Silly question for HHP show cats!

I am literally in the middle of registering for my (and Oscar's!) very first cat show in about a month. It's not a big deal, but I want his form to be as accurate as possible and well, for coat length options there is only DLH and DSH and Oscar is very much an "in betweener" medium coat. Does anyone else have a "medium" coat HHP? What did you list it as? I'm not sure how strict the judges are but I don't want them to get upset if he is misidentified :/

Also, any tips for a first time shower?? 

Much appreciated!

Thanks!!

Sorry you had to wait so long for an answer.  The Ethical Breeding & Showing Forum probably doesn't include many people who show Household Pets, but it is the best place for your question, so here's MY opinion:

My first bit of advice is DO NOT TAKE IT TOO SERIOUSLY.  It's supposed to be fun, for you and the cat.  Winning is not really important if you are not a breeder.  However, to some people winning is everything and not winning can be heartbreaking, so always remember it's a game and nobody's cat is better than anybody else's cat, and the judges opinions are just that, opinions.  In finals, they will usually explain the reasons for their picks.  Judging purebreds, there is a standard for each breed and the judges try to choose the cat that, in their opinion, best fits the standard. In HHP classes, there are not supposed to be any breed standards. (However, since the judges have trained eyes, they may just naturally gravitate to a certain type, and that's their absolute right as a HHP judge.)

I used to show in the HHP classes years ago and it's probably not much different now.  You didn't mention which association you are showing in - TICA?  CFA?  Here are a couple of links that may help.

http://www.tica.org/public/showing.php

http://www.cfainc.org/Shows/AboutShows/Ready,Set,Show.aspx

As I recall, there were only two categories, LH and SH, so if your cat is not a shorthair, he's a longhair by default.  They have only the two divisions, and that matters in the Specialty Rings, where a judge will jusge ONLY longhairs or ONLY shorthairs.  In the allbreed rings, the judge will see ALL the cats.  He won't be judged on the length of his fur, but on his health, personality, uniqueness, and his personal appeal to whatever judge is in that particular ring.  Most shows have 6 or 8 rings, so you have 6 or 8 judges who may all have different opinions or who all may favor one or two of the same cats, you just never know..  My biggest tip for a first-time HHP show is to make sure your cat is groomed to purrfection (i.e. bathed and combed out well before the show), all 18 nails clipped, ears immaculate, no nose or eye boogers, and combed well so he doesn't shed all over the judge.  Other than grooming, the most important thing is that he be HAPPY to be at the show, so if you have not yet started hauling him around in the car, taking him out in public for people to oooh and ahhh over, and having him handled by people other than yourself, start doing that now.  Also, I'm sure you must play with him with toys, and judges often use feathers or some other similar toy to get their attention so they can see them better, etc. so make sure he is used to such toys and is not scared by them. 

In my personal experience (I stopped showing about 10 years ago when my beautiful HHP Piglet crossed the Rainbow Bridge), TICA had a LOT of really beautiful apparently purebred cats in its HHP classes and they often won, which was frustrating for people with true mixed breed cats that didn't look purebred.  CFA, on the other hand, tended NOT to give big awards to cats that looked purebred and instead rewarded the truly remarkable cats with great personalities and unique looks.  TICA was more competitive, too, because they had a cumulative ranking for HHP cats just like they do in the purebred classes, based on points for show wins, whereas CFA did not.  A lot of CFA shows did not include HHP classes at that time,either, so of course more HHP cats showed up in the TICA shows.  You might have a class of 25-30 cats in a TICA HHP class (in my area, the southeast) whereas you rarely had more than 10 in the CFA HHP classes when they even included them.

Google HHP CAT SHOW and you will find a lot of links on showing household pets in both TICA and CFA. 

I'm assuming you're entering your cats in a TICA show since CFA judges all HHP cats and kittens together. The judges do sometimes describe the cats as longhair or semi-longhair. I've never heard the term semi-shorthair, though. You could send the entry clerk or show manager an email to ask for specific assistance in filling out the entry form.

Good luck with your HHPs. Personally I think that is the most fun category to show.