Our First Show

I'm back from my first show with my DSH kitten Church. It was a lot of fun!
Church did really well. He's only 4 months old so I wasn't sure how he'd react, but he took everything in stride. He was very calm about the whole atmosphere once he got used to it, not scared at all or anything. Not bad for a feral-born kitten!
There were 13 household pets entered but only 12 showed up in all but the first ring. There was only one other kitten in the HHP class, a 4 months old black shorthair who was half Church's size (and a little frightened.) I wasn't sure if the kittens would do well, especially with 12 cats in most of the rings I thought the judges might just eliminate the kittens for the finals (one did.) There were about 4-5 brown tabbies entered but two were longhaired.
Church finaled in 6 out of the 8 rings. In the first ring (13 cats) Church placed 4th. The other rings on Saturday Church placed 6th, 7th, and the last one we didn't final. I think the same cat got 1st in the first three rings, a B+W shorthair. The second day, Church didn't final in the first ring but then got 10th, 7th, and 6th place. Several of the judges commented on his coat (nice/soft) and that he had a sweet expression. We got these really nice medals (made of metal) for placing, and all the HHPs entered also got a toy from each judge in addition to the merit ribbon.

Oh in case anyone hasn't seen him, this is Church:

Congratulations! He's gorgeous and his markings are very clear

Will you be showing him again?

SEEEEE I TOLD you he would do well...can I pick them or what

Now that you have a bunch of fancy ribbons, etc. to hang on your walls, when is his next scheduled show gonna be. Welcome to the fun of cat showing

Wow he did very well! Way to go Church! Are you addicted to shows now?

Originally Posted by kitytize

Wow he did very well! Way to go Church! Are you addicted to shows now?

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Although show addiction is insidious, a few more shows in the near future will confirm addiction...I think

Yeah I was surprised that none of the judges commented on his pattern. All the other tabbies in the class were darker with a lot less contrast.
I'm not sure yet when his next show will be. There are two shows in the area next month, a CFA and a TICA show. I probably want to do the TICA show, because I want to enter my brother's Maine Coon kitten in the New Traits class. I am considering maybe going to the CFA show as well but I'm not sure. It's at a huge pet show (dogs/cats/horses/critters) I attend every year but I usually volunteer at a booth there and I probably can't do that if I enter the cat show.
I like the idea of TICA for the household pets because they keep track of points and earn titles, but there is an organization in the area also that I could join where they track HHP scores and give prizes to the top 10 scoring cats for the year.

Congratulations

The other association is ACFA - they have titles and year end awards. You should be able to find a few ACFA shows in the area

Congratulations! Sounds as if you had a fun day out as well as coming home with awards - well done!

Originally Posted by Nekochan

I like the idea of TICA for the household pets because they keep track of points and earn titles

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Same here, I am trying to get to a TICA show in the not too distant future to see how they work as I've only been to GCCF shows before. I like the idea that non-pedigree cats can earn titles, sure it's not as important from the point of view of demonstrating type as it would be if you were breeding pedigrees, but if I decide to show Radar now his acne is under control, it would mean a lot to me personally!

The GCCF is a prestigious organisation but dare I say it a little stuffy, old fashioned, and cliquey - TICA is gaining a good reputation here now and a lot of breeders are going dual registry or switching, and certainly for the HHP side of things it makes more sense.

Congratulations on the show! Church is such a lovely cat! April is coming up quick and that's when I'm showing Maxx for the first time! He was shown by his former owner but is now neutered so he will be showing in the premier class.

Congratulations!

Awwww! Congratulations to you and your baby boy! He is a beauty!

Congrats he did well!