Should we skip the show?

I'm not sure what to do... I paid a $60 entry fee for a cat show which is this Saturday. Church developed an allergic reaction to an eye ointment (the vet warned me that some cats are allergic to it) and now it's 3 days before the show and his eyes are irritated so he is squinting and his nictitating membrane is showing...
I just don't know what to do about the cat show! This was going to be our first TICA show and I've been waiting for months for it, plus there is the $60 non-refundable entrance fee... He doesn't seem to be bothered by the eye irritation at all but I am afraid the judges will think he is ill... I took him to a pet store with me a few days ago and someone asked me if he had a URI (even though he is obviously not sneezing, watery or showing any nasal or eye discharge!)

Are you leaving for the show on Saturday morning? If so, wait till then to see if its cleared enough to put him in. If not, then unfortunately you'll have to skip this show. I will send vibes that he can make it to the show.

I hope you wake up in the morning and he's fine! It's unfortunate this had to happen just before the show. Sending your way!

Thanks guys! Luckily, Church's eyes improved enough that I did end up taking him to the show today. He was still a bit squinty part of the time but his membranes did not look bad. He didn't do that great in the show but there were only 4 cats in his class (shorthair HHP kittens) and he did get a few 2nd place awards (several 4th place though, he was being grouchy part of the time.)

I figured since you didn't reply, he must have been better. I'd wait till he's 100% before showing again. The "grouchy" part may have been due to him not feeling 100% better. Glad you did get to show him tho.

How many rings?

It was a LONG show, 10 rings. I absented him from several of the rings though so he wouldn't get too stressed and would have some extra time to relax between judging. I am definitely going to wait to enter any other shows until he's back to 100% though. I want to make sure the experience is positive, and since I ended up getting him neutered right before the last show and then his eyes were irritated at this one I don't want him to associate showing with not feeling his best! The vet said she has some eye drops that may help to soothe his irritated eyes that are more gentle.

I also took the Maine Coon kitten to the show. They had her in the wrong section in the catalog, I had entered her in New Traits (she's polydactyl) but they had put her in with the other longhair kittens, so I had to get that corrected. Since she was miscategorized, they didn't have a page for her category in the judging books and didn't have any stickers for her (the way they did the ribbons was one ribbon for the show and then stickers you add to it for any finals you get.) She was also the only cat entered in New Traits so she did not have any competition. However it was beneficial because several of the judges critiqued her while on the table. Since I'd only entered her in HHP before (non TICA) the only info I had on her conformation was from a nice Maine Coon breeder I had asked to take a look at our previous show. It was good to get some info on her conformation from actual judges, although some did not make any comments just did a quick look-over. Several judges said she had a good body structure/boning, they commented that she had nice head/profile/muzzle and said she had good ear set and correct coat. One judge said her ears were set too wide or low but I had woken her up for that ring and she was not cooperating, was holding her ears out to the sides rather than holding them up. He didn't try to wave a toy and get her to perk up the way most of the judges do so I think he just didn't get a proper look (especially since several other judges said she had good ear set.) I'm a little concerned with her because she kept hissing when going to and from the judging. I think the scent of the other strange cats bothers her but I'm not sure how to get her used to that!

I've had a lot better luck showing males (neutered) then any of my females. You might try some of the Bach's Remedy drops to help relax her. It will take the edge off of things - not make her sleepy or anything.

10 rings is a lot on any cat, but especially kittens. This past show was 10 rings for us, but Charlie has been going since 4 months old and is used to things. However, he was more tired out on the 10 ring shows compared to 8 rings.

I tried some calming cat treats and also sprayed Feliway in the cage. The Maine Coon slept half the time she was in the cage so maybe that was the effect from those, but then she growled or hissed when I was carrying her to the judging rings sometimes.
I took them each to their first show when they were about 4 months old, hoping that would help them to be more comfortable with showing. I also took Church to visit friends and out other places from about 8-10 weeks old so he really should be used to handling and strange places all all! He was even relaxed and calm when I took him to a movie set with lots of noise, people, bright lights and other cats around so I don't know what it is about the show that he was getting grumpy about!
I'm going to try some clicker training to see if I can get them both to be more accepting of situations similar to the cat show judging. The weird thing is that they both were perfect at their first shows...