Cat Shows, Household Pet Divisions

I went to my first cat show this weekend in Ft. Lauderdale, FL as a spectator. I watched the judging of the Household Pets and was wondering if all cat shows have this division? I am interested in getting involved with my pets. Does anyone participate in shows that could give me some information to get started.
Thanks!
Ginger

I am new to shows too. I think all shows have HHP division. You can look on the TICA site for some info. Here is the link for the HHP http://www.tica.org/hhptoc.htm You could also look at CFA to find out info too. Good Luck! Showing is a lot of fun!

There's always been a HHP division at every show I've been to. At the last show there was a gorgeous little Oops! kitten a breeder had, a mix between her purebred Oriental Shorthair and her Exotic. I don't remember whether she won, but she should have.

Showing is a lot of fun and can be very addicting Many people who are breeding/showing purebred cats started out showing household pets. It is a great way to learn the ropes and get involved in the "cat fancy". Many of the cats are real hams and love the attention they get at the show.

I've been showing alters for several years, and while I know people who compete in both CFA and TICA with their HHPs, I think TICA tends to be a little more "household pet friendly" in that the cats can compete for titles such as "Grand Master" and "Supreme Grand Master". They can even get Regional and International wins amongst the other household pets!

Go on the TICA website www.tica.org and look at their show schedule. If you see a show in your area, you can call/email the entry clerk and ask them to send you a "flyer", which will have all the show info, as well as an entry form. When you send in your entry form and fee to the entry clerk, Let them know it is your first show and ask them to bench (sit) you next to someone who is willing to help a new person. This will help you tremendously and take a lot of confusion out of your first experience!

email me at [email protected], if I can help you further!

Cathy

Thanks for all of the great advice. I can see how cat shows would be pretty addictive. I have only been to one to look at the kitties and already I am wanting to sign all three cats up for the next show
Thanks again, I'll check out the website!

Ginger

I have only recently (within the last day or so) started to look into cat shows. My current cat (just over six months) is the most social I have owned to date and I am interested in showing her. I'm not sure what her hair length would be classified as though. She is obvisouly not long haired but it doesn't look as short as the examples of short hairs I've seen. Would anyone be able to help me identify her coat?

Originally Posted by Cherriey

I have only recently (within the last day or so) started to look into cat shows. My current cat (just over six months) is the most social I have owned to date and I am interested in showing her. I'm not sure what her hair length would be classified as though. She is obvisouly not long haired but it doesn't look as short as the examples of short hairs I've seen. Would anyone be able to help me identify her coat?

Click to expand...

likely she is a dmh domestic medium hair

Thanks. =0) I have another question... must the Household Pets (if they are to be showed) be fixed at 8 months? Or must they merely be altered anytime between 8 months and the time of the show? My mother really wanted a kitten from my cat but if were supposed to fix her before she ever had a litter this would make it impossible.

Congrats in joining the world of showing. Hope your kitties like it too.

First of all 99% of cat shows also accept household pets for a separate class. There are a few on occasion (specialty shows) which would not have them - seen them in some CFA specialty shows. CFA used to have some very big classes, but they tend to promote the purebred and the HHP section is rather small. Good if you have a very nice cat to show as you will get lots of wins.

The other associations (ACFA, TICA) have large and competiitive HHP classes. These associations also treat the HHP's like purebreds with titles equilivant to Champion or Grand Champion

ACFA and TICA divide their classes into longhair and shorthair specialty and Allbreed (long/short together) classes for finals. CFA just puts them together in one group with one final for the judge.

As long as your kitties are spayed/neutered (over 8 months of age) you can show them - CFA bans any declawed cats. The others accept them but don't encourage the practice.

You want your kitty to be well groomed (especially a longhair), clean, and in good condition (weight proportion to size). Also pays to have a more mellow HHP since most come from only cat houses or one or two other cats and are not used to being in a room with 100 other cats!

I would try a one day show or about 4-5 rings total for the weekend to see if your cat likes it - shows are tiring for a first timer and you'll know in a few shows if you have a cat that really enjoys showing off and winning prizes. If your kitty doesn't like it, please leave him/her home and maybe try another kitty later.

Ginger, have you entered any shows yet?

I have been showing my furless babies through CFA and most of them have Household Pets. http://www.hhpcc.org/showing.html is a great site for information on CFA and TICA.

I'll be showing in the Household Pet division for the very first time (ever entering a show at all) the weekend after Thanksgiving with my cat Autumn. Its a CFA show, though many of them don't offer the HHP division this one does. Also all TICA shows have it I believe. If she does well (I mean temperment wise) I'm going to show her in the big 3 day TICA New Years Eve show in Raleigh.

I doubt all TICA shows would have Domestics - a lot of clubs have specialty shows.

I'm going to my first show today!! Autumn will be in 6 rings between today and tomorrow.

Good luck I'm sure Autumn will do really well. She is a beauty!

Her very first ring she got 1st!! Out of 22 cats. The second ring she didn't get in the top 10. Then in the third ring she got 9th. Thats 2 rosettes, I'm thrilled . Three more rings tomorrow.

Originally Posted by SolarityBengals

Her very first ring she got 1st!! Out of 22 cats. The second ring she didn't get in the top 10. Then in the third ring she got 9th. Thats 2 rosettes, I'm thrilled

. Three more rings tomorrow.

Click to expand...

awesome job! give her a chin scritch for me

So what was the final outcome for your showing weekend? Did you enjoy it? Will you do it again?
Fill us in!

Originally Posted by Kai Bengals

So what was the final outcome for your showing weekend? Did you enjoy it? Will you do it again?
Fill us in!

Click to expand...

So the final results out of 22 HHP's was:
Ring 1: 1st Place
Ring 2: No Place
Ring 3: 9th Place
Ring 4: 6th Place
Ring 5: 10th Place
Ring 6: No Place (it was late and she thought she was done)

I loved it!!! I was surprised to not see any Turkish Angora's or Egyptian Mau's. I LOVED the Javanese that was there. There were a couple gorgeous Ocicats. The Rexes are really growing on me too!

Autumn's temperment wasn't to bad. She would only hiss if she found herself face to face with another cat. Her 5th ring she was the most relaxed I had ever seen her. The first day she was pretty tense throughout. Altogether she did a lot better temperment wise than I would have ever expected.

So I've already entered the New Years TICA show in Raleigh. I've been talking with one of the clerks about color classes, cages, and a lot of other beginner questions. We are going to do Saturday and Sunday and not Friday. Seven rings each day...wow thats a lot. I would have preffered to do 1 day but they don't offer that.

So this time Autumn and Hope will be in the HHP division. Hope is an F4 from the Serval and an F1 as far as outcrosses go so she is nowhere near eligible for a purebred class. According to the rules this sort of thing is commonly done. I love the idea that the cats can go for titles too. Oh and Meeka will be there as exhibition only. I didn't think they would allow an F3 in at all, but according to the entry clerk she thinks its ok but is going to ask around a bit more just to be certain.

Oooh and about 15 of the HHP's were from a foster program. The exciting this was over the 2 days they adopted out 12 cats!!

Awesome...and congratulations!

We'll see you at the Raleigh show then. We're entering 3 of our bengals.
Blaze in adult champion class and 2 kittens, Tango and Penny. Should be great fun, as always.
Please stop by and say hello. Or, we'll look you up.