Jack and the Grand of Distinction title quest

Yay for the super boss! Hope Jack gets his GoD award at the show.

Best of luck to you and Jack! He's gorgeous!

Good luck to you and Jack!  He is one gorgeous kitty.

When you retire him from shows, will you be breeding him? It seems a shame to let those beautiful genes go to waste.

DreamerRose said:

 
Good luck to you and Jack!  He is one gorgeous kitty.

When you retire him from shows, will you be breeding him? It seems a shame to let those beautiful genes go to waste.

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Jack is neutered. I showed him once as a kitten and was told by a judge who is well known for his national winning Persians that Jack was a golden tabby NOT a shaded golden.Golden tabbies can not be shown in the CFA. He was wrong about Jack, his color came in and you see how he looks now.  The top breeder of Goldens in the United States was there and she even said that Jacks color would blend into the golden color you see now. Since it was the kitten class allowances are usually made for coat color and eye color. Goldens are all born tabbies - sometimes it takes time for the color to come in, but I believed the judge. I took Jack home and had him neutered to keep as a pet. When I posted photos of him the more experienced silver and golden breeders I know encouraged me to try him again. I took him back to the show hall as an adult (8 months) and he made every final in that show - including best premier! He has made finals in every show since that one. What is sweet is that when he got his regional award, the judge that told me he was a tabby was the presenter.  I often wish I had not neutered him, but he may not have had his sweet disposition  if left whole and wanting to breed - at least that is what I keep telling myself. 

So for those of you new to showing (or even  those that have experience) , remember the judge is only offering an opinion - it is not necessarily that way another judge would see your cat. If you know your breed standard (I did) and your cat doesn't  have a DQ, just take it as it is  - one opinion.  Learn from my mistake.

I only show my girls in HHP (no purebreds here, just beautiful moggies), but that's really good advice. I've seen people who take it personally when their cat doesn't make top 10 in HHP and forget that it's all based on the judge's opinion, and in the end it really doesn't matter. I'm sure it's even more common with purebreds, since it's so much more competitive.

It's always a bit disappointing when your cat doesn't make a final, but that's the way shows work. I figure if all judges saw the cats the same way clubs could save a lot of money by hiring just one judge and multiplying the scores by however many rings they would normally have. :lol3:

Well, Jack is down to needing 4 more finals. It is going to be a nail biter finish! There is a show I wanted to do as insurance but I can't because I can't get the time off from work. So that leaves us with only the last show of the season to do it. Honestly, I doubt that we will do it. There are 6 all breed rings and only 1 of those judges consistently use him. Between now and then I will be working on him to keep him in top condition. i did find out this past weekend that Jack is in the running for another regional win. I have been so focused on the Grand of Distinction title that I didn't pay attention to regional standings!

Jack and I are doing the show in New Jersey this weekend after all. I took vacation time for it. I am lucky that I have 7 weeks vacation time a year!! He needs 4 more all breed finals. Not sure this show will do it though because the judging line up isn't the best for him. I am dreading the drive down - it is between 4 and 5 hours to get there for me - and despite using a GPS I always have trouble. Last time it routed me all back roads instead of highways. It took FOREVER!! Bathing Jack later today and then leaving around 2 AM for the drive. Wish us luck.

Good luck! :cross:

Keeping all paws crossed for Jack (and you).

Well, he got 1 all breed final so I thought that maybe we could get the last ones at the last show of the season. It isn't going to happen. My boss refuses to give me the weekend off even though he knows how important it is to me. So Jack will not be getting the Grand of Distinction title thanks to the jerk.

I'm so sorry. After all that work, and you can't make the last leg.

I'm so sorry, bosses seem to always be jerks when we need things the most.
But hey, he's still probably one of the best looking cats I have ever seen, so that's something.

Well it seems that neither my boss or I are getting what we want. He scheduled me to work today (day 1 of the last show of the season) and I got sick. My doctor pulled me out of work for today because I have strep throat - so even if I had been scheduled off I would not have been able to go to the show today. I won't be contagious tomorrow so can go then (and I have that day off) so I plan on going for at least one day. I know it is HIGHLY unlikely that he will get the 3 All Breed final he needs, but I have to try. If only I could have gotten him to Pennsylvania for today - I had someone who would have shown him for me. Oh well, I am not sure how well he would handle that anyway, he is my spoiled baby.

Even though I was still sick (but not contagious) I drove 4 hours to the show on Sunday. He did his best, but it wasn't good enough - he missed the Grand of Distinction by 2 finals. I am not bringing him back out again this new season to try - he deserves to just be a spoiled pet now. Three years working on this is a long time. I am so disappointed that we spent so much time and effort to miss by just 2 finals. I take solace in the fact  that he has gotten his second regional win - 15th best all breed premier and he was also the highest scoring silver and golden premier in our region.

I'm sorry you missed out. At least you had the opportunity to try though, and I'm glad you were able to. Two finals short is frustrating! He will always be purrfect in your eyes though. :heart3: