Any Tips for Someone NEW to Showing??

leslie301

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Hey gang!

I am interested in showing my new Bengal boy (silver, ~14-15 weeks old right now) whenever the next show comes around my area. He will be neutered soon, although I'm pretty sure that they have certain categories for those guys.

Anyway, I've never even been to a cat show because I haven't heard of any that are close by. The TICA shows that are coming up in my "vicinity" are:

1) July 14 - 15, about 4 hours away from me

2) September 15-16, about an hour away... but I don't know if I can go because we have a home football game that day and DH probably would probably protest

3) Nov. 17-18, a little over 3 hours away

So, as you can see, all of those would be quite the car trip for a little kitty. I need to know all your advice! I don't have a van or SUV.... how do you travel long distances with a little kitty? What sort of "equipment" do I need to have? How can I prepare him for this? Tips and tricks??
 

godiva

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There are more experienced members here than I, but I just started showing in HHP. I will come back and post some ideas when I have a little more time! (There are a lot...
)
 

sharky

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Did your breeder say you COULD SHOW this KITTEN???
 

goldenkitty45

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Here's the TICA website you might want to bookmark


http://www.tica.org/html/english/home/


First you need to have your kitten registered in the association you are showing in. I think (not positive, since I don't show TICA) you might be able to show the kitten once without a registration number. But once they turn 8 months and go into the alter class (adults) they HAVE to be registered to be shown.

Kitten classes are for kittens age 4-8 months old. Alter (spayed/neutered) and Championship classes are for those cats 8 months or older on the day of the show.

I would attend a local show first to get a "feel" for what you need/do before you actually get everything ready. Just ask the show committee at the gate about how to prepare for showing.

For the basics you need to bring:

1. Curtains/towels to fit 3 sides of the cage (inside), the top and the bottom of the cage (so if you are using towels - then pick up 6-7 towels in complimentary colors for your cat.

2. Small litter pan and litter (some clubs provide litter).

3. Grooming supplies (combs, brush, nail clippers, cotton balls, q-tips)

4. A small cat bed or something your cat likes to sleep in at home.

5. Pen/paper (to mark the catalog) and something to read if you get bored


6. Kitty's food/water dishes and food and bottled water from home.

7. The CAT and carrier (you have to have a carrier - can't just walk in with kitty on leash or in your arms).


Wear comfortable shoes and clothes - you will be doing a lot of walking. When you come in and after you set up your cage, mark your catalog with your name, cat's number (will be on the front or look it up under Kitten class), and circle in each judging ring where they are judging Kitten Class in the schedule. That way you can have an idea of when you will be coming up. LISTEN for your numbers - judges hate when you are late for ring call! Check the rings to see which numbers are coming up - sometimes they need to make a change in the judging schedule.

On your entry for the show, make a note that you are a 1st time exhibitor and may need guidance. Don't be afraid to ask questions of your neighbors on what is going on - most people are very willing to help a 1st time exhibitor.

When you take your kitten in the rings, take a seat near the front (if you can) and watch how the judge handles the cats, talks about the breed, etc.

Since I don't show TICA, someone else will have to jump in and explain briefly what all the color ribbons mean when the judge puts them on your cage.

Have fun, learn a lot, and go in with the attitude of NOT expecting any big fancy ribbons. Then if your kitty does win something, you will be pleasantly surprised.

I've been showing cats for over 25 yrs and still get excited when my cat finals - but I never "expect" him to take home ribbons - I know he's good, but you are paying for judge's opinions on that day - another day, they may put your cat in the finals, so don't be hurt or disappointed if you don't win.

Everyone here that does shows KNOWS very well their cat is #1
We can't help if the judges are blind sometimes
 
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leslie301

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Good question.... YES, I purchased him as a show cat and it explicitly states that in my contract, so I'm good to go there. I'm not breeding him, though, and it states that in the contract as well.


Originally Posted by sharky

Did your breeder say you COULD SHOW this KITTEN???
 
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leslie301

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Thanks, GK! That's a very good introduction for me.
I'm a little nervous because I don't think I can make any "local" cat shows since they are all so far away. I honestly don't want to make a 4 hour trip (that's the first one in my vicinity) just to watch..... I might just try to find some videos of a cat show or something to watch what happens. My husband and I are insanely busy, so if we go out of town for a weekend then it's kind of a big deal.


What are your thoughts on traveling with the kitty? Like I said, I have a carrier, but you can't fit a litterbox or anything in there (as you know). If I'm making a 4 hour trip, then that's a long way for a kitty to go without his food/water/litterbox, isn't it? Do you just withhold food the night before and feed him when you get there? How do most people handle the traveling part itself?
 

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I have a thought on traveling with kitty and that is to take nowhere car trips with hm NOW! Start out with short trips and gradually increase the time. Make it fun for him to take a car ride so that he doesn't stress as much over longer trips. I also strongly suggest keeping the cat in a carrier or kennel while in the car. The last thing you need it a kitty on the dash board or stuck under a seat.
 
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leslie301

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Originally Posted by twstychik

I have a thought on traveling with kitty and that is to take nowhere car trips with hm NOW! Start out with short trips and gradually increase the time. Make it fun for him to take a car ride so that he doesn't stress as much over longer trips. I also strongly suggest keeping the cat in a carrier or kennel while in the car. The last thing you need it a kitty on the dash board or stuck under a seat.
I agree that it would probably be a good idea to go ahead and start taking him on car trips to nowhere starting TODAY. He's already afraid (a little) of getting in his carrier because he knows that means "THE VET".... so I need to change that mindset.

What are your thoughts on long car trips? I always keep my kitties in their carrier no matter where we're going, but is the carrier too small for long trips? Will I "have" to get a kennel and just borrow someone's van or SUV? Does anyone else take their kitty on long trips just using their carrier?
 

twstychik

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You might want to get in touch with LuckyGirl. I know she takes her kitties on vacation with her.

My kitties also only go into carriers when it's time for the vet and that's like a 40 minute drive. That's the longest I've gone with them in the car.

I don't know if you keep your carriers out but you might o that too. Just take it out... maybe put some treats, toys or nip in it so that he can start to re-associate the carrier with good things instead of the vet. Also, when you do start short car trips be sure to talk to him and give hims lots of praise after you get home again.
 

kitytize

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You will want to start bathing him now and I have no clue what a bengal show bathing routine consists of. Also start taking him to pet stores like Petco, Petsmart to get him used to car rides and some socializing.

I wanted my cats to stay in their carrier during car rides but my Veeshan will throw up from motion sickness unless she is allowed out to look around. So I do allow my cats to roam the car and I put a littler box on the floor. I do not feed them before we leave and they usually sleep most of the way once they settle. Almost all the cat shows I go to are 3 hours away.
 

goldenkitty45

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Good idea in getting him used to riding in the car. You don't put the litter pan in the carrier - when you get set up at the show, have it in there for the kitten to use.

I would advise you to be sure you have extra towel or two for the carrier and plenty of paper towels. Charlie really doesn't like car rides (loves the shows) and if its over 2 hrs driving time, we can almost guarentee he WILL pee and/or poop in the carrier. Luckily he's a shorthair and clean up is not as much as if you had a longhair!

They get the normal supper meal nite before - I just don't feed him breakfast - not till we are in the showhall. Also I offer food/water several times during the show because he will spill it all over the place (water). That's why you should have an extra towel in case he messes up the one in the cage.

And also you will need to give your kitten a bath 1 or 2 days before the show to be sure he's totally clean. Clip all nails, clean ears, etc. There are threads in here about giving a cat a bath.
 
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leslie301

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Ahhh... Good stuff, everybody! I've never attempted a cat bath, so that should be fun. Fortunately, Rowdy doesn't seem too bothered by water.... fairly curious about it, actually, so he'll be an easier target than Tina would be. I will probably want to start practicing that, as well!

I hope that Rowdy will behave in the show ring.... that would be so wonderful to go on trips with him! I understand that he may not always (or never) win ribbons.... but I think it would be fun to try the show ring as a little adventure for both of us! My husband has 3,000 hobbies and passions- I think I could use at least one!
 
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leslie301

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Haha- Absolutely! I wouldn't miss those golden moments for the world and I'll definitely post the pictures once the show rolls around (months away, of course).

I'm nervous/excited. I will be so sad to drive him far away only to put him in a bad mood! I really think that his personality would be the type to do well, though. He isn't scared of anything, anyone... so it seems... So I would think that he'd be pretty resilient to the craziness of a cat show. He is VERY scared of barking dogs, but I would imagine that there wouldn't be any of that at a cat show....
 

goldenkitty45

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Do your best to be as relaxed as you can. Your cat will pick up on your nervousness.

One thing you can do is AFTER the judge has done his finals for the class and if your cat doesn't win, then quietly go up to him/her and ask if they have a minute to talk to you and ask them what they think of your cat. If they are not too busy, most will be glad to take a 2nd look and evaluate him.

Or you could ask a few other Bengal breeders to evaluate your kitten.

Right now I know that Charlie is not fully mature, his head needs to widen a bit more; body is good but we will be working on muscle development this summer for even better. Hopefully he will start to do a lot better this fall and grand quickly as we don't have a lot of shows in our area.
 

sharky

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Originally Posted by Leslie301

Good question.... YES, I purchased him as a show cat and it explicitly states that in my contract, so I'm good to go there. I'm not breeding him, though, and it states that in the contract as well.
Hope you and he have a blast and win lots of ribbons
 

kai bengals

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My wife and I will be at that show in Raleigh on July 14, 15. We'll be showing 4 new kittens. Be happy to help you get situated, set-up and learn the ropes.
 

goldenkitty45

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Nial, that's very kind of you
Hope things go well for both of you showing the kittens. And don't forget pictures!

BTW I'm sure you can't get a better "mentor" then Nial and Teri
 

missymotus

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We've only done one show so far and had a blast. Met some really nice people, everyone knew I was a new exhibitor as there haven't been any Oci's in the ring for over 4 yrs in my state, people were more than willing to explain how things work for me.

I think you mentioned your boy was confident in another thread, Demetri is overly confident
and he loved having people come up and fuss over him in the cage.

Hasn't been mentioned yet and I don't know what the rules are in the US regarding touching cats, but many people here keep antibacterial wipes/gel on the cage so if anyone wants to pet the cat they have clean hands.


Originally Posted by GoldenKitty45

Wear comfortable shoes and clothes - you will be doing a lot of walking. When you come in and after you set up your cage, mark your catalog with your name, cat's number (will be on the front or look it up under Kitten class), and circle in each judging ring where they are judging Kitten Class in the schedule. That way you can have an idea of when you will be coming up. LISTEN for your numbers - judges hate when you are late for ring call! Check the rings to see which numbers are coming up - sometimes they need to make a change in the judging schedule.
More complicated than here! We just do the inline vetting, find the cage number, set up curtains on 3 sides/cushion on bottom put the cat in and that's it.
The judging is done in front of those cages and the steward's just take them out and hand them to the judge. No having to walk cats from one cage to the other and listen for numbers
 

abymummy

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GK has set you on the right path.


Frankly, if I were you, I'd try to attend a show first just to get the feel for it before doing my first show. Unless of course you have a show mentor.

I've posted this down before but I can't seem to find the thread so ...

Here's what I do pre-show (some disagree with my training but it works for me) and since your's is a short hair, life is a tiny bit easier


1. Condition to cage. Buy a cage that is approximately the size of a standard show cage. Start with putting him in the cage for about 1/2 hour in front of the tv with sound working up to about 4 hours.

2. Condition the cat to being judged. All judges go through the same motions when judging. There's the "stand" test, the "stretch" test, the "feel for balls" test (males only), the "head to tail" test and the "look at the head" test. Start going through these motions with your cat so they can get used to it - the more different people that do the tests to him, the better. There may be other tests for bengals but these are the basics.

3. Condition the cat to being bathed and show groomed. Since your baby is SH, show grooming is almost non existent. (It took GK and myself a while to convince Nial the benefits of bathing his cats
) Personally, my Abys go through 2 shampoos and one condition for show bathing and only one shampoo for normal bathing. Perhaps someone will start a new thread on show bathing/grooming.

That's about all I can think of and I hope it helps!
 
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