm hoping he'll do well in this show to seal the deal.
