I got the idea Wrinkles was not well liked a the show

I keep telling you Jackie, talk to Dee Dee....she should know by now you're a good show home!

But you got her from someone who doesn't show, IMO it's wrong to sell breeder or show cats when you've never shown. Even just a few shows a year you know if you're on the right track.

With getting another cat, weren't you thinking of breeding at some point? You need to watch your neuter numbers if that's the case.

This is a curious question, what does that mean?

Hehe.. because you can only have so many cats in one house! I mistakenly bought a sub-show-standard Mau and it caused me some issues until I had her spayed. Reputations are easy to tarnish and my mentors didn't want to be involved with that particular cattery. I would have happily kept her as a housepet, but my parents lost their silver tabby this summer and fell in love with her. So now she lives in cat paradise with them.

Here she is on their dog's bed, taking over on her first day.

What a beautiful girl!!!

My suggestion to you Jacky is to really STUDY the breed standard so you know exactly what you are looking for/at when evaluating cats. And then go to the associations (TICA, CFA, ACFA) and study their winning Sphynx to get the idea of "style/looks" so you learn to spot a good Sphynx from one not so good.

That's the only way you will learn to evaluate your cats you buy and to evaluate your kittens. And be picky - know your cat's faults and good points; be honest with yourself!

I ran into some of the same issues when I first started, and I am STILL just starting. I was hasty and believed what some breeders told me and saw some pictures that looked great. I am so lucky that Tsekani turned out to be a positive for my foundation, but like I said, I hastily bought myself a female to breed to him without asking enough advice. Turns out, that cattery was known for sending out sick kittens and did not have a good show record. They also only pictured their best cats on their site, and listed cats that they did not own as 'their' lines. Finally, they were also known for breeding hybrids and in the CFA Mau world, being associated with a hybrid breeder is a pretty bad thing (no offense to those Bengal breeders on the site).

I ended up getting a kitten with a different pedigree than the one that I was initially shown. I learned my lesson, and now I don't make a move until I get the go ahead from my mentors.

Now, I see that you have had kittens shipped to you but you attend a lot of cat shows. Can you make some connections at these cat shows with current breeders and maybe arrange to see a litter before you make your choice, instead of having one shipped to you and hoping for the best?

Finally, the cat I have kept for my program wasn't fawned over at the last show, but my mentors have given me some advice on grooming and told me to not give up hope. They feel that she will do well given some time.

Maybe at a show you can ask someone for a serious evaluation of wrinkles. Being prepared to hear the good and the bad and what they think she'll do in the future.

Why not? You surely should be able to...

That's weird... If they judge, they are judging on specific standards... I would not have a problem in asking them; this is an opportunity to learn. I am not saying to go and give the impression that you don't agree with their judgment, but perhaps if you explain the situation, that you are looking for another kitten, and want to learn on what to look for and so on... If they can tell you why they took points away, you can look for a better kitten next time...
I don't know, maybe it is just me, but this IMO would be a great source for feedback.

This is propably a stupid question and a bit OT but doesn't the judges in TICA or CFA shows tell you anything about your cat? As I've only attended to FIFé shows where one judge judges your cat and definitely points out if there is something good or bad in the cat (and you get shortened version of it in writing as well), that sounds very odd. Isn't that what you are paying for, to get your cat judged?

I don't know anything about the sphynx standard, but I think I like Wrinkles more..must be those blue eyes.

Heck this is what we're here for. If someone dumps one of mine I'm like a fly to sugar - why didn't you like my puss? This is SUCH a good way to learn but NEVER take one judge's advice as gospel, speak to lots of judges.

I understand in the US the judges often speak out about the good points rather then the bad points? People don't sue here so we can be a little bit more ruthless.

Hey and Jacky Wrinkles is only small - give her a chance.

we notice US judges don't say negatives while our judges point out good and bad.

Yeah same here. We actually informed a US judge at our National that she could say a little bit more. I think she rather enjoyed herself after that.

Of course there were two US judges who couldn't even think of anything to say about my Fluffy. Within 30 secs they had put her back. Jacky, you've gotta laugh about it. Cat shows aren't the end of the world.

Jacky, in a way you can ask that. Just go to them after they judge their finals and have a few mins to talk - then ask what is good and bad about Wrinkles.

I think that's what a lot of us liked with the Aussie and UK judges we had - they pointed out what they didn't like or what could improve. I mentioned on ACFA site that maybe some of our judges could do a little more explaining along those lines. How will breeders learn what to improve if they don't get feedback.

At the last show, there was a judge who used to breed Sphynx. We waited until after the ring was finished with judging our cats and she said, if anyone had questions to ask. So we brought Monty and Maddie to her (after her finals were complete), and she explicitly explained the good and not so good points of each. She said Maddie needs a sharper stop at the bridge of her nose but has the nicest skin, and that Monty just needs to fill out in the jowls to make him a nice boy. She was great to talk to, she said Maddie had an excellent "pinch" so it was a great experience overall getting some input from a breeder gone into judging. She was amazed at how many sphynx were there...3 of ours and 3 of another breeders.

I wouldn't hesitate to ask a judge questions. They are well-educated in the breed profiles and they are there to educate--not only owners, but spectators as well.

I've asked judges what they liked or didn't like about Charlie and Jack before - its usually minor things. They don't mind telling you.

Ditto that - quite a few CFA judges will tell you what they do like, and it's up to you to discover what they didn't...an example if you will with my cats, I have been informed on many an occassion that they love the type (body) and the ears and more often then not, the color and ticking. All that means is that they DON'T love my cats' head shape and eyes!

After a while you get to learn "judge speak"...lol.

My most direct question to a judge, what did you like and more oftenly, what did you HATE?

I guess in the alter classes most judges feel that they don't need to inform you of your cat's faults - just the good points as these are not breeding cats.

They have a point, but IMO that doesn't mean you shouldn't know the "bad" points too. If you are looking to get a better cat (breeding or alter) in the future, shouldn't you know what to improve?

Case in point - Charlie was shown (first Ocicat) - and I would ask the judges what they did not like about him........so I would learn and know what to look for in the next Ocicat I bought. I WANTED to know that. So by the time he granded I knew what to look for.

And I was picky too - knew more of the standard, knew what to look for to improve picking a better cat - and got that in Jack (also know what Jack's bad points are).

I knew I needed a wider ear set, and better spotting. But also knew that I needed a strong muzzle like Charlie has and the body he has. So I looked for a kitten that had Charlie's good points but also improved on what Charlie was lacking!

Both cats are alters - didn't matter to me that Jack is not a breeding cat - I just know he's better then Charlie in more ways.

Quite often there are judges at shows who are not judging, just showing their own cats. You can ask around and find one who may be willing to talk to you.

I've asked a judge to evaluate my cat before... That was with Roxy. Since she is polydactyl I was showing her as a household pet in CFA, but I asked what they thought about her as a Maine Coon... They had no problem with that, of course I asked them after they were done judging her officially. I also asked a breeder at one show... She was a Maine Coon breeder I had contacted when looking for a cat and she was really nice and gave me a critique of Roxy. Roxy wasn't purchased as a show cat, her breeder does not show either but I got interested in it after we brought her home. She got a good critique tho0ugh and when I did show her in TICA New Traits some of the judges also did critique out loud while judging which was also helpful. She's from a CFA cattery though so she doesn't have as much of the "wild" look TICA likes in the Maine Coons although the judges did say some good things about her. It's funny, after I sent her breeder an update about her and photos with her show ribbons they have started showing a little.

IMO being afraid of bringing in germs as a reason not to show is not very valid. In all the showing I've done (purebred, household pet) I have NEVER brought anything bad home to be spread to other cats.

If she is that concerned, maybe breeding is not something she should be doing. You take normal precautions and have your cats up to date with shots, etc.

If you have young kittens, you can isolate the show cats when they come home - otherwise you should be fine.