Judging Positions???

I have read that I need to practice the judging positions with Sasha so he will be used to them before his first show but I can't find a list or pictures of the positions anywhere

please help...

Ginger

but I think with cats they are more apt to turn them over, check their teeth or bite, see if they are playful ect. You should have your kitty exposed to people, like at a mall or school, this way they don't freak when they are in front of all those people.
I have never been to a show, so someone else may have better advice.

Thanks Teresa. I am taking him to Pet Smart today
Should be good practice

Ginger

Coco Maui,

Just as a side note, and I am no expert on cat shows, but we happened to buy our kitty from a breeder and took him home from a cat show. It ends up he had a lot of problems -- an upper respiratory infection that showed up in a few days, ear mites nd eventually other skin problems, etc.

The breeder blamed this on him being at the cat show, and explained that people ooo and awww over cats and kitties there, touch them, and then carry germs from sick kitties to all the other kitties. She said it was a very bad environment for cats from this perspective and she said she even sprays her cats with some disinfectant and wipes them down a lot at shows.

Now, we were doubtful about the reputability of this breeder once we found the cat was sick (we bought him on the spur of the moment), but still I would have to think some of what she says is true.

I really am not intending to scare you about it but I thought I should mention it since we had a bad experience with cat shows.

Perhaps others who haven't had the same problem can share thoughts.

Hi Ginger:

They are referring to the way the judge will handle Sasha on the judging table. He will probably be stretched in front of the judge like "Super Cat" so the judge can see his pattern, and also stood up on his hind legs, while being supported under his front legs. All this is so the judge can get a look at his pattern and body type and also get a nice close-up look at his face, ear position and profile. By doing this, the judge is determining how close Sasha comes to the Bengal standard. The judge will also wave toys in front of Sasha. This is so he can get a good look at him head-on in an "alert" expression. He will also get a good feel of his eye shape, color, etc.

It can't hurt to practice these positions with Sasha at home. From my own experience showing my own cats, I find that when all is said and done, they either do it or they don't. I showed a cat several years ago who stretched beautifully at home, and let me twirl him any which way. When it came to being on the judgng table, he would curl up into a ball when the judge tried to stretch him! Needless to say, he didn't go to many shows, as he wasn't enjoying the experience. This is the most important thing to consider.

The cat I showed last season, Duncan, didn't get any pre-show stretching practice and he took it on like a pro! Loved the attention of the judges and to this day jumps into the carrier every chance he gets It really depends on the cat and their individual personality.

Cathy

Thanks for sharing, Cathy... i really enjoy reading your experiences.

Truly appreciate it!

Smiles!!

Cheers to you! :beerpals!:

Thanks for your help, and great advice.
I will start the practicing!! I have been practicing the superman pose with him for a few months now. That is the one that I saw on all of the websites. He does pretty good at it unless he spots something on the floor that he wants to "attack" instead.
Today I took him to Pet SuperMarket, he didnt do so well in the car but in the store he did ok. Not bad for the first time out.


Ginger

many breeders have told me that they have washed their cats with an anti fungul shampoo after shows as ringworm is also passed along at the shows. Make sure to get a plastic cover for the show cage to keep out air born illnesses..ie upper respiratory, ring worm and other yucky things like fleas.
Best of luck with showing your baby!

As a show breeder I have to say what the breeder told you is correct! Shows do subject cats to many, many different germs. We give all of our cats a bath when we arrive home. We also do not allow our cats we took to the show to be near the ones who did not go.

I have a friend who took her cat to a show a few months ago and came home with a sick cat. He had kennel cough! So YES showing can expose your cat/kitten to many different types of germs.

What kind of kitty do you have?

Hi Bengal Cats

I assume you were talking to me. We have an American Shorthair. He suffered from an URI for quite some time after the show, as well as having ear mites and ringworm.

He is fine now! We are thinking of getting another cat in the near future.

I see you are in PA...are you near Pittsburgh?

You are right that there are a lot of things running around a show hall. However the ones I have been to people do not go around touching cats to spread it. I would be more worried about the airborn things. No one touched my cat and the people who asked where not offended when I told them no. However my cat was very sensitive to all the powder and crap people put on their cats and was flying around.
Over all though I dont think it is any worse then going to the vet and sitting there with all of the sick animals around.
So in short I just dont want people to completly cut the idea of showing out of their scope of things. It can be a lot of fun for the person and the cat.
Denise

Believe it or not, I attended shows for ten years before bringing home any “cooties†(except a runny nose once or twice). I would let spectators pet my cats if they disinfected their hands first and never had a problem. This past year, however, I managed to pick up ringworm. How it happened, I donâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t know. I was lucky to have spotted it before I attended another show (I was planning to travel to northern Ohio with a friend, that was quickly cancelled). I wouldnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t have wanted to be the one causing the problem at the next show! Being that Duncan ultimately lost several good-sized patches of fur from the fungus, it took us out of contention for the rest of the season. Luckily, I only have two cats, so the problem was relatively contained and was under control quickly, with neither my other cat nor DH and I catching it!

Amy, I agree with your suspicions of the breeder you bought your sick kitten from. Thatâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s an awful lot of stuff to pick up at a show! I can see the URI (Upper Resp.) happening and MAYBE the ringworm, but catching ear mites and a urinary tract infection from kitten buyers at a show? I doubt that highly. I canâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t believe she was actually in the show hall. Sounds like her conditions at home were less-than-desirable, and it is always easy to blame the show instead of standing behind your kittens and their health. You certainly had quite an ordeal. I am glad he got better fast!

I agree with Ceehorne that this shouldnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t scare people from going to cat shows. While it is a sometimes annoying downside of showing, if you take reasonable precautions, use common sense and have clean conditions at home, incident should be relatively few and far between.

CathyG

Yes, we were definitely suspicious and upset with the breeder. He didn't have a urinary tract infection, if I wrote that, I didn't mean to. But he did have everything else!

We were so inexperienced and really should have done more research -- we basically bought him on the spur of the moment from her at the cat show -- had never met her before, etc. Next time I would do much more research and be careful. But then again thank goodness we did take him because he is a wonderful cat -- so laid back! He "puts up" with my 8 year old constantly having to hold him and bug him.

We didn't even realize he had ringworm for awhile because he had a small spot that we didn't realize was anything. It was only a few small spots, thank goodness, and no one in our house got it either.

Hi Amy!

i have two kitties, and am always on a look out for creative, fun stuff for them to play with.

i visited your website once before when i was looking for a tree. Are you the owner?

i am interested in your tubular playgrounds. Is it big enough for TWO or THREE adult cats?

Thanks!

Cheers!

Hi GurlPower,

Yes I am the owner/president of the company.

Certainly the 72 inch tubular playground would accomodate 2-3 cats, and the 52 inch probably would work as well. Lots of our units accomodate multiple cats.

You might want to check the customer gallery as there are some good pics of 3+ family cats and links to the units they are on. This would give you a better way to judge how many cats the units can accomodate.

Of course, the Big Foot is extremely popular and is quite large!

Let me know if can answer any other questions.

Hi again, Amy!

You can call me Shirley.

i was looking at the following:

This Hide & Play Cat Tunnel is great fun for active cats. Give cats a fun and fuzzy place to play with the Hide & Play Cat Tunnel. Cats will love hiding and playing in this fun, 53" long, flexible tunnel. The soft berber material will keep cats warm while they snuggle and nap. Large holes provide plenty of places for curious cats to come and go, and krinkle lining inside tunnel walls will keep cats' attention for hours. Plush is treated with catnip to please any cat.
Tunnel measures 53"L x 17.5"W x 17.5"H.

i have two kitties now, and will add another kitten soon (taking my time.) i really like this for them to play.. can this accommodate THREE kitties?

This looks like so much fun.. i would really like to get it soon!!

Cheers!

Amy,

i just pm you.. i just odered the tunnel.. i wonder if it is okay for ADULT cats? My Daisy is a young adult, and Venus will get bigger soon enough...

Thanks!! i like your stuff.. i looked at your website before i even discovered this website.

i like the tents and the trees.

i already got a tree for the kitties, and would really like one that resembles a palm tree one of these days... i saw it at the cat show, it is really enormous and beautiful.

i am really excited for my kitties, and look forward to receiving your goodies! Thanks!

Cheers!

Hi Shirley

I PMed you back!